A Developmental Teaching Portfolio is your own reflective record of your teaching. It provides a place for you to document and reflect on various aspects of your teaching, and it can also provide you with materials if you need to present an Evaluative Teaching Portfolio.
As in any teaching or research document, there should be an order and limit to the presentation. The following is a list of suggested materials that the teacher may select for inclusion in a developmental teaching portfolio. The purpose is to build a collection of evidence to give direction for growth and to document responsive changes. It provides a guide for developing overall instructional abilities, for course development/improvement, and for sharing instructional knowledge with colleagues. The developmental portfolio is also the source from which documentation is chosen for the evaluation portfolio described later. One of the biggest pitfalls in building developmental teaching portfolios is the tendency to collect everything in raw form. But, without discrimination in the choices about what to save and on-going analysis, this leads to a large volume of information that is useless.
Contents of a Developmental Teaching Portfolio typically include
- A short reflective self-statement:
- Briefly present your philosophy of teaching and learning, and explain how you put this philosophy into practice (using evidence such as a syllabus, an assignment sequence, or other documents from your teaching).
- Show changes in content and method that you have made, explaining why you made the changes and how you assess the outcomes of making the change.
- Description of courses taught (past, present, future) and advisees (chair, committee member, graduate student graduation record for last several years).
- Description of representative course materials (course syllabi; examples of how you are implementing your philosophy; written standards set for students).
- Evaluations of teaching (summaries of student, and when applicable, peer evaluations and/or letters/statements from past or present students, or from outside reviewers; statements by graduate students regarding their major professor).
- Supporting documentation
Illustrations of extent of student learning (examples of student work [student names removed], examples of feedback provided to students, student scores on exams before and after material is presented, and/or other information deemed appropriate by the instructor). - Illustrations of material to elicit student work (examples of syllabi, assignments, activities and exams).
- Description of how teaching assistants are used in your courses (if applicable).
- Description of activities to improve your teaching; for example, CIDR assistance, attending workshops/seminars, materials indicating you have tried new approaches to teaching/learning.
- Contributions to course and curriculum development. Instructional contributions to institutions/profession (service on instructional committees or in teacher training programs, publications, symposia).
- Honors/recognition. Honors/recognition received (institutional awards, awards from professional organizations, invitations to speak or write on effective teaching).
- Other items at the discretion of the instructor (e.g., advising record).
- DO work with a mentor
- DO be succinct in your writing and your selection of the documents
- DO use your portfolio to develop, reflect upon, and improve your teaching.
- DON'T throw all of your course materials into a file box and call it a portfolio
- DON'T include ALL of your teaching materials -- it will be too cumbersome, even if it is organized
More Information on Teaching Portfolios
