TLQG | Teaching Portfolios

…a teaching portfolio…is a summary you compile to demonstrate your commitment, major accomplishments and strengths in teaching. A teaching portfolio will normally be comprised of two distinct components: a) A statement that outlines your teaching philosophy, practice and performance. b) A dossier of relevant material to support the claims you make in the summary statement (NTEU, p.3.).

So a teaching portfolio is a hard copy and/or electronic collection of quantitative, qualitative and contextual evidence that you use to create a short, (usually no more than 5 pages), document that demonstrates your teaching philosophy, practice and performance for various personal and professional purposes. You can attach supplementary material in the form of Appendices. It highlights your distinctive contributions.

If you prefer a visual explanation, you can borrow the 6 minute DVD A Teaching Portfolio, (QUT, 1995) from the CDU library. This describes a teaching portfolio using clear visual examples and featuring real academics from diverse backgrounds.

Reference

NTEU. (2005). Preparing and presenting a teaching portfolio: philosophy, practice and performance. South Melbourne: NTEU. Retrieved November 7, 2008, from: http://nteu.org.au/publications/other/teachingportfolio.

You need a teaching portfolio:

as part of your personal professional development
to support applications for promotion or awards
to manage your performance reviews more confidently and effectively
as part of your preparation for university quality audits.

If you apply for promotion at CDU on the basis of your teaching and learning, you will need to provide evidence of your achievements in the form of a teaching portfolio. For further information about the academic promotions process, go to: http://www.cdu.edu.au/governance/documents/PromotionProcessAcademicStaff.pdf.

A teaching portfolio is an integral part of your scholarship of teaching. By creating and maintaining an up-to-date teaching portfolio you will be able to provide appropriate and effective evidence of your teaching when you need it. There are lots of reasons or excuses you can give yourself for not collecting evidence of your teaching: “I haven’t got time” or “I only teach x or y” etc. However, as one participant noted in the October 2008 teaching portfolio workshop:

It is crucial to collect evidence of your achievements.

Following is a suggested list of contents for your teaching portfolio that has been adapted from the University of Adelaide’s list and the CDU Academic Staff Promotion Process guidelines. You can print this out and use it as a checklist to note where you may need more preparation.

	Yes	No
Personal details, including name, School, contact details
A list of contents, so it is easy for the reader to find items
An introduction containing a summary of the units you teach, the number of students in each and any other key teaching activities you undertake such as the supervision of postgraduate students, clinical placements or teaching placements
A summary of your teaching philosophy, including reference to University learning and teaching plans
A critical reflection of your teaching activities and their impact on students and your School, including: a description of your approach and rationale any difficulties or unexpected results a summary of the SELT data for your teaching and unit evaluations any other student evaluations or peer evaluations a list of any successful postgraduate students who have been under your supervision and the degrees awarded evidence of exemplary supervision of placement where relevant a reflective summary of strengths and areas for improvement
A summary of your engagement with professions and industry, where relevant, and a description of how this has influenced your teaching and delivered value to the organisations you have worked for
A summary of your professional development activities, including any invitations you have received to participate in the delivery of staff development associated with teaching
A summary of any future developments you would like to undertake and a timeframe for their implementation
A plan of action for improvements in your teaching
Conference presentations, publications, awards and grants related to learning and teaching
Appendices with documentary evidence in support of your details listed above, including actual evaluations and samples of unit outlines and course materials you have authored

Source: Adapted from Developing Your Teaching Portfolio, Centre for Learning and Professional Development, University of Adelaide, 2005: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/lta/download/t_portfolio.pdf

Your teaching portfolio will evolve as your career progresses and the focus of your activities changes. To help give you a better sense of the types of professional development activities you may benefit from engaging in at different stages, we have produced An All-Level Professional Development Guide for Teaching Focused Academics in consultation with staff, Heads of School and Faculty Deans. A similar guide for VET staff is planned for the future.

The NTEU has an online booklet about teaching portfolios that is clear and comprehensive. It explains the purpose of a teaching portfolio and includes examples and a list of resources.
http://www.nteu.org.au/publications/other/teachingportfolio

Ohio State University has a clear guide to writing a philosophy of teaching statement with many examples of how others have gone about it from a variety of disciplines.
http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Philosophy.html

The University of Adelaide has a guide that uses similar student evaluation information to Charles Darwin University and includes an example of a teaching portfolio.
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/lta/download/t_portfolio.pdf

Griffith University has examples of portfolios produced for all levels of promotion. Don’t feel intimidated if yours doesn’t look like these. These portfolios have been polished for promotion or job purposes.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/gihe/teachinglearning/portfolios/home.html

Teaching portfolios involve reflective writing. If you want to know more about reflective writing, Monash University has produced an online resource that discusses reflective writing in the context of education. Whilst written primarily for students, it includes definitions and examples that you may find useful. http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/education/reflective-writing/index.xml

The most widely cited book on teaching portfolios is by Peter Seldin:
Seldin, P. (1997). The teaching portfolio: A practical guide to improved performance and promotion and tenure decisions. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Anker.