Developing an ePortfolio

Dr Nicola Pallitt

Teaching portfolio“It is a collection of materials that document teaching performance. The portfolio is to teaching what lists of publications, grants and honours are to research and

scholarship” (Seldin, 2004: 3).

Portfolio should be inward-looking (reflective) as well as forward-looking (progressive)

Aim is to record professional development and engage in reflective practice

2 purposes according to Mues & Sorcinelli (2000): A developmental process for reflecting on and improving

one’s teaching; An evaluative product for personnel decisions such as

tenure, promotion, or a teaching award. … so it is formative + summative

Preparing a teaching portfolio: What gets included? 1. Statement of Teaching Philosophy 2. Teaching Performance and Effectiveness 3. Planning and Preparation 4. Assessment and Examination of Student

Learning 5. Professional Development: Past, Present

and Future

Source (good questions & discussion that scaffolds writing about these aspects): http://www3.ul.ie/ctl/sites/default/files/Preparing%20your%20Teaching%20Portfolio%202012.pdf

ePortfolio

A cohesive, powerful, and well-designed collection of electronic documents that demonstrate skills, education, professional development, and the benefits to a selected audience.

Acts as a repository of multimedia artefacts/not only for personal record but also as a showcase for other teachers/potential future employers.

eflection Reflecting using affordances of digital media Artefacts for supported reflection – documents,

videos, photos (ethics?) Artefacts differ between teaching portfolio &

ePortfolio: some evidence you can’t use online? Student work, etc. Permission enough?

Reflection: “deliberate and mindful thinking about one’s experiences and the self-evaluation of feelings, decisions, understandings and actions, which may lead to development of professional learning for professional practice” (Hegarty 2011)

Some questions to consider when planning your ePortolio:

1)  What is your primary purpose in creating the portfolio?

2)  Who are your primary readers?

3)  What evidence will they expect to find?

4)  What types of evidence will be most convincing to those readers?

5)  Who will you ask for what information?

4 Guiding principles

Audience Teaching portfolio:

Hardcopy document for self, internal & external review, etc.

Inward-facing ePortfolio:

Public-facing, online and anyone can see it Particular audiences: students, fellow colleagues at

the same or other institutions, faculty ‘Stumble-upons’ – people who found your site by

accident, share your research interests … but your main audience is usually yourself in

the beginning. This is OKAY.

Exercise: Reflecting on purpose and audience What is your main purpose in creating this

portfolio? What basic argument about your teaching (and

research) will you make, and why? Who are the primary readers? What do you know

about their beliefs about good teaching and/research?

Are their beliefs consistent with your own? What types of evidence of teaching effectiveness

will be most convincing to these readers? What evidence will they expect to find?

Enter Social Media… More options available – linking,

embedding, etc. Link to your academic-related

Social Media profiles and vice-versa eg. link to Twitter, Academia.edu and LinkedIn on your WordPress blog (ePortfolio) and to your ePortfolio on your LinkedIn page

Maintain these channels and consider consistency of information