The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions, 2nd ed.

This book examines the teaching portfolio approach to evaluating classroom performance of college instructors. It notes that an estimated 1,000 colleges and universities in the United States are now using or experimenting with portfolios, and that this approach, called a "teaching dossier" has been in use in Canada for 20 years. Key issues, warnings, and benchmarks for success of the portfolio approach are identified. The book distinguishes between the composition and use of portfolios for personnel decisions and for teaching improvement. A detailed plan for institutional implementation is given and there is discussion of how different institutions use portfolios with lists of possible portfolio items. A detailed guide for faculty use in compiling and updating portfolios includes annotations and descriptions of each component. There is a discussion of the use and presentation of electronically augmented teaching portfolios, including the advantages and disadvantages of this format which may include electronic mail, animations, simulations, or videoclips using various media including sources from the Internet and media such as CD ROM. Discussion of the personal use of a portfolio to gain feedback shows how it can be used to improve individual teaching performance. Included are 23 actual teaching portfolios from various disciplines at 14 institutions. (From the Publisher)