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Some Quick Facts About Teaching PortfoliosWhat is a Teaching Portfolio?

In simplest terms, a teaching portfolio is a collection of materials aimed at describing your teaching accomplishments and documenting your teaching effectiveness (Seldin, 2006, p.111).

A teaching portfolio should not be simply a collection of your best work, or a huge compilation of raw data, such as course outlines, SFQs, and examples of your students’ work. Instead, your portfolio should be a focused reflection and analysis of your teaching performance, and evidence of your students’ learning (Knapper and Cranton, 2001, p. 24; Seldin, 2006, p.203).

Therefore, preparing an effective portfolio requires selection and organization. To illustrate this point, consider your SFQ results. Your actual completed SFQ forms are out of place in your teaching portfolio. What is appropriate to include is an analysis of your SFQ data. In other words, interpret your SFQ data and comment on what sense you can make from your results and what you can learn from your students about your teaching methodology.

Remember you will want to update your portfolio annually, so your portfolio will be a fluid document (Seldin, 2006, p. 111; Knapper and Cranton, 2001, p. 24).

Why should we complete a Teaching Portfolio?

The preparation of materials for your teaching portfolio can provide insights into what you might do differently and better in the classroom. It provides the opportunity for self-reflection on the practice of teaching. This reflection can reveal critical questions about your teaching practices and values, and thus can be quite a transformational process (Seldin, 2006, p. 113). For example, you may recognize areas for instructional improvement, or you may simply become more aware of your teaching on a day-to-day basis.

The point I would like to emphasize here is that the knowledge you gain from creating your portfolio will filter back into your own teaching. Thus, preparation of a portfolio makes sense since it can lead to improved teaching (Seldin, 2006, p. 151)!


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Minimum Requirements to be included in your Teaching Portfolio

Since we are all unique, it follows that every portfolio will be a unique portrayal of your individual choice of content, style and methods (Seldin, 2006, p. 113).

The items that faculty will be asked to include in their teaching portfolios are: 1. Your CV, Teaching and Learning Portfolio2. A statement of your teaching approach (philosophy)3. A description of your professional development plans4. Reflection and evidence of growth and development in you craft5. Any reaching innovations or approaches that have served you well

1. Faculty CVThis section of your portfolio should provide details about your teaching and program development responsibilities for the last 3-5 years.

It will include the details of the courses you have taught; however, keep in mind that your portfolio should be more than a repository for course descriptions and outlines. Rather, this section of the portfolio should provide your reflections on how each course you have taught went. For example, you could provide information such as:

• the enrolment numbers, • the types of students in each course, • the teaching strategies you used, • a reflection on the successes and challenges of the course, • how you would do it differently if you were to teach it again, • what students said about the course, • were your thoughts on the course in line with what the students said, • which comments on your SFQs give you the most cause for concern, and • highlights of how the course evolved in response to student feedback.

This section of your portfolio should also provide details of team involvement and program development initiates you have been engaged with, such as:

• your service on committees, • examples of leadership you have demonstrated both within and outside of the College, • awards you have received, • guest speaker invitations, • professional development initiatives (i.e. conferences, workshops, seminars), • class visit notes or reports, • course outline revisions,• curriculum development,• program development,• mentoring, and • evidence of your currency in your field of study.

Again, please provide a brief discussion of these development initiatives rather than a list.


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2. Statement of your Teaching Approach or your Teaching PhilosophyThis section of your portfolio should provide a description of what you know or believe about your teaching style, and/or your thoughts on the practice of teaching. It should include examples of how your ideas on teaching have been used in the classroom and it should provide evidence that documents the effectiveness of your teaching (Knapper and Cranton, 2001, p. 16).

Examples of the types of questions you may wish to reflect on when considering your teaching style include:

• how do you know that your students have learnt what you intended them to know,

• what aspects of your teaching strategies do you believe are most appreciated and most misunderstood by students,

• what is your greatest strength as a teacher, • what has been your most significant teaching

accomplishment, • what were your reasons for becoming a teacher, • why do you teach the way you do, • what is your motivation for teaching, and • how do you motivate students?

Once the above reflection is completed, you will then want to consider what evidence you have which documents your teaching effectiveness. Brief descriptions of materials can be included in the body of the portfolio, while the actual artefacts can be included. Examples of items to consider include:

• graded assignments detailing your efforts in an appendix to guide and direct student development, • student work that represents different levels of quality, or • successive drafts of student work showing improvement as a result of your comments and

guidance.

3. Professional Development PlansIn completing this section, consider your past 3-5 years of teaching here at Humber, where you are at now, and your plans for the next 3-5 years.

When considering your past, you may wish to discuss the plans for developing your teaching which you originally set for yourself and what has worked best in your strategies over these last 3-5 years. Additionally, you may wish to reflect on what have been your finest accomplishments, and your most serious setbacks and disappointments – what did you learn from these?

When looking to the future, you may wish to comment on the goals that you have set for yourself for your continuing development as a faculty member, as well as your continued involvement in program direction and program curriculum revision. Ensure that you set improvement goals that reflect reasonable suggestions.

Finally, you may wish to outline your plans for staying current in your field of study and for staying connected with industry partners.


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…And Then What?

Then, you will want to tailor your teaching portfolio to your own needs.

Don’t be afraid to have fun and be creative.

References

Knapper, C. and Cranton, P. (Ed.). (2001) “Fresh Approaches to the Evaluation of Teaching.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning #88. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Seldin, P. (2006) Evaluating Faculty Performance A Practical Guide to Assessing Teaching, Research, and Service. Bolton: Anker Publishing Co., Inc.

Adapted from: Document contributed by the School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism.