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DEVELOPING A TEACHING PORTFOLIO
 
What is a teaching portfolio?
 
A portfolio or dossier is a collection of material that depicts the nature and quality of an individual's teaching and students' learning. Portfolios are structured deliberately to reflect particular aspects of teaching and learning – they are not trunks full of teaching artifacts and memorabilia. At its best a portfolio documents an instructor's approach to teaching, combining specific evidence of instructional strategies, and effectiveness in a way that captures teaching's intellectual substance and complexity. (William Cerbin, 1993)
 
A teaching portfolio is a measure of actions and a reflection on those actions and is broken up into two basic sections: evidence and evaluations. Evidence is proof that you have taught, what you taught, and how you taught it. Evaluations are reflections on this process. You may want consider creating multiple teaching portfolios for different educational situations. For example, if you teach both studio art and web design, you might want to create two separate teaching portfolios highlighting the strengths you have particular to these fields of study.
 
How are teaching portfolios used?
 
As a "product" (for decisions – evaluative, summative)
• to communicate your teaching to a potential employer.
• to communicate your teaching to students, colleagues, community.
 
As a "process" (for development – formative, reflective)
• to record your teaching experiences over time.
• to provide themes and evidence for your evaluative portfolio.
 
What Goes Into a Teaching Portfolio?
 
Cover Letter

Remember that your cover letter should attract your reader’s attention, summarize your accomplishments and leave them wanting to pour over the content of the teaching portfolio. Make sure you state up front what you want to achieve from having them look at your portfolio. List the position(s) you are applying for and alert them as to how they can get more information about your teaching history.
 
Curriculum Vitae

This is different from your artist resume. Your Curriculum Vitae is a list of all of your professional accomplishments and is intended for an academic environment. Refer to the College Art Association’s guidelines for formatting your CV: http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/visartcv.html
 
Teaching Philosophy

This is a rumination on your specific teaching philosophy. Your teaching philosophy should detail why you teach and what outcomes you intend to create with your instructions. It doesn’t necessarily discuss the specifics of your classes but instead focuses on why you do what you do. Your philosophy should also detail the techniques and pedagogy you use to instruct your students. You will also need to state how you measure your effectiveness as a teacher. As you do with your artist statement, you will need to constantly update your teaching philosophy and put it through many drafts before it’s finished. Your teaching philosophy may be a section separate from all of the other parts of your teaching portfolio or may incorporate all of the other sections listed here. Be careful to read requirements for submissions.

Teaching Experience and Responsibilities

After preparing your teaching philosophy you will need to collect all the supporting evidence to prove your effectiveness as an instructor. This will be a paragraph-form history of all of your past teaching jobs with descriptions of your specific responsibilities. This can be a list of courses with course descriptions and a brief discussion of the pedagogy you employed for each course. This can also be course syllabi you have written.
 
Teaching Methods and Strategies

This section should detail what specific methods and strategies you use to connect with and educate your students. Have you developed an original approach to teaching your subject matter? Do you incorporate original materials or technologies into your lectures? Explain those here.
 
Examples of efforts to Improve Teaching: workshops, experiments in pedagogy and methodology.These can be classes or seminars you have attended. You can also include any critiques or feedback you have from superiors or mentors as to your efforts to improve your teaching skills
 
Statements from Colleagues Like Observations and Critiques:

This is a collection of evaluations from superiors, department heads, faculty advisors, colleagues, or administrative officials who have observed you teaching both in class and out of class.
 
Teaching Goals: short- and long-term

This may be part of your teaching philosophy essay. Your teaching goals should outline what you plan to accomplish with your classes, both in the short term and long-term. Consider both academic and personal goals here.
 
Publications on Teaching

These can be examples of anything you have published relating to teaching or the educational field.
 
Awards, Honors or Other Recognitions

Include copies of all letters of distinction and awards pertaining to your teaching or academic excellence.
 
Invitations to Speak/Teach

Include a list of places you have been invited to speak, lecture, review portfolios, or teach.
 
Video of You Teaching

This can be a sample of you teaching in the classroom environment. Choose footage highlighting interesting teaching techniques and interaction with students.
 
Student Scores on Standardized Tests

Make sure to maintain the anonymity of your students when submitting these materials.
 
Examples of Student Work

These can be student essays, collaborative work, documentation of artwork created as part of class assignments, and course-related assignments.
 
Examples of Student Success Outside of School

If you have helped your students secure employment outside of school include that information. If you have helped students get into graduate programs, include that information.
 
Alumni Testimonials

If your students are alumni of the school you are submitting to, ask them to write a letter about your effectiveness as a teacher.
 
Graded Work

Include examples of work you have evaluated. Make sure to include a range of work, from excellent to poor, along with your comments and evaluations as to why you assigned those grades.
 
How can you begin to work on a teaching portfolio?

• Reflect on your teaching individually; talk about your teaching with others.
• Get feedback on your teaching from several sources – students, peers, supervisors, video.
• Reflect on student learning in your field. How do students learn? What challenges do they face?
• Keep records of your teaching, feedback you receive, and plans to develop your teaching.
• Seek out teaching opportunities.
 
Resources:

Center for Instructional Development and research,
http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/TLBulletins/1(1)TeachingPortfolios.html
 
How to Prepare a Winning Teaching Portfolio
Secure an Academic Job with the Ultimate Interview Tool
© Marilyn Michaud
http://universities.suite101.com/article.cfm.how_to_pepare_a_winning_teaching_portfolio
 
 
The Teaching Portfolio: a handbook for faculty, teaching assistants and teaching fellows
Hannelore B. Rodriguez-Farrar
A Publication of
The Harriet W. Sheridan Center
for Teaching and Learning
Brown University
©Third Edition, Revised 2006
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/docs/teach_port.pdf