Introduction to Academic Portfolios

DANIELLE MIHRAM, DIRECTORCENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN

TEACHINGOFFICE OF THE PROVOSTUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA

Overview

Fundamental features of academic portfolios Four basic processes for the creation of an

academic portfolio Example: The “Teaching Portfolio” as part of

your academic portfolio Advantages of an academic portfolio Interactive electronic portfolios: A new medium

for academic portfolios Bibliography: Electronic portfolios.

Two Approaches to Portfolio Creation

Portfolios for Self-Evaluation & Development:

• The Learning Portfolio (students)• The Course Portfolio (instructors)• The Teaching Portfolio (instructors)• The Academic Portfolio (faculty)

The Professional Portfolio (The “job market”)

Fundamental Feature of the Academic Portfolio Created for Self-Evaluation

A fundamental feature of the (self-evaluative) academic portfolio is the intentional focus on learning and assessment: • the deliberate and systematic attention not only to teaching and

research skills, but also • to a faculty’s self-reflective, meta-cognitive appraisal of how, and

more importantly, why learning, teaching, and research are being perfected.

What is Meta-cognition? Awareness of a learner’s own thought processes

• Conscious of self-awareness• Knowledge and understanding of one’s intellectual approaches

and strategies used in learning and teaching

Awareness of how other learners’ approaches may differ

Level of insight that allows learners to give themselves feedback = Dialogic reflection

Hughes, H. Woodrow Dialogic Reflection: A New Face on an Old Pedagogyhttp://gsep.pepperdine.edu/~whughes/Journaling.html

MacLellan, Effie (1999). “Reflective Commentaries: What do they say about learning?” Educational Action Research, Volume 7(3): 433-449. [pdf on CET web]

Metacognition: Implications

A highly personal process Involves reflective judgment and informed choices

Focuses on the uniqueness of each individual

Fosters individual’s ownership of his or her own learning and career development

Benefits of Dialogic Reflection

Increased understanding of• How you learn and what are your learning outcomes• What you have (and have not ) learned• What do you value?• Role in learning how to articulate in writing one’s thoughts and

ideas• How others view your work

Enhanced ability to make connections• Among courses taught and in the context of teaching “without

boundaries”• Among research experiences and research collaborations

Increased sense of learning over time

Sample Reflections

When one basic goal is improvement over time, consider:• Documentation of steps (analogous to keeping a log

for lab research)• Commentaries (as for solutions to math problems)• Evolution of a course, of a speech, or of a paper• “History” of a piece of artwork

Johnson, Bil (1996), The Performance Assessment Handbook, Vol. 1. Princeton: Eye on Education.

Four Basic Processes for the Creation of an Academic Portfolio

Collection A relatively short collection of materials that summarizes and highlights an individual’s activities as a teacher and researcher.

Selection Why are you creating the portfolio? Who is reading it, and why?

Reflection Thinking critically about your total learning, teaching, and research experiences

Connections Making personally meaningful connections between

• Your teaching, • Your field of research, its body of knowledge, and its applications• Your service and community experiences

Goals of an Academic Portfolio

Demonstrate breadth of learning, teaching, and research

Range of achievements. Collecting and connecting your various accomplishments; a creative representation of your work and of you

Evaluate achievement of intended outcomes

Opportunity to showcase your accomplishments. Your best work

Reflect, assess own educational experience

Representative pieces; written reflections. To make connections between where you were, where you are, and where you want to be

Illustrate the learning process

Multiple drafts -- a process. To document teaching and research as it evolved over time.

Share one’s expertise Legacy of best practices in both teaching and research.

Example: The “Teaching Portfolio” as Part of your Academic Portfolio

Why a Teaching Portfolio?

To serve as supporting materials (documented evidence, specific data) of one’s effectiveness as a teacher

To document one’s teaching as it evolved over time

To obtain feedback and to share one’s expertise (mentoring, legacy of best practices)

Seven Steps for the Creation of a Teaching Portfolio

1. Summarize teaching responsibilities Courses taught, whether they are graduate or

undergraduate, required or elective; Teaching-related activities (e.g., serving as faculty

advisor to student organizations, advising individual graduate or undergraduate students).

2. Describe your approach to teaching Reflective statement about teaching, strategies,

methodologies and objectives [“Teaching Philosophy Statement”].

• The most effective reflective statements provide detailed examples of classroom practices which show how the faculty’s teaching methods fit his or her aims and the context of the course.

Seven Steps for the Creation of a Teaching Portfolio (Cont.)

3. Select items for the portfolio Items which are most applicable to the professor’s

teaching responsibilities and approach to teaching; Choice of items should also reflect the professor’s

personal preferences, style of teaching, academic discipline, and particular courses.

4. Prepare statements on each item Statements on activities, initiatives, and

accomplishments on each item• Do the syllabi of courses coalesce around a specific theme

about your teaching? have you participated in programs, colloquia, or seminars designed to improve teaching? Do you have a variety of measures of your teaching effectiveness? Back-up documentation and appendices are referenced as appropriate.

Seven Steps for the Creation of a Teaching Portfolio (Cont.)

5. Arrange the items in order The sequence of the accomplishments in each area is

determined by their intended use (e.g., to demonstrate teaching improvement: entries that reflect that goal should be stressed -- such as participation in seminars and workshops designed to enhance classroom performance).

6. Compile the supporting data Evidence supporting all items mentioned in the portfolio:

e.g., original student evaluation of teaching, samples of student work, invitations to contribute articles on teaching in one’s discipline, colleagues’ evaluations.

• Such evidence is not part of the portfolio but is back-up material placed in the appendix or made available upon request.

Seven Steps for the Creation of a Teaching Portfolio (Cont.)

7. Incorporate the portfolio into the curriculum vitaeAlthough the portfolio may stand as a separate

document [e.g., assembled in a three-ring binder], a professor may choose to insert it into his/her curriculum vitae under the heading of “teaching”.

• The intent is to provide a formal record of teaching accomplishments so they can be accorded their proper weight along with other aspects of a professor’s role.

Contents of an Academic Portfolio: TeachingFaculty Member's Name Department/College Institution Date Table of Contents for Teaching Section

1. Teaching Responsibilities

2. Statement of Teaching Philosophy

3. Teaching Methods, Strategies, Objectives

4. Student Ratings on Summative Questions

5. Colleague Evaluations From Those Who Have Observed Classroom Teaching or Reviewed Teaching Materials

6. Statement by the Department Chair Assessing the Professor's Teaching Contribution

7. Detailed, Representative Course Syllabi

8. Products of Teaching (Evidence of Student Learning)

9. Teaching Awards and Recognition

10. Teaching Goals: Short- Term and Long-Term

11. Appendices

Contents of an Academic Portfolio: Research

Table of Contents for Research Section

1. Research Statement

2. Research Methods, Strategies, Objectives

3. Students accomplishments in research lab

4. Significant outcomes of collaborative or inter-disciplinary research

5. Research awards and recognition

6. Research Goals: Short- Term and Long-Term

7. Appendices

A Document that Evolves Over Time

Remember: The portfolio is a living collection of documents and materials which change over timeNew items are added, others are dropped.Once each year, when the research and service

section of the curriculum vitae are updated, the same is done for the portfolio’s teaching and research sections.

Features of Portfolio Formats

Limitations of Physical Portfolios (paper or CD) • Logistic challenges (space and time).

Advantages of Electronic Portfolios• Information in multi-media (text, graphics, animation,

sound,video)• Hypertext environment: e.g., menus, hyperlinks,

searchable information• Non-linear thinking; “deep” organization• Asynchronous access for others (for feedback and

collaboration)

Advantages of an Academic Portfolio The Section on Teaching

• Provides the stimulus and structure for self-reflection about areas of teaching (including those needing improvement)

o Concentrates on reflective analysis, action planning, and assessment of student learning.

o Provides evaluators with hard-to-ignore information on what a professor does in a classroom and why he/she does it.

The Section on Research• Provides the stimulus and structure for self-reflection about areas of

research that may lead to inter-disciplinary collaboration• Provides colleagues with the opportunity to contribute to the

portfolio’s creation through feedback and file exchanges Excerpts of Portfolio can be used in successful grant

applications

Used as credentials for those seeking academic positions

Interactive Electronic Portfolios: A New

Approach for Academic Portfolios

Barrett, Helen (Univ. of Alaska, Anchorage)• Using Technology to Support Alternative Assessment and

Electronic Portfolios• http://transition.alaska.edu/www/portfolios.html

• Create Your Own Electronic Portfolios• http://www.electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/iste2k.html

Martin Kimeldorf’s Portfolio Libraryhttp://amby.com/kimeldorf/portfolio/

Mable Kinzie (An informal approach to the academic portfolio)http://kinzie.edschool.virginia.edu/

Bibliography: Electronic Portfolios• Barrett, Helen C. (2004) . “Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep

Learning -- Emerging Digital Tools to Support Reflection in Learner-Centered Portfolios

http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/epstory.html

• Greenberg, Gary (2004). “The Digital Convergence: Extending the Portfolio Model,” Educause Review, July-August.

http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0441.asp

• Jafari, Ali (2004). “The "Sticky" ePortfolio System: Tackling Challenges and Identifying Attributes,” Educause Review July-August 2004.

http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0442.asp

• Love, Douglas, Gerry McKean, and Paul Gathercoal (2004). “Portfolios to Webfolios and Beyond: Levels of Maturation,” Educause Quarterly Vol. 27(2). 2004.

(Descriptions of developmental stages offer institutions guidance about their place in the process and how to move to the next level)

http://www.educause.edu/pub/eq/eqm04/eqm0423.asp

Bibliography: Electronic Portfolios (Cont.)

• Seldin, Peter (1997). The Teaching Portfolio. Bolton, MA: Anker.

• Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#567 Answers to Common Questions about the Teaching Portfolio.

http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/567.html

• Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#568 Electronic Learning Portfolios http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/568.html

• Zubizaretta John, (2004). The Learning Portfolio. Bolton, MA: Anker.