Developing a Teaching Portfolio
This site aims to
provide faculty and graduate teaching associates (TAs) with a practical
and self-reflective guide to the development of a teaching portfolio.
Teaching Portfolio Website Contents
Summary of Teaching Responsibilities
Philosophy of Teaching Statement
Rationale for Course Materials
Guidance on Writing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement
Chism's
five components / Goodyear
& Allchin's suggestions / Reflection
tools / Using
metaphors / References
/ Return to
writing a philosophy statement
Chism's five components of a teaching statement
In her article (Chism, 1998), “Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement,” Nancy Chism, former Director of Faculty & TA Development at The Ohio State University, suggests five major components.
1. Conceptualization of learning
Ask yourself such
questions as “What do we mean by learning?” and “What happens in a
learning situation?” Think of your answers to these questions based on
your personal experience. Chism points out that some teachers have tried
to express and explain their understanding of learning through the use of
metaphor, because drawing comparisons with known entities can stimulate
thinking, whether or not the metaphor is actually used in the statement.
On the other hand, most instructors tend to take a more direct approach in
conceptualizing learning, i.e., to describe what they think occurs during
a learning episode, based on their observation and experience or based on
current literature on teaching and learning.
2. Conceptualization of teaching
Ask yourself
questions such as “What do we mean by teaching?” and “How do I facilitate
this process as a teacher?” Chism suggests that personal teaching beliefs
on how the instructor facilitates the learning process would be
appropriate for this section. Again, the metaphor format can be used, but
a common practice is a more direct description of the nature of a teacher
with respect to motivating and facilitating learning. Along with the
questions above, you may also address such issues as how to challenge
students intellectually and support them academically and how the teacher
can respond to different learning styles, help students who are
frustrated, and accommodate different abilities. Furthermore, you may talk
about how you as a teacher have come to these conclusions (e.g., through
past experience as a student or teacher, or as a result of literature
reading or taking classes).
3. Goals for students
This section should entail
the description of what skills the teacher expects her/his students to
obtain as the result of learning. You may address such issues as what
goals you set for your classes, what the rationale behind them is, what
kind of activities you try to implement in class in order to reach these
goals, and how the goals have changed over time as you learn more about
teaching and learning. For instance, you can describe how you have
expected students to learn not only the content, but also skills such as
critical thinking, writing, and problem solving, followed by elaboration
on how you have designed/planned individual sessions towards accomplishing
the goals.
4. Implementation of the philosophy
An important
component of the statement of a teaching philosophy should be the
illustration of how one’s concepts about teaching and learning and goals
for students are transformed into classroom activities. Ask yourself, “How
do I operationalize my philosophy of teaching in the classroom?” and “What
personal characteristics in myself or my students influence the way in
which I approach teaching?” To answer these questions, you may reflect on
how you present yourself and course materials, what activities,
assignments, and projects you implement in the teaching-learning process,
how you interact with students in and outside class, and the
consequences.
5. Professional growth plan
It is important for
teachers to continue professional growth, and to do so, teachers need to
set clear goals and means to accomplish these goals. Think about questions
such as “What goals have I set for myself as a teacher?” and “How do I
accomplish these goals?” You can elaborate this plan in your statement of
teaching philosophy. For instance, you can illustrate how you have
professionally grown over the years, what challenges exist at the present,
what long-term development goals you have projected, and what you will do
to reach these goals. Chism suggests that writing this section can help
you think about how your perspectives and actions have changed over time.
In summary, these are the main questions Chism suggests to answer in a statement:
- How do people learn?
- How do I facilitate that learning?
- What goals do I have for my students?
- Why do I teach the way that I do?
- What do I do to implement these ideas about teaching and learning in the classroom?
- Are these things working? Do my student meet the goals?
- How do I know they are working?
- What are my future goals for growth as a teacher?
Goodyear and Allchin's suggestions about necessary components
Gail Goodyear and Douglas Allchin (1998) have made suggestions for structuring the statement of teaching philosophy in a somewhat different way than Chism.
1. Integration of responsibilities. Teaching, research, and public service are the main missions of university faculty. Each teacher therefore should explicitly describe what they do in carrying out these three missions in their statements of teaching philosophy.
2. Expertise. It is important for faculty to link their special knowledge or expertise in the field to ways of helping their students learn that knowledge and communicate with students effectively during this teaching-learning process.
3. Relationships. A healthy relationship between the teacher and students is “essential to successful teaching.” Ways in which a teacher establishes such a relationship, such as getting to know students, specific ways of building rapport with students, and special teaching techniques used, should be explicitly described in his or her statement of teaching philosophy.
4. Learning environment. In conjunction with the previous issue, the authors suggest that teachers can illustrate what they have done to create a supportive learning environment in their classes socially, psychologically, and physically to help students learn.
5. Methods, strategies, and innovation. Faculty should use teaching philosophy statements to reflect on their teaching practice, both past and present, as well as to illustrate how special teaching techniques they use are in compliance with their teaching philosophy.
6. Outcomes. Teachers can demonstrate in their statements of teaching philosophy how the previous efforts have produced anticipated outcomes. For example, students have learned the subject matter and they are able to use the knowledge learned in class to solve real-world problems.
Reflection tools to help get you started
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas at El Paso has great resources and tools to get you thinking about your teaching reflectively. On their site, you will find the following exercises designed to help you articulate the various components of your teaching philosophy.
"Who? Me? Recognize your Teaching
Philosophy"
"Elaborate an Exemplar”
"The Ideal Student”
"Plumbing
Values”
Another useful set of exercises can be found at Iowa State University's site.
Using metaphors
The use of metaphors can be a helpful tool in describing our concept of the teaching and learning enterprise. There are instructors who are able to write wonderful philosophy statements that use metaphors thematically throughout the document, continually tying the components back to that metaphor. Other use metaphors only in the philosophy development stages, using it as a tool to help them better articulate their ideas, rather than actually writing the metaphor in the final document. Either way, this tool provides your audience with a solid understanding of how you see your role in the teaching/learning process.
Here are some exemplary metaphors of learning (Grasha, 1996):
Containers: “Knowledge is viewed as a substance and the instructor is a container filled with content and facts. The student is perceived as a vessel wanting to be filled up.” (p. 35)
Journey-Guide: “Knowledge is perceived as a perspective on the horizon. The teacher guides students on their journey. Students need to follow a course, must overcome obstacles and hurdles, .... they will come to the end of their journey.” (p.35)
Master-Disciple: “Knowledge is a skill or habit to be learned. The instructor trains students and the students ideally do what they are told without questioning the master.” (p.35)
Other metaphors:
- Coach
- Gardener
- Director of a play
- General leading troops into battle
- Midwife
- Swiss army knife
- Evangelist
- Rabbi
- Entertainer
- Choreographer
- Tour bus driver with passengers who keep their window curtain closed
For a more information on how metaphors are used, go to Learning Metaphors or Metaphorically Speaking
References
Chism, N. V. N. (1998). Developing a philosophy of teaching statement. Essays on Teaching Excellence 9 (3), 1-2. Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.
Grasha, A.F. (1996).Teaching with style: A practical guide to enhancing learning by understanding teaching and learning styles. Pittsburgh, PA: Alliance Publishers.
Goodyear, G. E. & Allchin, D. (1998) Statement of teaching philosophy. To Improve the Academy 17, 103-22. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.