Developing your Dossier and Self- Reflective Statement Greg Pillar William S. Lee Professor & Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Chemistry

What are the goals of this workshop? Introduce academic portfolios as a tool to improve teaching (student learning), develop scholarship and document professional growth. Professional and Personal Development Tenure and promotion reviews Discuss the benefits and challenges of creating, maintaining and using teaching portfolios Establish a foundation for future discussions and workshops on academic portfolios.

Portfolios for Self-Evaluation Seldin, 2004 Types of Portfolios The Learning Portfolio (students) The Course Portfolio (instructors) The Academic Portfolio (instructors) Types of Portfolios The Learning Portfolio (students) The Course Portfolio (instructors) The Academic Portfolio (instructors) A collection of materials that document teaching performance, scholarship & service. Experience Effectiveness Accomplishments

What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain Portfolios should “encourage teachers to think about teaching as a serious intellectual act, a kind of scholarship, a creation; he or she should then develop a case, complete with evidence, exploring the intellectual (and perhaps artistic) meaning and qualities of that teaching (169). Portfolios for Self-Evaluation Bain, 2004

Seldin, 2004

Important Points and Tips An Academic (Teaching) Portfolio: is an extension of your teaching philosophy is most effective when used/created in collaboration with others representative vs exhaustive belongs to the individual faculty member is a living document that is revisited and revised often

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials 2_Faculty_Evaluations 3_Teaching_Effectiveness 4_Scholarship 5_Service 6_Other *Information provided is from the Guidelines for Portfolios for Faculty Review located on the Academic Affairs folder of my.Queens.edu dated March 25, 2015 and viewed on March 22, 2016

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials Letter of Application (cover letter, summarize major items) Table of Contents (guides reviewers) Current Curriculum Vitae (must include anything in the dossier) 2_Faculty_Evaluations 3_Teaching_Effectiveness 4_Scholarship 5_Service 6_Other

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials 2_Faculty_Evaluations All Annual Self-Evaluations All Annual Chair’s Evaluations All Dean’s Evaluations All Mid-Term Review Evaluations (Chair, Personnel Committee, Dean) 3_Teaching_Effectiveness 4_Scholarship 5_Service 6_Other

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials 2_Faculty_Evaluations 3_Teaching_Effectiveness A_Philosophy B_Classes C_Online/Technology 4_Scholarship 5_Service 6_Other *Information provided is from the Guidelines for Portfolios for Faculty Review located on the Academic Affairs folder of my.Queens.edu dated March 25, 2015 and viewed on March 22, 2016 D_Class_Visits E_Student_Evals F_Supporting_Docs

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials 2_Faculty_Evaluations 3_Teaching_Effectiveness 4_Scholarship (refer to your department/college scholarship statement) Candidates professional development plan Participation in professional workshops, seminars, professional conferences Conference presentations Scholarly publications and/or creative work External Grants applied and/or received Service to professional organizations and institutions Other evidence 5_Service 6_Other

What do I include in my Dossier*? 1_Introductory Materials 2_Faculty_Evaluations 3_Teaching_Effectiveness 4_Scholarship 5_Service Documentation of service to students, department/program, school/college, the university, or the external community. 6_Other Any other information you wish to include to help document how you have met the requirements for tenure or promotion. *Information provided is from the Guidelines for Portfolios for Faculty Review located on the Academic Affairs folder of my.Queens.edu dated March 25, 2015 and viewed on March 22, 2016

Practice makes perfect Top Olympic athletes practice around 25,000 hours to reach their peak performance.

Teaching Philosophy Statement (Sub-folder A) A written one or two page reflection Anchors the portfolio and provides framework for the evidence to follow Reflects disciplines uniqueness & growth since being hired Resources and Examples Teaching Philosophy Statement (Cornell University) Teaching Philosophy Statement Writing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement (Ohio State University) Sample Teaching Philosophies (University of Central Florida) Teaching Statements (Vanderbilt University) Teaching Statements Writing Your Teaching Philosophy (Texas Tech) Writing Your Teaching Philosophy Quick, 2008

Classes (Sub-folder B) & Online/Technology (Sub-folder C) Description of Teaching Responsibilities / Courses Taught Avoid lists and long paragraphs Consider including: Type of course (introductory, capstone, required, etc.) Course goals (what do you want students to learn) Type of students in the course (majors, non-majors) Your role in course (if team taught) Instructional Format Semesters taught Quick, 2008

Classes (Sub-folder B) & Online/Technology (Sub-folder C) Sample Teaching Materials (connect to philosophy/theme) Syllabi (representative, others can go in the appendix/other) Lesson plans Rubrics Study guides Tests Assignments Unique Materials Technology

Ex. 7 Classes (Sub-folder B) & Online/Technology (Sub-folder C) Evidence of Student Learning / Teaching Effectiveness* Student work (in class, creative work, project /field reports) Exams (standardized) Quizzes Student laboratory workbooks/logs Evidence of effective supervision of honors or graduate thesis Record of students who select and succeed in advance courses with same professor Shore et. al., 1986

Class Visits (Sub-folder D) & Supporting Docs (Sub-folder F) Plan in advance! Solicit observations and letters In addition to your chair and dean consider inviting other faculty and/or professionals to observe CAFÉ (formal observation system in the works) Using technology (iPads, Swivl) Solicit letters of support from your colleagues, former & current students, pertinent peers outside of the university, community leaders

Student Evaluations (Sub-folder E) Summarized student evaluations Provide context and meaning, do not just throw in your evaluations

What are the benefits of the Academic Portfolio? Why would I, a very busy faculty member, take the time to create a academic portfolio? Capture the complexity of teaching (development over time) Places responsibility for evaluation in the hands of the faculty Encourages improvement and reflection (processes and products) Support tenure and promotion reviews Provides evidence of teaching accomplishments Help formulate/define “good teaching” Kaplan, 1998

Tips for starting your portfolio Where do we go from here? Start small, search resources and sample materials Revisit your teaching philosophy Collect materials that could be included in your portfolio Prepare narrative statements about each piece of supporting material Organize materials Share/collaborate with fellow faculty

Important Points and Tips An Academic (Teaching) Dossier: is an extension of your teaching philosophy is most effective when used/created in collaboration with others representative vs exhaustive belongs to the individual faculty member is a living document that is revisited and revised often

Bibliography: Teaching Portfolios Kaplan, M. (1998). The Teaching Portfolio. CRLT Occasional Paper No. 11, 1-8 Seldin, P. (2004). The Teaching Portfolio. Bolton, MA. Anker, 2004 Shore, B., S. Foster, C. Knapper, G. Nadeau, N. Neill, and V.Sim., (1986). The Teaching Dossier: A Guide to Its Preparation and Use., pp , Canadian Association of University Teachers, Ottawa, Ontario Quick, P. (2008). Creating a Teaching Portfolio. PowerPoint presentation. University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 21 Apr 2008 Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Harvard University Press