The University of Kansas Libraries

Teaching Portfolio Instructions
AY 2005-2006

[Deadline for Use in Application for the Mary McCorison Rosenbloom Teaching Award: April 15, 2006]

A teaching portfolio is:

an evidence-based written document in which a faculty member strategically organizes concise, selective details of current teaching accomplishment and uses such information for documentation of performance but more significantly for reflective analysis and peer collaboration leading to improvement of teaching and student learning (Seldin, et al., 1999, 164).

The University of Kansas (KU) Libraries Teaching Portfolio documents the instructional activities and professional development activities related to teaching of individual members of the faculty and staff of the KU Libraries.

While the teaching portfolio may include information or documentation also presented as part of the Faculty and Staff Annual Review (FASAR) process, it is not itself used or required for annual review purposes. Compilation of a teaching portfolio is a voluntary process that may be completed on an annual basis in order to:

• engage in reflective self-evaluation of one's contribution to the instructional service mission of the KU Libraries;
• demonstrate evidence of instructional effectiveness as part of the FASAR process or as part of the promotion and tenure process; and/or
• meet the requirements for nomination for the Mary McCorison Rosenbloom Teaching Award.

Some of the information required to complete the teaching portfolio may be drawn from the documentation provided as part of the FASAR process. In some cases, the FASAR may include less information than required for the portfolio; in others, the FASAR may include information not relevant to the portfolio. FASAR materials may be used in order to reduce duplication of effort, but the level of information provided should be adjusted as needed to meet the guidelines for compiling the teaching portfolio.

I Narrative Statement

The narrative statement provides an opportunity for you to reflect critically on your approach to fostering information and technology literacy at the University of Kansas through your teaching. The narrative statement should include an articulation of your teaching philosophy, a description of your teaching responsibilities, and your identification of the most significant projects related to teaching with which you were involved during the period under review.

The description of teaching responsibilities should include a complete listing of:

1. classes offered as part of course-integrated instruction (include course number);
2. classes offered as part of workshop series sponsored by the KU Libraries or another unit within Information Services;
3. classes offered as part of programs sponsored by partner programs, e.g., Center for Teaching Excellence, Instructional Development & Support, New Student Orientation, Career Services, and;
4. classes offered as part of a credit-bearing course for which you were an instructor of record (include course number).

The description of teaching responsibilities may also include a discussion of any library-wide instructional design responsibilities, or responsibilities for the development of instructional materials designed for use by others in the KU Libraries or by members of partner programs. The narrative statement is the appropriate place for discussion of your contributions to the instructional environment of the KU Libraries and/or the University of Kansas, as outlined in the KU Libraries "Guidelines for Assessment of Instructional Performance."

II Teaching Methods, Strategies, and Objectives

The section on teaching methods, strategies, and objectives provides you with an opportunity to discuss how you have applied your teaching philosophy in practice and to articulate specific methods that you have used to facilitate learning in the field of information and technology literacy. This section might include discussion of experiments with strategies such as active or collaborative learning, applications of technology in teaching, etc. This section might also be used to enumerate specific learning objectives that you designed for use in your classes and strategies for assessment of learning.

III Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness

In compiling evidence of teaching effectiveness for this section of the teaching portfolio, you should present both participant evaluations and peer evaluations of your teaching. Please refer to the KU Libraries "Guidelines for Assessment of Instructional Performance" for suggestions related to evaluation of teaching effectiveness. Individuals compiling a teaching portfolio are encouraged to participate in the KU Libraries Peer Review of Teaching program as a means of collecting evidence of teaching effectiveness. Evidence of teaching effectiveness in venues outside the KU Libraries that provide a service to the profession (e.g., evaluation of a pre-conference or workshop program presented under the aegis of a professional association) may also be included in this section.

IV Collaborative Relationships with Teaching Faculty and Campus Partners

Narrative description of your relationships with faculty, academic departments, or other partner programs on campus or in the community as they relate to information and technology literacy instruction. This may include (but is not limited to) describing projects through which you have introduced information and technology literacy instruction or assessment into another instructor's course or program, ongoing support that you provide for courses in one or more academic departments or for a co-curricular or community-based educational program.

V Involvement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

List in this section any professional or scholarly presentations made or publications produced during the period under review related to teaching or information and technology literacy instruction. Research projects currently in progress may also be noted in this section with notation of anticipated date of completion. After each item listed, please indicate the type of presentation or publication completed or proposed, e.g.: [peer reviewed journal article] or [invited presentation].

VI Professional Development Related to Teaching

In this section, provide a list of professional development activities in which you have engaged to improve your work as a teacher. These may include (but are not limited to): attendance at instructional improvement programs sponsored by the KU Libraries, the Center for Teaching Excellence, or another KU office or department; attendance at workshops or conferences related to instruction sponsored by professional or scholarly associations; and independent research and/or reading in the field of field of teaching and learning.

VII Goals for the Coming Year

Instructional improvement is an ongoing process and your goals for your work as a teacher should be re-evaluated each year. This section provides an opportunity for you to identify your personal goals for your teaching in the coming year, and may include teaching-related projects you wish to pursue (including research on teaching and learning), or areas related to your teaching about which you would like to learn more through professional development.

VIII Appendix

Attach selected supporting materials related to the work described in preceding sections. These may include (but are not limited to): course syllabi; handouts and assignments prepared for class use; screen shots of instructional Web sites; summaries of evaluations of teaching not already presented elsewhere in the portfolio; notes of thanks and/or testimonials from students or faculty related to teaching for which you were responsible.

Additional Resources

• Center for Effective Teaching and Learning. University of Texas at El Paso. (n.d.). Teaching portfolios. Retrieved October 17, 2005, from http://sunconference.utep.edu/CETaL/resources/portfolios/
• Goodyear, G. E., & Allchin, D. (n.d.). Statements of teaching philosophy. Retrieved October 17, 2005, from http://sunconference.utep.edu/CETaL/resources/stofteach.html
• Peer review at KU Libraries. (2005). Retrieved October 17, 2005, from http://www.lib.ku.edu/instruction/lib/peerreview/
• Seldin, P. (2004). The teaching portfolio: A practical guide to improved performance and promotion/tenure decisions (3^rd ed.). Bolton, MA: Anker.
• Seldin, P., and Associates. (1999). Changing practices in evaluating teaching: A practical guide to improved faculty performance and promotion/tenure decisions. Bolton, MA: Anker.
• Tuttle, J. P. (2001). Bringing the "invisible" into focus: Teaching portfolios for the instruction librarian. In J. K. Nims & A. Andrew (eds.), Library user education in the new millennium: Blending tradition, trends, and innovation: Papers presented at the twenty- seventh national LOEX Library Instruction Conference held in Houston, Texas, 11 to 13 March 1999 (pp. 141-149).

These guidelines have been adapted with permission from the "Teaching Portfolio Instructions" developed by The Ohio State University Libraries' Instruction and Outreach Committee.