Stages of Developing a Teaching Portfolio
A perspective on the development of teaching portfolios through an academic career. Teaching captial is introduced as a central organizing concept
Overview
Assembling a complete portfolio can seem as daunting to the beginner as it is personally rewarding to the veteran. But an effective portfolio does not emerge overnight (anymore than effective teaching itself is instantaneous). Here is a way to conceive the long-term development of a teaching portfolio, in four stages, from humble beginnings and development, through the critical juncture of tenure review to the basis for sharing a career's worth of expertise. First, the teacher begins by establishing the baseline and structure of the portfolio, including basic evidence of teaching and teaching ability. Second, the teacher should expand the depth and robustness of evidence, while using past results to explore new ways to expand teaching practice and skills. Next, in preparing for tenure, a teacher must consolidate the evidence into a cohesive account of teaching style and habits of productive teaching. Finally, a veteran teacher should show continued growth and, as expertise develops, the sharing of that expertise with colleagues, on campus and/or to others in the same discipline.
While most anyone would expect someone to grow and improve during their career, there is little published commentary on how to document this in concrete terms, or to evaluate it--especially in terms of teaching. For example, what should one expect in a teaching portfolio of a candidate for tenure versus a new faculty member or a seasoned veteran? What follows is a thus a sketch to structure thinking and to initiate discussion.
The factor of professional development, in particular, poses special problems for establishing uniform standards for assessing teaching portfolios: how should one accommodate the different stages of professional growth among different individuals? Also, to what degree should one assess an individual relative to previous performance? The stage of one's career forms a context for evaluating one's achievement as presented in a portfolio.
Crudely, experience matters (or should matter). For clarity, I will refer to teaching capital. By teaching capital I mean (by simple analogy) the reservoir or repertoire of intellectual resources and skills that can support or guide productive teaching. Teaching capital is a way to conceive teaching experience—but specifically experience that has prospective value in shaping future teaching. Teaching capital includes (but is not limited to) content knowledge, pedagogical strategies, familiarity with different learning styles, techniques for classroom management (e.g., leading team work, facilitating discussion), clarity of teaching philosophy, methods for student assessment, mentoring skills, etc. One way to characterize professional development, then, might be as an increase in teaching capital. One would thus expect a veteran teacher or senior faculty member to exhibit considerable teaching capital, while a beginning teacher might have very little. Tenure decisions might well be based on the promise of teaching as measured in accumulated teaching capital, rather than exclusively on past performance. Post-tenure review, simlarly, might focus on continued development or sharing of teaching capital, rather than on merely maintaining a certain level of teaching achievement. Thus, teaching portfolios might well focus on documenting teaching capital as much as teaching achievement.
Stage 1: Getting Started
If a teaching portfolio is mandated by circumstance, how does one make the project one's own, more personally fruitful? Teaching is a form of scholarship and it is creative--and documenting and sharing that work through a portfolio should be rewarding and self-affirming and equally creative. Remember that many people who start the process of building a portfolio somewhat blindly often find it more valuable for themselves than they originally imagined. Overall, you need to get your teaching down on paper--why and how you do it and how effective it is by the standards you set. Remember that teaming with a colleague may make it easier--and more intellectually rewarding.
First
Clarify, even if in crude terms, why you are embarking on this task, who your reader will be, and what you hope to communicate. Basically, remind yourself why you are doing this, and therefore what kind of portfolio you are creating. A little fuzzy here? Then sort through the description of teaching portfolios, their varied roles and benefits--and perhaps browse through a few sample portfolios, or talk with colleagues--as a way to spark your thinking.
Second
Reflect on why you teach, what you hope to accomplish with students, how you conceive teaching and how you organize your courses (to the extent that you do) to reach your aims. In no time, you will have drafted your Statement of Teaching Philosophy, the foundation of your portfolio. There are many possible exercises available to prompt and clarify your thoughts here. If appropriate, narrow your focus to one course; the rest can come later. This initial task is often the most valuable, as it allows you to recognize and highlight the worth in what you are doing and to clarify your personal goals. Teachers often enjoy rewriting and deepening their statements of philosophy as they mature through their teaching career.
Next
Take a deep breath. You now need to subject yourself to some serious self-evaluation. To what degree are you reaching your goals? How effective are you? Sound slightly scary? Fear of exposing weaknesses is typical. Press onwards. Be honest with yourself and be authentic to your goals.
Enlist the support of your students and your peers. Get the information from them that will help you know if you are doing a good job--and that will allow you to document your achievement. The simplest forms are:
- compose a probative course evaluation (both
- semester-end, as a summary, and
- mid-term, as a formative tool)
- invite a peer to visit and comment on your class
Perhaps you already have some of this information saved in a file. If not, you should probably open a file for collecting evidence as it appears. Thinking through your philosophy and the evidence you need may help you become more sensitive to recognizing and holding onto bits of relevant information, and even to finding opportunities for collecting information. Scan the possibilities of forms of evidence to help keep your mind open here.
Finally
Sit down with all this information and process it. What does it mean to you? What information can you add from your own perpsective? How does this information help you reshape your short-term objectives, guide a revision in your teaching methods, or inspire you to search for new strategies? Interpret the data and synthesize it (as you would for any form of scholarly activity) and present it coherently in your written portfolio. Congratulations, you now have a document ready to share with others.
Looking Ahead...
Begin to think about ways to develop your teaching and to document your growth and improvement (see Professional Development).
To summarize, the "Getting Started" map is:
| Teaching Philosophy |
|
interpret & summarize |
Stage 2: Developing an Emerging Portfolio
Once secure in having a simple teaching portfolio to submit for evaluation, your next task is more subtle. You want to collect evidence that is deeper and more robust (from various independent sources)--and more personally informative. In addition, you want to build a habit of reflecting on and improving your teaching--and to document your ability to develop professionally and to grow. For example, now is the time to begin experimenting a bit, building on what works. This is also the stage to consider videotaping your class and analyzing it with someone who has some experience to help you notice things and consider how to amplify your strengths and to explore alternatives where weaknesses appear.
Robustness of Evidence
Any scholar knows the importance of a diversity of independent evidence. Consider, then, the various forms of evidence that might reflect on your teaching -- from pre-/post-test measures to letters from students and peer review of syllabi. How might you best profile your strengths or style as a teacher? Look beyond student evaluations and peer visitation to get feedback and to document your teaching achievements.
Depth of Evidence
Review again the various forms of evidence and consider where more detailed, specific or systematic information would be helpful. Are there trends in your student evaluations across several semesters? Have you addressed specific weaknesses revealed by previous assessments? Have you initiated regular dialogue with your peers? Etc.
Evidence of Professional Development
Consider that a central dimension of a good teacher is an effort to become a better teacher. Professional development is key to long-term success and personal reward. Maybe develop a partnership with another teacher for discussing teaching strategies and problems, enhanced by mutual familiarity.
Teaching Philosophy & Methodology Reconsidered
Wading through all this information may well elicit new thoughts regarding the aims and methods of teaching. The portfolio is a living document, and you should take the opportunity to update these sections. With further work, you may also be better able to articulate the relationship between your general philosophy and specific practices--add that, too.
To summarize, the "Developing an Emerging Portfolio" map is:
| teaching philosophy & methodology <=======> || as seen in specific practices |
|
learn, explore, experiment, and develop new strategies |
Stage 3: Preparing for Tenure Review
Okay, so the tenure system is going the way of the dinosaur... Imagine, nonetheless, that you're ready to really complete a full and satisfying portrait of your teaching-- one that will so persuade someone both of your past achievements and your future potential that they will be eager to offer you a lifetime contract to continue teaching. What an exciting opportunity! What do you need to do?
Professional Reflection
- Articulate how your goals are commensurate with the university mission.
- Does your teaching philosophy reflect professional depth and dialogue among teachers?
- Do your teaching methodologies--and practice--indicate consideration of current scholarship on teaching?
- Show how your practice reflect your aims.
- How do you fit in to the institution's teaching community? (Define your role!) Demonstrate that you now have a well-developed and cohesive teaching philosophy and complementary teaching methodology -- something that someone might recognize and appreciate perhaps as a distinctive teaching style.
Evidence from Students
- Add solicited & unsolicited letters.
- Summarize and consolidate course evaluations.
Evidence from Peers
- Add peer review of course material, successive revisions.
- Consider external review by someone in your field.
Other Forms of Evidence
- Record achievements of students that can be traced to your influence.
- Analyze productivity, as well as effectiveness.
Professional Development
- Document experimentation, exploration and their sequelae.
- Show evidence of accepting and addressing criticism.
- In particular, address comments on your teaching, as reviewed in earlier versions of your portfolio.
Overall: Present consistency in achievement and/or improvement and in effort at professional development, growth or improvement.
To summarize, the "Preparing for Tenure Review" map is:
| Teaching philosophy & methodology w/ inst. mission | ...as a standard for addressing... |
|
Stage 4: Beyond Tenure
So, your professional status is secure. And your teaching is fine by many standards. What's next? Personal growth certainly doesn't stop. In particular, as teachers become good teachers, then veteran good teachers, they are ready to share their expertise with others (see Hutchings, 1996). Professional development in education blurs into professional service.
Consider "archiving" effective teaching in specific course portfolios as a legacy for other teachers (Hutchings, 1996, Chap. 5). Be attentive to noting the kinds of details that guide teachers, not just the description of the course. Distill your best practice.
Consider ways to mentor other teachers, not just your research students. Collaborate with peers in course development. Adopt leadership positions.
Show that you are "keeping up with" developments in teaching and pedagogy and integrating them into your teaching. Follow through on long-term evaluation of students -- from outstanding to mediocre students.
Summary: Stages of Portfolio Development
| Stage #1 | Stage #2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | write | refine w/ practice |
| Feedback from Students | course evaluations | detailed analysis |
| Feedback from Peers | classroom visits | syllabi review & dialogue |
| Self | self-analysis | shaping goals |
| Other Feedback | ---- | collect products of teaching |
| Professional Developement | ---- | experimentation, workshops |
| General | assemble basics | robustness & depth of evidence; prof. development |
| Stage #3 | Stage #4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | articulate | share |
| Feedback from Students | habits of formative evaluation | long-term follow-up |
| Feedback from Peers | letters + | collaboration |
| Self | articulating style, synthesis w/ research & service | distillation of best practice |
| Other Feedback | analyze products of teaching | course portfolios |
| Professional Developement | habits of development | leadership, publications |
| General | patterns of behavior | sharing with junior peers |
Bibliography
John Zubizarreta. 1997. "Improving Teaching through Portfolio Revisions." Pp. 37-45 in P. Seldin (ed.), The Teaching Portfolio, 2d ed, Bolton MA: Anker Publishing.
Peter Seldin and John Zubizarreta. 1997. "Key Points in Revising a Portfolio." Pp. 255-63 in P. Seldin (ed.), The Teaching Portfolio, 2d ed, Bolton MA: Anker Publishing.
Hutchings, Pat. 1996. Making Teaching Community Property. Washington DC: AAHE. -- See esp. Chap. 3 on "Mentoring."