Well, a teaching portfolio is sometimes called/referred to in the States as a teaching dossier, but
in Canada it's more commonly referred to as a teaching portfolio.
I think there are a number of reasons that one would want to put a portfolio together.
Number one would be that it is very helpful in terms of job search.
It could also be used as part of promotion and tenure document.
It could also be used for applications for teaching awards that we have at the University
of Saskatchewan.
And then I think it could also be used as a self-tool where you can reflect on your
own teaching and describe your changes in your teaching and your future directions that
you might be taking within your teaching, but for whatever purpose that you would put
it together for, it would be used primarily as an instrument to describe you as a teacher
and how you see yourself in the teaching profession.
It's a record of your compiled teaching experiences.
It also should include something about your own self-evaluation and how you see yourself
within the teaching profession.
It also I think should reflect you as somebody who is thoughtful and has thought through
the teaching process and has spend time in analysis of what you do as a teacher and what
students learn.
I think also the portfolio should reflect the needs of the institutions and different
kinds of institutions have different purposes for which they use these portfolios.
Some of the things that you would include, first you would include a statement of teaching
responsibilities, you would have some kind of statement as to your particular goals and
objectives and strategies that you would use in your classroom.
And then some kind of structure whereby you could demonstrate, through some evidence,
that the evidence is actually related to your teaching philosophy you have established.
I think that you would also include such things as student work to demonstrate what you've
been doing in the classroom.
Certainly peer-evaluations are excellent to include in portfolios and some statements
even from students that you had in the past that reflect the contribution that you have
made and also some statements as to previous awards or contributions that you've made at
the institution.
I think that a teaching philosophy statement is a kind of a personal missions statement
that you could have that really reflects your commitment and your beliefs about teaching.
I think that it demonstrates tat you've reflected upon the act of teaching and it really helps
to communicate that reflection to other people and helps to demonstrate that your actions
in the classroom correspond to the position that you've taken in terms of teaching and
learning.
Some elements that you should include in a philosophy statement would be, first of all,
a statement about your goals and objectives for the teaching process, both as the teacher
and for the student as well too.
It should also include a description of how you teach, how you go about your daily business
in the classroom and if you can make that unique to the discipline that you happen to
be teaching in, I think it's more of a significant contribution.
I also think that you should include some assumptions that you believe about the teaching
process and about the learning process.
And also I think you should include some kind of discussion in there as to students and
how they fit into your teaching style and also how you reflect your techniques that
you use and student success that derives from those techniques.
But you want to create in the reader I think a picture of a rich learning environment that
you've been to create and how you've been able to establish that environment and some
evidence that that environment is in fact being helpful to the students that your teaching
and dealing with.
Well, there are a variety of forms that one could use.
Probably the most common form is binders: putting together a compilation of hard copy
materials.
It could also include some electronic types of information to support what you've actually
collected.
You make sure this is a true reflection of yourself as a teacher.
So the teaching self as you perceive it and as you've been able to demonstrate it in your
classroom.
I think it's really the first thing.
I think that you need to demonstrate clearly that you've thought through the process of
your teaching and that you've reflected back on the teaching and that you have been able
to collect evidence to support the statements that you actually make in the teaching portfolio.
The third thing is that I think you need to make your teaching portfolio a memorable one
so that when somebody reads it, they are impressed and either they are impressed at the extent
that yeah, you're the person they should hire for the job or you're the person that should
be able to ... that you have demonstrated that you are deserving of your promotion so
it's an opportunity to impress people.
I think that if you use such things as metaphors, it helps people who are reading your document
to see how you picture yourself in relation to the students that your dealing with and
the purpose of education that you see.
I think that another thing is that it's very helpful if you use a colleague to bounce information
off.
Another suggestion that I have is that you do this on a continuous basis: it's not something
that you just put together and then you never look at again, it's just used at that one
time.
I think if you reflect back on your teaching over a period of years, it's really interesting
to see where you were at one point in time and where you are at this point in time and
how your teaching philosophy or portfolio has changed over time.
Well, I would highly recommend the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness.
They have been in the business of developing teaching portfolios and teaching philosophy
statements and helping people to develop these over a period of time and, in my opinion,
they have it down to a science.
They have some really good people over there that have lots of experience in providing
in feedback and working with individuals to develop these portfolios that are used at
our institution.
They have people like Kim West who is ... has done a tremendous job at changing the culture
of our institution towards an appreciation for the value of teaching portfolios and teaching
effectiveness and also for the development for what should go into those portfolios so
that they really do reflect the teaching self of the individuals that are putting these
together.