Self-reflection on teaching
Ask yourself: “What are my own perceptions of my teaching?”
It is key to engage systematic reflection on your own teaching. Some easy yet consistent strategies for keeping track of your teaching are to annotate assignments, tests and class plans on an ongoing basis. This will help you keep track of things to keep and/or eliminate when you teach the class again. End-of-term summaries also help you reflect on your teaching and provide excellent fodder for the development of new classes and or improved versions of the same class.
“Creating a teaching portfolio was a wonderful way for me to reflect on what courses I have taught, methods I have used, and importantly what did and did not work. This allowed me to think critically about how to change future classes for the better. It also reminded me how much I enjoy teaching!”
Sarah Giddings, Research Associate, Oceanography
Develop a teaching portfolio
Developing a teaching portfolio provides instructors with a powerful means to document their teaching practices, philosophies, and performances. A living document, the teaching portfolio serves to showcases accomplishments and documents professional goals. Teaching portfolios can also help you reflect on your teaching and examine the development of your teaching over time. Most commonly, the portfolio can be used to represent your teaching to others as you apply for jobs, grants, awards, or promotion and tenure.
Additional resources
UW resources
External links
- Writing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Ohio State University
- Handbook for Creating Course Portfolios (PDF), Engineering Learning Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Teaching Philosophy Statement Examples, University of Michigan
- The Teaching Portfolio (PDF), Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University
- Teaching Portfolios, Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, University of British Columbia
Bibliography
- Cambridge, B. (Ed.) (2001). Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning. Washington DC: American Association for Higher Education.
- Cerbin, W. (2001). “Course portfolios: to preserve and refine good teaching ideas.” The Teaching Professor 15(7).
- Felder, R. & Brent, R. (1996) “If you’ve got it, flaunt it: Uses and abuses of teaching portfolios,” Chemical Engineering Education, 30(3).
- Glassick, C. et al. (1997). Scholarship Assessed: Evaluation of the Professoriate. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Hutchings, P. (Ed.) (1998). The Course Portfolio: How Faculty Can Examine Their Teaching to Advance Practice and Improve Student Learning. Washington DC: American Association for Higher Education.
- Lambert, L. et al (Eds.) (1996). University teaching: A guide for graduate students. Bolton, Ma: Anker.
- Seldin, P. (1997). The Teaching Portfolio: A practical guide to improved performance and promotion/tenure decisions. 2nd ed.