Why a Teaching Portfolio?

Goals of a Teaching Portfolio

A teaching portfolio, or dossier as it’s often called, is a summary of major teaching accomplishments. Like an artist or architect’s portfolio, it provides a description of best practices and an opportunity to showcase your achievements as a teacher. There are two types of teaching portfolios: cumulative and presentation. A cumulative teaching portfolio is a comprehensive record of all teaching activities that is assembled over the course of a teacher’s career. For this project, you will be compiling a presentation portfolio, which is shorter and, as the name suggests, is used to highlight your teaching activities for a specific purpose.

A teaching portfolio also differs from a CV in two important ways. First, a CV very often provides a list of publications and conference presentations, but it does not illuminate the context and significance of this information. A teaching portfolio, on the other hand, makes explicit the teaching context and informs the reader about the meaning and importance of evidence it contains. This points to the second difference between the CV and the teaching portfolio: Where the CV highlights research and publications, the teaching portfolio is a personal, reflective document that takes the shape of a narrative. The teacher’s beliefs and assumptions, goals and intentions are the main focus in a teaching portfolio.

It was Canadian university teachers who originally developed the teaching portfolio as a tool that allowed them to take some control over the teaching evaluation process. It goes a long way to answering demands for greater accountability in the teaching profession. It can provide a valuable way of documenting your teaching that goes beyond student ratings. The documented evidence of teaching effectiveness that a teaching portfolio provides gives a complete picture of the specifics and contexts of your teaching. Thus, a thorough, well-written and organized teaching portfolio can speak eloquently on a teacher’s behalf during a teaching evaluation or in the review process.

Most importantly, for the individual teacher, creating a teaching portfolio can serve as a process for self-development, a tool to foster reflection on teaching, and an aid in curriculum planning. “Portfolios posses a special power to involve faculty members in reflecting on their own classroom practice and how to improve it.” (Seldin, 2004, p. 18) Thus, it is the very process of creating and collecting the materials that comprise the portfolio that can inspire teachers to think about personal teaching activities, to review their priorities, and to reconsider their teaching strategies.

Writing a Portfolio

A teaching portfolio is a dynamic artefact that changes and grows in step with a teacher’s experiences, career, and professional development. Over time, a portfolio should not get bigger; it should only get better.

It’s also important to establish a work plan for writing your portfolio. Here are some things you may want to consider:

Think about the final presentation. Will you write a paper or an electronic portfolio?
The work plan will extend throughout the semester until your portfolio is reasonably complete
Look at your calendar and think about (and block) when you will work on this project.
Arrange to work, if you want to, with a portfolio partner.

Before you begin assembling your portfolio, start with a basic outline to help organize your ideas and supporting documentation. The headings listed below provide some possibilities that you can include in your portfolio. You can change the headings and) Think of your own sub-headings to suit your particular context.

The following are standard elements in a teaching portfolio at George Brown College:

A Brief Biographical Overview: This would include a few sentences to summarize who you are and your responsibilities at the college so that the information you provide can be placed in a broader context. A current resume can provide this information.
Statement of Teaching Philosophy: This is a key component of the teaching portfolio and should be about one to two pages long. Your statement of teaching philosophy (STP) will likely change as you get more experience and delve more deeply into reflection on the practice of teaching. Its characteristics are described at length in its own section below.
Positionality Statement: A positionality statement can be included in your teaching portfolio as part of your STP or as a separate, stand-alone document. It outlines a teacher’s social, cultural, and personal identities, and how these factors influence their teaching practices and perspectives.
Summary of Teaching and Related Responsibilities: List all courses taught over the past three semesters, as well as ancillary activities such as coordinating and committee responsibilities. Use this section to describe instructional settings (on-line, lecture, labs, etc.), level of courses (i.e. first, second, third semester), and numbers of students you’ve taught. Curriculum and course development and teaching innovations would also fit here as well as a description of your instructional techniques (e.g. lectures, observations, laboratories, demonstrations, use of technology, group work). You can also refer to volunteer activity and committee work you’ve done in the College.
Statements Documenting Teaching Effectiveness: Next to the statement of teaching philosophy, this is probably the most important component of a teaching portfolio. Here, you would include the following items as separate documents: descriptions of student learning and success; a summary of recent student feedback questionnaires; and a one-page reflection on your strengths, possible areas for improvement, and other key insights. More will be said about this component in its own sections below.
Professional Development Activities (Teaching): This would include any steps you have taken to evaluate and improve your teaching, such as attending staff development workshops, or conferences and presentations on teaching and learning. (You can contact the Organization and Staff Development office to obtain a record of all the workshops and activities you’ve registered and attended.)
Appendices: These are the actual documents that verify statements or claims related to teaching effectiveness, evaluations, and responsibilities. Actual student evaluations, grading rubrics, and course outlines, for example, would be placed here.

“Dual Professionalism”

Your portfolio should also demonstrate the fact that you are a “dual professional”: a teacher with expertise in a particular industry or field. This section describes what you have done recently (i.e. the past two years or so) to keep current in your respective industry.

Throughout your portfolio and self-reflection, try to show a connection between what you teach, the needs of and practices in industry or community, and how this benefits student learning about and preparation for the world of work. So, think about including the following items if they apply:

any documentation of new degrees or credentials;
a list of publications and completed research;
activities you’ve engaged in to maintain or enhance your industry, professional or subject area currency;

Using Generative AI

Think about experimenting with Generative AI when writing your teaching portfolios because it can streamline the process, enhance clarity, and help articulate their teaching philosophy more effectively. AI tools can assist in structuring narratives, refining language, and generating ideas that you might not have considered. By leveraging AI, you can focus on reflecting deeply on your pedagogy while ensuring your portfolio is well-organized and polished. Of course, it’s important to maintain authenticity by personalizing AI-generated content to align with your unique experiences and values. Experimentation with AI can allow you to balance efficiency with meaningful self-reflection. It might even give you an added perspective onto your teaching and your approach.

A Collaborative Process

It may be helpful to adopt a collaborative approach when writing your teaching portfolio. You can work on your portfolio with another faculty who’s inside or outside your department. It’s important to think about what qualities you would look for in a portfolio partner or mentor. During the studio sessions, you might find someone who you think would make a suitable portfolio partner and with whom you can share your ideas and insights.

Here are some general suggestions about how you can help each other prepare a teaching portfolio:

Discuss the roles you will play and the approaches with which you feel comfortable.
Jointly explore portfolio options;
Agree upon a timeline for the first draft(s) and for future meetings.
Suggest making two copies
Carefully study the first draft, taking notes and highlighting items related to (a) how your partner teaches or completes other responsibilities; and (b) why your partner does what s/he does
Offer concrete constructive feedback, helping your partner to identify and focus on strategies and accomplishments
Draw suggestions from your partner and offer your own recommendations about content, support, and overall organization

You may also want to have three outside readers. They can be 1) someone in the same discipline or field; 2) someone in an unrelated discipline or field; or 3) someone in the community who is not an educator by profession.

Finally, celebrate the final version with your partner.

Additional Readings

De Rijdt, C., Tiquet, E., Dochy, F., Devolder, M. (2006). Teaching portfolios in higher education and their effects: an explorative study. Teaching and teacher education. 22. 1084-1093.
Knapper, C., & Wilcox, S. (2007). Preparing the teaching dossier. Kingston, ON: Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University.
Ouellet, M. L. (2007). Your teaching portfolio: strategies for initiating and documenting growth and development. Journal of management education. 31 (3), 421-433.
Seldin, P. (2004). The teaching portfolio: a practical guide to improved performance and promotion/tenure decisions, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Anker Publishing Company.
“How to Write a Positionality Statement: A Step-by-Step Guide.” The Neuron.

Why a Teaching Portfolio?