EDL 585: Lesson 11 Leadership Strand

At UIS, students enrolled in the education programs will complete a portfolio by the end of their program. In this lesson, you will become acquainted with the stages associated with the portfolio process so you will understand the importance of collecting and reflecting on your work throughout the program.

Overview & Objectives

Portfolios are a popular tool for students and professors alike. Individuals in each group can use a portfolio to document efforts, demonstrate learning, and showcase achievements over a sustained period of time. This lesson introduces you to using portfolios to document teaching. The objectives of this lesson are to:

Definitions

There are two widely quoted definitions of a teaching portfolio. Peter Seldin (1997) wrote an excellent book to help those in higher education showcase their teaching. He defines a teaching portfolio as "“a factual description of a professor’s teaching strengths and accomplishments. It includes documents and materials which collectively suggest the scope and quality of a professor’s teaching performance” (p. 2).

Lee Shulman is professor emeritus at Stanford University and the President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Shulman is widely recognized for his work on improving teaching. He has defined a teaching portfolio as “the structured documentary history of a set of coached or mentored acts of teaching, substantiated by samples of student [work], and fully realized only through reflective writing, deliberation, and conversation” (p. 37).

As you proceed through this lesson, you will notice a greater emphasis on Shulman's definition. Obviously, his definition was carefully crafted, with attention to each word chosen. We'll be focusing on some of the key words and ideas in his definition to help you develop a portfolio that tells your academic story. For example:

Structured - Your portfolio should be organized in a way that most convincingly showcases your work. You will likely have a narrative with sections on teaching, scholarship/research, professional development, service, and perhaps career planning.
Documentary - Your portfolio will document your work.
History - Portfolio documents are collected over a sustained period of time and reflect what you have actually accomplished.
Coached or mentored - Throughout the Professoriate Program, you will work with a number of professors who have chosen to become involved in mentoring you as you develop your academic credentials.
Acts of teaching - Teaching is much more than showing up for class. Throughout the Professoriate Program, you will learn more about teaching excellence and your portfolio will you help document your actions to achieve teaching excellence.
Substantiated by samples of student work - As you craft your portfolio, you should develop the habit of offering evidence for the claims you assert. Student work serves as excellent evidence to document teaching excellence.
Reflective writing - The finest teachers examine their work to determine what needs to be improved and what has worked well. Reflective writing captures these thoughts for use in the future and demonstrates you have the habit of mind to improve your craft.
Deliberation - The best portfolios reflect the author's careful and thoughtful consideration in artifact selection and artifact presentation. This scrutiny also effects the portfolio author's instructional decision-making.
Conversation - Collegial conversations about teaching, learning, and the representation of each surround the portfolio process.