Being wise about teaching portfolios: Exploring the barriers to their development and maintenance

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Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 27: Transforming Knowledge into Wisdom Holistic Approaches to Teaching and Learning

July, 2004, 359 pages
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ISBN
0 90 8557 58 2
Abstract 

The literature on teaching portfolios contains many comprehensive statements about their roles and uses, (for example, Seldin, 1997). The teaching portfolio is claimed to be an effective mechanism for encouraging reflective practice, as such it is recommended as a key element in tertiary teaching courses. It is also recommended as a mechanism for demonstrating effective teaching and as such is often required for quality assurance processes and for promotion and teaching awards. The rhetoric of academe thus presents the teaching portfolio as a multipurpose tool, but what is the associated reality? The purpose of this research was to investigate this reality. In particular we were interested in knowing what lecturers considered a teaching portfolio to be; whether they had developed a teaching portfolio and if they had a portfolio, how, when and why they maintained it. This paper reports the confusion staff had about portfolios, describes four different kinds of portfolios identified by staff, and raises some important issues about the different benefits of writing a teaching portfolio within a mentoring relationship and as an isolated activity in response to demands of accountability. It also juxtaposes the experience of writing an initial portfolio with that of updating an existing one. These findings provide insights that could inform policy and be used to develop appropriate support for lecturers in developing and maintaining their own teaching portfolio.

Keywords: Teaching portfolios; judging university teachers; reflective practice; academic staff development.