The Teaching Portfolio
Before the end of the term you should submit a
teaching portfolio that demonstrates your interest and ability in teaching.
At this stage in your teaching career, the portfolio is not so much for
purposes of demonstrating what a great teacher you are, but rather to
show how you are developing as a teacher. As such, it should document
the steps you are taking to enhance your teaching. It should also provide
you with a collection of teaching-related materials for your future reference.
There is no one way to do this. Here's a description of a two-part portfolio that
has worked well for former students of the Teaching Practicum. I have copies in my office for you to look at.
Part I: A 2-3 page description of your teaching
experiences so far and steps you are taking to develop as a teacher. Part
I is an annotated index to Part II.
Part II: An appendix that includes, in a
organized fashion, various documents that you refer to in the first part
(course syllabi, student evaluations, philosophy of teaching, reaction
papers, etc.). Some of these could be saved electronically and organized
on a web page.
Anything included in Part II should be described
in Part I, so the reader knows why it's been included. Some of the content
of Part I need not have a corresponding item in Part II, however. A slightly
different model incorporates the teaching philosophy in Part I.
Things to include in your Teaching
Portfolio
- Your philosophy of teaching; what it is and
how it has changed. (What are your teaching goals and objectives, and
what are the methods and strategies by which you seek to attain them.)
- Steps you are taking to improve your teaching.
- Include your participation in the Practicum;
it counts as evidence of your motivation to enhance your teaching.
Include any noteworthy materials you developed for (or received
during) the Practicum, including discussion questions, summaries,
reaction papers.
- Include attendance at workshops or conferences
pertaining to teaching, and materials gathered at these events.
- Your experiences as a TA: What courses have
you assisted in; what have your responsibilities been; what have you
learned in those courses? What courses would you like to TA for (or
teach) in future years and why?
- Include products of good teaching such as
papers or projects from students who really benefitted from your assistance.
- Include materials that you produced for a
course in which you assisted. If you helped develop a web site for
a course, describe it and provide a link to it if possible.
- Include course syllabi plus notes regarding
what you'd preserve, what you'd change, were you to teach such a course.
- Include student evaluations and your own self-evaluation.
- Presentation/lecture/discussion materials that
you produced for any course, along with a reflective statement of what
worked well and what you would change.
- Include student evaluations and your own self-evaluation.
- Contributions you have made to the teaching
of others.
- Advising of undergrads on non-course issues
(e.g., program planning, grad school applications, careers)
- "Material from Others" is often a big section
in a professor's teaching portfolio, but probably won't be so large
in yours. Some of these materials were referred to above (e.g., student
evaluations). Other things you might include are:
- statements from students, colleagues, faculty
regarding your lectures or discussions
- statements from others who have reviewed
any other kind of course materials you have prepared (e.g. web pages)
- statements from faculty regarding your
performance as a TA
- teaching awards
- invitations to present a paper or participate
in a workshop regarding teaching
- a professional exchange (inside or outside
of Columbia) regarding teaching
- involvement in research that contributed
directly to teaching
- a full-period audio or videotape of your
teaching.
- The "Products of Good Teaching" is another section
included in the typical portfolio. The point of these is to show how
you have really helped students to learn. Evidence might include:
- examples of graded student essays or lab
reports showing excellent, average, or poor work along with your
comments.
- examples of before and after lab reports
showing how your guidance has improved the student's writing.
- a record of students whom you have helped
and who have gone on to advanced courses or grad study.
- information regarding the effect of your
teaching or advising on students' grad school or career choices.
I highly recommend the online handbook for developing
a Teaching Portfolio available from the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University. [download pdf here] http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/publications/. For other Teaching Porfolio resources, see my recomended Teaching Portfolio Sites.
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