In light of the disruption to classes caused by COVID-19, instructors may choose whether or not to have their course evaluation results from the Winter 2020 term included in their teaching portfolio for purposes of reappointment and tenure. For more details about Winter 2020 course evaluations, go to https://mcgill.ca/mercury.
Official McGill guidelines
Guidelines for developing a teaching portfolio are located officially under Regulations Relating to the Employment of Tenure-Track and Tenured Academic Staff, Appendix A, page 20 (Version française).
Guiding questions for portfolio development
Teaching approach
- How do you teach?
- What strategies do you use? Can you give an example?
- How do you assess learning? Can you give an example?
- Why do you teach the way you do?
- How is research and the process of inquiry integrated in your teaching?
- What is good teaching?
- How do your actions as a teacher reflect your beliefs about teaching and learning?
- What are your short-term and long-term goals with respect to your development as a teacher?
- Do you have a letter from a student or student comments in your evaluations that support your approach? If so, use a short quote in your approach and refer the reader to the appendix for the complete letter/set of comments.
Teaching responsibilities
- What courses have you taught so far? (dates, level, enrolment, format, your role)
- What was your role in these courses? (e.g., instructor, course coordinator) What did that role involve?
- Have you developed any new courses? Why? What was your approach to the development process?
- Have you supervised students—undergraduate or graduate—and/or post docs?
Teaching effectiveness
- When you look at your course evaluation results over time, do you see any trends or outliers? If so, how do you explain them?
- How has student feedback influenced your teaching? Have there been any student comments that have been particularly thought-provoking or helpful to you?
- Are you planning to make any changes to your teaching based on your experience so far?
- Have you made changes to existing courses? What was your rationale?
- Have the students/post docs you supervised been successful? (e.g., completed their degrees within the expected timeframe, won awards/grants, got post docs/tenure track positions/jobs in the industry)
Teaching development and educational leadership (if applicable)
- Have you attended workshops, talks, conference presentations on the topic of teaching and learning? Were you able to integrate any of the things you learned into your teaching? How?
- Have you participated in learning communities or committees? Have you (co-)facilitated teaching-related workshops or seminars? Why did you choose to participate? How did it influence your teaching?
- Have you mentored, formally or informally, any graduate students, postdocs, or junior colleagues about teaching?
- Have you been mentored, either formally or informally, about teaching?
- Have you done any research on teaching and learning?
You can also access the guiding questions as a PDF here.
Portfolio samples
Click here to access samples (login required) from McGill professors who successfully applied for tenure or reappointment and kindly agreed to share their teaching portfolios with the McGill community. We encourage you to look at multiple samples across disciplines and use them as models for your own teaching portfolio, be it for reappointment, tenure application or promotion.
You may also consult printed samples of teaching portfolios in-person at TLS. To make an appointment to view these samples, tls [at] mcgill.ca (email us) or call 514-398-6648.
Resources
These resources relate to the creation of teaching portfolios, strategies for sharing evidence of teaching, approaches to sharing teaching portfolios in electronic format, and McGill-specific resources.
You can also view sample tables for reporting Course Evaluation results and Faculty means reports.
Creating teaching portfolios: Best guides for graduates
- Teaching Portfolios (web page) (University of Saskatchewan) Contains useful guidelines, steps, examples, and links for putting together a teaching portfolio. Retrieved November 9, 2022 from http://teaching.usask.ca/teaching-support/teaching-portfolios.php
Presenting evidence of teaching effectiveness
- Developing A Teaching Portfolio (web page) by C. Weston and J. Timmermans. Article explains how to reflect excellence in teaching standards through careful construction of the teaching portfolio. (2007) University Affairs. Retrieved September 26, 2013 from www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/career-advice-article/developing-a-teaching-profile/.
- Guidelines for Teaching Portfolios Covers Reflective statements, Statement of teaching responsibilities and Statement of teaching goals for the future. Also features descriptions and examples of supporting documents that could be included. Retrieved September 28, 2013 from https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/resources/teachingportfolios/.
- Reframing Portfolio Evidence (pdf) by C. E. Shepherd and M. J. Hannafin. Provides a framework for selection, organization, and examination. Attempts to bridge previous literature limitations by relying on flexible foci, validated methods, data-driven decisions, and documentation of problem solving processes for purposes of professional development. (2013). Journal of Thought. Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://journalofthought.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/08shepherd_hannafin.pdf
- How to Develop a Professional Portfolio: A Manual for Teachers (book) by D. M. Campbell et al. An ideal resource for novice teachers, this complete guide offers an explicit and detailed “how-to” style manual for those looking to document their teaching experience in a clear and professional manner. (2004). McGill call # LB2838 H56 2004: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/title/how-to-develop-a-professional-portfolio-a-manual-for-teachers/oclc/51558943&referer=brief_results.
- Teaching portfolio (web page) A comprehensive guide from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. This offers step-by-step instruction for developing and compiling the components of a teaching portfolio. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/teaching-portfolio.
- Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) (web page) A free (but commercial) online tool enables instructors to examine and summarize their thoughts with respect to teaching. This may be helpful when beginning to craft a "teaching philosophy" statement. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from http://www.teachingperspectives.com/tpi/.
Electronic portfolios
- Teaching Portfolios (web page) A comprehensive resource that includes teaching portfolio samples from varied fields and information about electronic teaching portfolios. Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching. Retrieved September 25, 2013 from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-portfolios/.
- The digital teaching portfolio handbook: a how-to guide for educators (book) by C. R. Kilbane and N. B. Milman. Useful for enhancing professional growth and creating a dynamic record of professional achievement that can include items such as curricular units, writing samples, photographs, videos, and other artifacts of teaching and learning. (2002). McGill call # LB1029 P67 K52 2003: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/title/digital-teaching-portfolio-handbook-a-how-to-guide-for-educators/oclc/49844288&referer=brief_results
Feedback on your portfolio
Are you developing a teaching portfolio for reappointment, tenure, or promotion at McGill? Would you like support in developing it or would you like feedback on a draft? Let TLS help! Contact us for a consultation.