Sharing Success Stories

Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Through Teaching Portfolios

The scholarship of teaching and learning involves being reflective about our own teaching (Shulman, 2000), and building a teaching portfolio can be a first step in engaging in that scholarship. Teaching portfolios are a collection of materials that represent our instructional practices, a place where we can showcase our best work and provide "samples of teaching performance" (Edgerton, et al., 1991, p. 4). An essential ingredient in constructing a teaching portfolio is providing reflections on the materials included in the portfolio. This type of reflection not only helps us better understand our pedagogical choices but also engages us in the scholarship of teaching and learning through critical examination of those choices to improve instruction and, ideally, to increase student learning.

Teaching portfolios come in many shapes and sizes, and ultimately you should choose a format that best represents your practice. For example, some teachers choose web-based or other electronic formats for displaying their work while others prefer a print-based approach. Some of the more common materials teachers collect and then reflect upon in a teaching portfolio include syllabi, lesson plans, teaching evaluations, course evaluations, student work, videos of classroom instruction, and transcripts of online instruction. Generally, teaching portfolios include a statement of teaching philosophy that helps tie together the contents, and this philosophy is a good place to start if you are interested in building your own portfolio (Montell, 2003). Concisely articulating your own philosophy of teaching will help you choose appropriate examples to include in your portfolio that demonstrate how you put this philosophy into practice.

If you would like to begin constructing your own teaching portfolio, we recommend starting with the following reflective questions:

• What common goals do you have for all of your courses?
• What experiences, practices, pedagogies, and/or theories inform your classroom teaching?
• What syllabi, lesson plans, and/or activities demonstrate these beliefs about good teaching?
• How do you know when you have succeeded with a lesson or a particular student? How has that past success informed your following/future teaching practices?

To continue building your portfolio, consider taking a look at the sources listed in the reference list below. In addition, you might turn to the World Wide Web; many instructors in a variety of disciplines have constructed web-based teaching portfolios that provide examples of their participation in the scholarship of teaching and learning. By constructing your teaching portfolio you join a large group of critically engaged teachers who demonstrate their excellence in teaching by reflecting on, sharing, and revising their teaching practices.

References

Susan K. Miller, Ph.D., and Shelley Rodrigo, MCC

Maricopa Institute for Learning (MIL)
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mil