|
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIOS
The idea of Professional Portfolios or Teaching Portfolios, has been a mainstream practice in higher education for more than a decade. It is an idea whose time has come here at Rollins. As an institution, we are experiencing greater pressure and greater interest in evaluating faculty more completely and more fairly. Moreover, we want the development of faculty to be an ongoing and positive experience, largely directed by the individual faculty member. The Professional Standards Committee is currently reviewing our faculty evaluation process, including Post Tenure Review, and the entire institution is gearing up for a SACS review in a couple of years. In order to provide the best education for our students and satisfy all our constituents, we need to institute a more comprehensive and on-going faculty development and evaluation system. A key component of this comprehensive plan is the Professional Portfolio. As you know, the current evaluation system requires a "portfolio", "notebook", or "file" to be presented at the mid-course review, the tenure review, and the review for full professor. Typically, this is assembled under a great deal of pressure 3-4 months before the actual review. What is suggested here, is that we start this process in the first semester of teaching with an on-going and "on-growing" professional plan and philosophy of teaching statement. In other words, an emphasis on the reflective and intentional process that ensures professional growth and readiness for review. The major author and researcher on the use of professional portfolios in higher education is Peter Seldin of Pace University. He is a much sought after speaker and has written at least six books on the subject. He spoke at a lunch on our campus in January of 2002. John Zubizarreta, from Columbia College (SC), who is a protégé of Seldin’s, spoke on our campus in March of 2002 and has also written much about portfolios. Both authors emphasize the importance of the collaborative process. A mentoring relationship is the ideal place for this collaboration. Since the practice is a new one on this campus, it would have great benefits for all involved. Perhaps the hardest but most rewarding part of keeping a portfolio is the writing of the reflective statements such as your Philosophy of Teaching, your professional goals, new strategies you want to try and self-assessment. It is understood that you would change your ideas as you grow as a teacher. At Rollins, you are expected to “make a case” for your promotion through a narrative at the beginning of the portfolio. This narrative should include your Teaching Philosophy, as well as how you integrate your scholarship, teaching, and service to the community. This is not a time to be shy about your good qualities, which distinguish you from others. If there are problems noted in your student evaluations, those should be addressed. Finally, it is suggested that you get some ideas and perhaps a review of your portfolio from a mentor in or out of your department or from the Director of the Institute for Effective Teaching. The narrative should be about 10 – 12 pages. Behind this, under separate tabs, you can provide evidence of your good work and the statements you make in the narrative. Peter Seldin offered the following Typical Table of Contents in The Teaching Portfolio (1997): (S. Chadwick Blossey made additions concerning Scholarship and Service) Table of Contents
John Zubizarreta (also from The Teaching Portfolio) suggests the additional items (partial list) for possible inclusion in your portfolio. (additions by S. Chadwick Blossey) MATERIAL FROM ONESELF Participation in programs and workshops on sharpening instructional skills. Description of curricular revisions Instructional innovations and assessment of their effectiveness Description of steps taken to evaluate and improve one’s teaching including changes resulting from self-evaluation, time spent reading journals on improving teaching Participation in campus events, organizations, planning and faculty governance MATERIALS FROM OTHERS Statements from colleagues who have observed one’s classes or reviewed class materials Honors or other recognitions from colleagues Documents of teaching development activity Statements of alumni on the quality of instruction PRODUCTS OF TEACHING/STUDENT LEARNING Student scores on pre-post-course examinations Examples of graded student essays along with the professor’s comments on why they were so graded A record of students who succeeded in advanced study in the field Student publications or conference presentations Letters from students stating their effect on career choice, success, etc. Syllabi for linked courses or team teaching OTHER ITEMS SOMETIMES INCLUDED Evidence of help given to colleagues leading to improvement in their teaching or scholarship A videotape of a typical class discussion Invitations to present a paper or write an article Description of how computers, films or other non-print materials are used in teaching Description of service learning projects, field trips, etc. not related to courses.
|