Developing a Teaching Portfolio Participants: Elaine Justice, Psychology Wayne Hynes, Biology David Metzger, English C. Ariel Pinto, Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

What is a Teaching Portfolio? A document that describes what, why, and how you teach Your “Philosophy of Teaching” More than a collection of documents (tests, syllabi, handouts, etc.). A personal statement of why you do what you do in designing your course, in the classroom, and in assessment.

What is a Teaching Portfolio? Articulates goals and assumptions about teaching Angelo &Cross (1993) Develop ability to apply principles and generalize to new problems & situations Develop the ability to think for oneself Develop analytic skills Learn the terms and facts of the subject matter

What is a Teaching Portfolio? Articulates how goals are related to what we do in the classroom Lecture vs. discussions vs. demonstrations Multiple choice vs. essay tests Out-of-class assignments Types of readings

Purposes of a Portfolio To support and improve teaching A process of development over time To document your teaching experiences and abilities Job applications Promotion and/or tenure Teaching can get lost in the many responsibilities we have. Having an articulated philosophy about what you want to achieve in teaching helps in the continuous process of trying to improve your performance in the classroom. Having in mind your goals leads more easily to assessing whether you are meeting them. An articulated philosophy of teaching supported by materials related to that philsophy makes it clear to others that you have a clear understanding of what your goals are in the classroom and how to achieve them.

What goes into a Teaching Portfolio The document Relatively brief – 8-12 pages. Include a table of contents Artifacts of teaching Appendices: supporting materials to illustrate points made in the text Angelo & Cross found that these goals were similar across 2 and 4 year colleges. Did differ by discipline. Faculty in a given discipline tended to share a perspective on what the goals for teaching were.

The Text of Your Portfolio Begin with the courses you teach (or feel competent to teach) Articulate your understanding of how students learn Describe your goals for your students Discuss how your classroom activities and assignments relate to your goals List course name and grad/undergrad. If you have taught indicate where and how often. Next section is your teaching philosphy: what the ideal teaching environment; what are your values in the classroom. What are your aims, objectives and expectations for students in your classes?

The Text of Your Portfolio Indicate how your assessments measure whether your goals have been met Discuss how your view of teaching fits with the goals of the department or university.

Teaching Artifacts From yourself Course materials (syllabi, handouts, copies of PowerPoints, etc.) Representative student samples of graded assignments Record of advising done Record of student achievements Video of teaching a class Student achievements e.g. admission to grad school, job placements

Teaching Artifacts Artifacts from Others Student teaching evaluations Written review of teaching by a peer or supervisor Copies of letters related to teaching evaluation or awards Testimonials from students

Teaching Artifacts Evidence of subscribing to journals on teaching Evidence of attending conferences or workshops on teaching (like PFF!) Membership in teaching organizations Other evidence of teaching scholarship (articles, textbooks, curriculum development)

Resources A guide to the Teaching Portfolio, University of New Hampshire website:http://www.gradschool.unh.edu/PFF/portfolio.pdf E. B. Rasmussen (2006) Creating teaching portfolios. In W. Buskist & S. F. Davis, Handbook of the teach of psychology (pp. 301-306). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing T. A. Angelo & P.K. Cross. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.