Тheme: The role of a teacher in the teaching process and Teachers’ portfolioand its structure The role of a teacher in the teaching process

Teachers’ portfolio and its structure


What Is a Teaching Portfolio?
A teaching portfolio (or dossier) is a coherent set of material that represents yourteaching practice as related to student learning. “Teaching practice” in its broadest senseextends beyond the obvious activities that go into teaching a course to include allactivities that enrich student learning. (Appendix A, Items That Might Be Included in aTeaching Portfolio, reflects this broad view of teaching.)
Teaching portfolios vary considerably depending on their specific purpose, audience,institutional context, and individual needs. However, the body of a portfolio is generallyabout 5-8 pages long and is followed by appendices, which usually make up about 8-15more pages. Your portfolio would likely include a summary of your teaching experienceand responsibilities, a reflective statement of your teaching philosophy and goals, a briefdiscussion of your teaching methods and strategies, as well as activities undertaken toimprove teaching, and a statement of goals and plans for the future. The appendiceswould consist of supplemental materials that further document or support the informationyou provide in the body of your portfolio.
A course portfolio, which focuses on a single course, has many features and benefitsin common with a teaching portfolio. Although we do not discuss course portfolios inthis handbook, much of the information here can be applied to developing one.
Why Prepare a Teaching Portfolio?
Teaching portfolios are typically used for two purposes, which sometimes overlap:(1) as a developmental process for reflecting on and improving one’s teaching; and (2) asan evaluative product for personnel decisions such as tenure, promotion, or a teachingaward. Whatever function they serve, teaching portfolios have several major benefits:
• They provide different sources of evidence of teaching performance. As teachers,we have often relied primarily on student evaluations for feedback about our