25 - Using teaching portfolios and course portfolios

Summary

Of course, before we know he is a saint, there will have to be miracles.

– Graham Greene

Professionals in fields such as art, photography, and architecture have long used portfolios to document and display their best work (Hutchings, 1998c, p. 13; Seldin, 2004, p. 3). Over the past fifteen years, portfolios have begun to be used more widely in higher education as tools for student, instructor, and institutional development. The portfolio can provide its audience with deeper and more meaningful evidence than simple description will normally allow, as on a résumé for example. In addition, the process of constructing the portfolio can lead to individual reflection and improvement.

This chapter describes teaching portfolios and course portfolios and provides guidance to individual instructors regarding their development and use. In addition to the individual benefits, teaching and course portfolios respond to calls for business schools and business instructors to take teaching more seriously and to develop the “teacher” role as fully as the “researcher” role (e.g., Frost and Fukami, 1997).

Teaching portfolios

A teaching portfolio is a collection of materials that document an individual's teaching performance, generally over a period of several years (Seldin, 2004, p. 3). It includes work samples and reflective commentary to reveal what was done and the thinking behind the teaching (Braskamp and Ory, 1994, p. 229). It is not an exhaustive compilation of all the documents and materials relevant to an individual's teaching performance; rather it presents thoughtfully chosen information on teaching activities along with “indisputable evidence” of their effectiveness (Seldin, 2004, p. 3).