HOWARD COMMUNITY

COLLEGE

 

 

 

Teaching Portfolio Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Overview

 

 

 

An integral part of the mission of all community colleges from their beginnings in the late 1800s has been to "provide the first and second year college students with the best instructors".[1]  At Howard Community College, we strive to provide the highest quality instruction for our students, and a dynamic, innovative learning community is our top strategic priority. Towards that vision, we require new faculty to examine their own teaching practices with an eye towards continuous improvement.

This portfolio is intended to be a description of your professional accomplishments at Howard Community College. It is hoped that the items contained in your portfolio will provide the reader with  a sense of who you are as an instructor. By providing samples of your teaching experiences at HCC as evidence, you will convey your abilities, strengths, styles, achievements and beliefs.

 

As we approach the point where you may be issued a continuing faculty contract, we ask you to reflect upon your first two and a half years. To accomplish this goal you should collect items from the previous years ,such as the following, to be used in your portfolio.

1.      Your IDEA reports from your first two years as a full-time instructor

2.      Grade Distribution Reports (available from your chairperson)

3.      Observation reports from your supervisor and any other class visitors, such as your mentor , students

 

4.      Peer partnership materials

5.      Your MAPs from your first three years as a full-time instructor

6.      Syllabi, handouts, lecture notes, special classroom presentations, instructional innovations, etc.

 

7.      Publications, workshop presentations, honors received

8.      Statement of your teaching philosophy and personal goals for the next few years

9.      Professional development material

10.  Special activities related to  teaching and learning

 

In an effort to guide you through the creation of your portfolio, we have chosen some general sections to be included. You may choose any means of presentation to provide evidence of accomplishment in the areas specified.  Some suggestions for presentation include a report, journal entries kept throughout the period, notebook format, video, PowerPoint/Flash presentation etc.

 

Timetable
(If the date falls on a weekend or a holiday, the next “business day” will take precedence.)

 

March 1                                   The Teaching Assessment Project is due to your Division Chair.  Chairs attach their comments to your booklet and forward it to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

March 1                                   The rest of the MAPs requirements, usually due in April, are due since this is a promotion year for you.

June 15                                    The Notification of Intent to issue a continuing contract, additional Probationary contract, or no contract.

 

Please remember:

Ø      No extensions are permitted for the March 1 due date.


Data Collection and Reflection

The following sections should be included in your portfolio. The items you choose to use to provide evidence in these areas is your choice although we do provide suggestions which you may follow!

 

Keep in mind that the evidence you provide should support your philosophies and beliefs in teaching and learning. Point out how the items used reflect your beliefs and theories.

 

A. Philosophy- theories of learning; express your individual values; what is your role as an instructor; describe your role; give us your personal “mission statement

 

B. Responsibilities-  roles-include courses taught, types of students encountered (majors, non majors, special needs, level of readiness, etc.); mentoring; advising; coordinatorship; committee work; etc.

 

C. Teaching methods/ strategies- how you teach your courses; strategies used; describe how you work with students (in class, during office hours, on “off duty” times, in lab situations, etc.); provide syllabi or other course materials; use of outside resources; innovative classroom techniques; how methods have changed to reflect your interpretation of your philosophy.

 

D. Evaluations- feedback- evidence of student learning; student ratings, chair/peer evaluations, awards received, letters received; honors received, classroom research, samples of student work along with instructor feedback; student journals/testimonials; success rates; percentage of students who returned to take another class taught by you;  etc.

 

E. Professional Development-  efforts to improve; conferences/workshops attended; training; curricular revisions; innovations attempted and their effectiveness; projects; describe steps taken to enhance teaching skills/knowledge; teacher development activities; contributions to journals; publications; off campus activities; helping others with their teaching; etc.

 


F.  Goals/reflection- long and short term goals; intentions and aspirations; reflect on student/peer relationships you encountered; alternate teaching methods; motivation of students; developing rapport

 

We want this portfolio to be formatted in a way which reflects your personal style and that is why it is not a highly structured document. It should present selected information on teaching activities which support your beliefs thereby provide evidence as to who you are as an instructor.

The following resources have been used in creating this project. Feel free to visit them for additional information regarding creating teaching portfolios. They are tremendously helpful!

 

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching- Penn State

http://www.psu.edu/celt/portfolio.html 

 

Deliberations on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberations/portfolios/ICED_workshop/seldin_book.html

 

University of Saskatchewan- Eileen Herteis

http://www.usask.ca/tlc/teaching_portfolios/what_is_a_portfolio.html

University of Texas at Austin

http://www.utexas.edu/academic/cte/teachfolio.html

 

University of Texas at El Paso

 http://www.utep.edu/cetal/portfoli/intro.htm

 

The Teaching Portfolio: Capturing the Scholarship in Teaching; Edgerton, Russell, Hutchings and Quinlan

 

Recasting the Teaching Portfolio; The Teaching Professor, Dec, 1997

 

The Teaching Portfolio- A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions; Peter Seldin, 1997



[1] Thomas Diener, Growth of an American Invention, New York: Greenwood Press, 1986, p87