1. Academic Portfolios University of Wisconsin
Sarina Schrager, MD,MS
University of Wisconsin
Department of Family Medicine

2. What is an academic portfolio?
Collection of materials that describe your academic work
Different than a CV—includes some reflection and evaluation
Not just publications and presentations

3. 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.
USC

4. 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
USC

5. A Document that Evolves Over Time
Remember: The portfolio is a living collection of documents and materials which change over time
New 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.
USC

6. 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)
Concentrates on reflective analysis, action planning, and assessment of student learning.
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
USC

7. What is in an educator’s portfolio?
Philosophy of Education - Personal theory of learning and teaching
Curriculum Development/Instructional Materials - Design, development and evaluation of curricula/programs
Teaching Skills - Documentation of teaching by target audience, year and topic

8. What is in a portfolio (cont.)?
Assessment of Learner Performance - Construction and implementation of examinations/methods of assessment
Adviser - Lists of formal and informal advisees
Educational Administration - Leadership and management in education

9. Portfolios (cont)
Educational Scholarship - Leadership and management in education
Continuing Education - Evidence of growing knowledge and skills as an educator
Honors and Awards - Recognition by peers and students
Long Term Goals - Reflection on portfolio and future plans

10. How to get started Clarify teaching responsibilities.
Select items for the Portfolio.
Prepare statements on each item
Arrange the items in order.
Compile the supporting data.
Incorporate the Portfolio into the curriculum vitae.
Physical presentation considerations.

11. When should you start your portfolio?
On day one of your job
Should be a “work-in-progress”
Can use as a storage space
Should evaluate yearly

12. Philosophy of education/clinical work
Articles
Personal experiences
Fiction, quotes
Spend some time thinking about why you are in academic medicine vs. private practice
Can evolve over time

13. Curriculum Development/Instructional Materials
Copies of talks (include student groups, CME, community, etc)
Curriculum—paper, online
Handouts
Manuals

14. Teaching skills Resident/student evaluations Lecture evaluations
Teaching awards
Direct feedback from students and residents
CME evaluations

15. Assessment of learner performance
Test questions
Related to curriculum development
Pre and post tests

16. Advisor
Medical student
Resident
Colleague
PA/NP/Nurse

17. Educational/clinical administration
Course director
Rotation coordinator
Med school or residency committees
Make notes while you are on committee (frequency of meetings, outcomes, etc.)

18. Educational/clinical scholarship
All research goes here—grants, student projects, papers
All innovative curriculum/lectures/new models, etc. should be evaluated.
Study what you do (and document it here)

19. Continuing education Conference brochures
Specific talks or workshops that directly relate to your area(s) of interest/expertise
Listservs, journals

20. Honors and awards
Include a description of the award

21. Long term goals Re-evaluate annually Work-in-progress
Sort of like a professional development journal

22. How to get started? Accordion file
Web-based accounts (i.e. file all lecture evals, feedback from students, residents)
Make 10 electronic folders with the same headings as the paper ones

23. Examples
(UCSF—website has specific examples of how to document material for portfolio)
(University of Texas at Austin- a handbook of “Preparing a teaching portfolio”