Portfolios

The University's performance review, promotion, and probationary systems require evidence of teaching performance from several sources - students, colleagues, the Heads of Schools, the staff member her/himself, and other sources as appropriate. In effect, staff should consider the preparation of a teaching portfolio to more fully document teaching achievements.

A portfolio is a collection of relevant information from a variety of sources that, when taken together, provides a comprehensive record of an individual's teaching performance. The contents should be both descriptive and evaluative, and include a statement of teaching philosophy and/or approach to teaching, along with evidence of outcomes achieved, significant innovations undertaken, teaching-related grants and awards, peer review, and teaching-related publications.

A teaching portfolio provides a useful focus for personal reflection and improvement as well as containing material that can be included in applications for promotion and probation. Although its contents will largely be dictated by the intended use, extensive literature identifies and suggests categories of information that can be included. Suddaby (1998) sets out the key attributes most portfolios share.

• A statement of personal philosophy and/or teaching goal.
• A professional appearance and well organised structure.
• Ease of accessibility for any user with clear indexing and referencing.
• Reflective commentaries that highlight the teaching and learning documented and link the parts together.
• Not more than ten pages of material, although additional appendices containing supporting data may be attached.
• Evidence of development over time which should be reflected in content structure and reflection.

You may also find the following links useful:

• Information on putting together a Teaching Portfolio from the University of Saskatchewan
• Preparing a Teaching Dossier from McMaster University