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Building an Effective Teaching/Interview Portfolio
Presented by Sarah Wilson
Sterling Park Elementary School Casselberry, FL
I. Why create a teaching portfolio?
Whether you are a 20-year veteran or just starting out, a portfolio should be a key component of your teaching tools. Portfolios are a nearly universal requirement for the hiring process, but if you already have a secure job you should view a portfolio as your insurance against unforeseen district shake-ups. Keeping one of these self-promotion tools up-to-date also can be a good exercise in self-evaluation. Think of a teaching portfolio as an expanded resume. A few personnel administrators will welcome a variety of formats, such as a box of notes, clippings, photos and objects. However the majority look for a standard 3-ring binder. Inside they will expect to find things that show a teacher's strengths, goals and achievements. This variety of items could include a resume, references, letters of recommendations, transcripts, education philosophy, classroom management theory, examples of lessons and photos of your classroom in action. It's not a scrapbook, but a representation of your teaching abilities. A Teaching Portfolio is a useful tool that can help you:
• develop, clarify, and reflect on your teaching philosophy, methods, and approaches
• present teaching credentials for hiring and promotion in an academic position
• document professional development in teaching • identify areas for improvement • prepare for the interview process
II. Tips for Organizing and Presenting Your Portfolio
Your teaching portfolio will not be effective if it is poorly organized, sloppy, or overly long. Here is a list of tools that can help you organize your portfolio in a way that will make it easy for the search committee to use your portfolio to evaluate your teaching effectiveness:
• Title page • Table of contents • Introduction or summary of portfolio contents • Tab-separated sections • Sheet protectors
Take care to present the portfolio in a neat and polished format. The point is not to dazzle the committee with an expensive and dramatic cover, but to take care to present the material in a professional way, with the goal of making it easy for the committee to read and refer to your teaching materials throughout the hiring process. Here are some presentational tips:
• Revise and edit all documents to correct mechanical errors and improve clarity. • Copy documents on high-quality paper. • Create a cover. • Consider adding a copyright symbol. • Make additional copies of resume if invited for an on-campus interview.
III. Major Components of a Teaching Portfolio
Use this list as a starting point for ideas for information and items to include in your portfolio: • Table of contents • Educational philosophy • Resume
o Including continuing education, special committee work and awards and special recognition
• Special trainings – certifications
• Evidence of Professional Development o Teaching workshops, seminars, publications, etc.
• Achievements o Grants, scholarships, honors, awards, and other recognition
• References and letters of recommendation
• Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness
o Internships evaluations, University Supervisor’s assessments, Supervising Teacher’s evaluations
• Classroom management theory
• Examples of lessons - units or projects
o Sample worksheets, games and tests o Examples of students' work
• Photos of your classroom in action to illustrate your lesson examples
o Photos that portray your students being actively engaged in hands-on learning with captions
IV. Links and Resources
Kaplan, Matthew. “The Teaching Portfolio.” The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. University of Michigan. http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/CRLT_no11.pdf.
“Assemble your Teaching Portfolio.” The Center for Teaching and Learning. The University of Texas at Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/academic/cte/teachfolio.html.
Rodriguez-Farrar, Hannelore B. Creating a Teaching Portfolio: A Handbook for Faculty, Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows. The Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. Brown University. 2008. http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/teaching/documents/T....
Seldin, Peter. The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc. 1991.
"Teaching Portfolios." Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt University. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/resources/teaching_resources/reflecting/portfolio.htm .
Vick, Julia Miller and Jennifer S. Furlong. The Academic Job Search Handbook. 4th ed. Philadelphia: U Pennsylvania P, 2008.
