Thinking About College Teaching
by Glenda Wilkes, Ph.D.
 

Volume 2: The Teaching Portfolio

The teaching portfolio, a factual description of a professor’s teaching strengths and accomplishments, includes selected documents and materials which collectively suggest the scope and quality of teaching performance. Possible reasons for preparing teaching portfolios include: a) compiling data about teaching effectiveness for promotion and tenure committees, post-tenure reviews, or job searches; b) documentation of how teaching evolves over time, especially for purposes of self-reflection and improvement; c) sharing of expertise and experience with new or part-time faculty; d) for awards or grants related to teaching.

Because portfolios are highly personalized products, items chosen for inclusion will differ depending on teaching style, purpose for which the portfolio is prepared, and content requirements of the department or institution. From a review of hundreds of teaching portfolios, Seldon (1997) identifies the following items as typical:

Material From Oneself:

• statement of teaching responsibilities, course titles, enrollments, type of course
• reflective statement describing personal teaching philosophy and methodologies
• representative course syllabi, methods, objectives, readings, and assignments
• curricular revisions and new course projects
• instructional innovations and assessment of their effectiveness
• statement of teaching goals for next five years
• description of steps taken to evaluate and improve one’s teaching

Material From Others:

• statement from colleagues who have observed you and/or reviewed your materials
• student course evaluation data
• honors or other recognition for teaching
• documentation of teaching development activities
• statements by alumni on the quality of instruction

The Products Of Teaching/Student Learning:

• student scores on pre and post course examinations
• selected student essays with professor’s comments
• a record of your students who pursue advanced study in your field
• student publications, conference presentations, or posters on course related work
• successive drafts of student papers with professor’s comments for improvements

Other items used less frequently include videotapes, self-evaluations, statements by department chair, and use of technology in teaching. A selective document of eight to ten pages plus supporting appendix materials is sufficient for most faculty purposes. Cerbin (1994) suggests that the focus of portfolios is formative, as opposed to summative, because it concerns the relationship between teaching and learning and also because it often illuminates the inconsistencies between professors’ beliefs and their practice.

References

Cerbin, W. (1994). The course portfolio as a tool for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 5:1, 95-105.

Seldon, P. (1997). The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions. Bolton, MA: Anker.