A teaching portfolio is one method for an instructor to do self-evaluation of her/his teaching. Portfolios have been used for a variety of formative (to improve teaching and learning) and/or summative (e.g., to select award recipients, as evidence in annual evaluation) assessment purposes. Most often, a teaching portfolio includes two major sections: the narrative and the appendix. These are often included in a three-ring binder of some sort.
The narrative is written by the instructor and is about 6 to 8 pages in length, usually divided into subsections. This is an opportunity for the individual to reflect on her/his teaching and to share key beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes related to his/her teaching. Most narratives contain a teaching philosophy statement, a summary of recent teaching responsibilities, and commentary on various teaching materials (for a particular course or examples across a range of courses). In addition, narratives contain sections unique to the individual (e.g., if he/she works significantly with students outside of class, there might be a section on that; if he/she engages in the scholarship of teaching, there might be a summary of that, etc.). Generally, the reader of the portfolio should also be able to "see" how key aspects of one's teaching philosophy are expressed in the teaching activities and materials in later parts of the narrative and in the appendix.
The second major part of a portfolio is the appendix. Items in the appendix are matched to and document what is discussed and claimed in the narrative. These items could include, for example, syllabi, tests, handouts, course web page URL, evidence of student outcomes, evidence of involvement with students out-of-class, copies of articles written with students, videotape of a teaching demonstration, summaries of student evaluations, evidence of faculty development activities related to teaching, examples of honors and awards related to teaching, thank you letters from students or colleagues related to teaching activities, published articles on teaching, etc. Note, to include any student work in a teaching portfolio, the instructor should obtain permission from the student and should remove any identifying information.
Instructors should not only include examples of materials and artifacts in their portfolios, but also demonstrate purposefully, in the narrative and appendix, the effectiveness of their practices and activities. The emphasis in the portfolio should be on quality, not simply quantity, of materials and ideas.
Instructors at Illinois State University are encouraged to check out books on teaching portfolios (e.g., by Peter Seldin and others) available in the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology (CTLT) resource center (107 ITDC), to discuss their portfolios with CTLT staff, to look at materials on portfolios, to attend portfolio workshops sponsored by CTLT, and to have colleagues who have already completed a teaching portfolio provide feedback on portfolio drafts.
