The Experiences of Teaching Portfolio Preparation and Maintenance by Faculty

Abstract

Teaching portfolios have been used by faculty in postsecondary institutions for summative and formative evaluations since the early 1980s (Knapper, 1995). Despite their proliferation, there remains much to be learned about the use of teaching portfolios and whether they are perceived as being effective for formative and/or summative evaluations. To expand on our understanding of teaching portfolio use by faculty, the researcher used a generic qualitative study (Caelli, Ray, & Mill, 2003) to explore the process in which faculty prepare and maintain a teaching portfolio and the perceived effect that teaching portfolios have on summative and formative evaluations. A theoretical framework of self-directed learning (SDL) (Brookfield, 1985; Garrison, 1997; Hiemstra, 1994; Knowles, 1975) was used as a guide to explore teaching portfolios. The results of the study reveal that teaching portfolios are a SDL activity that are prepared in many ways, used for a variety of purposes, and are perceived by faculty as having varying degrees of effectiveness for summative and formative evaluations. Drawing from the results of this study, five main conclusions can be made: 1) faculty teaching portfolios are a SDL tool; 2) a wide range of support and resources are found to be valued by faculty when preparing a teaching portfolio; 3) teaching portfolios vary in content; 4) teaching portfolios are initially prepared for numerous reasons and are used for a variety of purposes; 5) the effectiveness of teaching portfolios as a summative and/or formative evaluation activity vary among faculty. There are a number of implications that can be drawn from these main conclusions. Firstly, as the process of preparing a teaching portfolio is a SDL activity, resources should be available for faculty who are preparing a teaching portfolio and clearly communicated to faculty. Secondly, study participants indicated a wide range of items they have used in their teaching portfolios. Faculty can use these items as a resource from which to choose the content of their teaching portfolio from. Likewise, this study has concluded that teaching portfolios are used for a wide range of purposes â information that faculty may find useful when deciding if preparing a teaching portfolio is a useful endeavour. Lastly, the effectiveness of a teaching portfolio as a summative and formative evaluation tool is mixed, indicating that caution must be used when using them for various forms of evaluation.