Developing a Teaching Dossier

From Brock University Teaching Wiki

For both new and experienced faculty, developing a teaching dossier is essential to your professional development as an instructor in higher education. In addition to the practical aspect of maintaining a comprehensive account of your teaching career, a teaching dossier also allows you to reflect on your personal growth as a teacher and articulate a theory of practice.

[edit] What is a teaching dossier?

A teaching dossier is an on-going collection of evidence about:

1. teaching activities and their effectiveness (What do I do and how well do I do it?)
2. faculty development (How am I developing as an instructor?)
3. one’s theory of practice (Why do I do what I do?)

[edit] Why have one?

• teaching award nominations
• leave fellowships
• teaching development grants
• merit competitions
• job applications/transfers
• tenure and promotion submissions

[edit] What a dossier demonstrates:

• clear commitment to teaching
• accessibility to and rapport with students
• expertise in communicating the subject matter, appropriate use of techniques
• demonstrated innovation in teaching and willingness to take improvement risks
• objectivity and skill in handling tough teaching assignments/situations

(1) Evidence of teaching activities and their effectiveness can include:

• course outlines
• copies of assignments and tests
• records of graduate student supervision
• graduate student committees served on
• records of being an external examiner for theses and dissertations
• formative student evaluations
• responses to formative evaluations (what was changed)
• anecdotal student comments, letters, journals
• summative student evaluations
• commentary on summative student evaluations
• peer review or comment on course materials
• summaries of peer observations on teaching
• reviews from professional associations, employers, business

letters or comments from former students

• documentation of involvement in curriculum or program development

(2) Faculty development activities can include

• attending faculty development workshops
• participation in a peer consultation program
• attending or giving papers at a conference on teaching
• conducting action research on one’s teaching
• working normally with a colleague to implement innovative strategies
• introducing technological or other new ideas into a course
• serving on an instructional development committee
• applying for grants to introduce new ideas into a course or program
• serving on committees related to teaching
• subscribing to educational journals
• membership in associations such as STLHE (the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

(3) A statement of theory of practice can include responses to questions such as

• what are the goals of higher education?
• what are my goals as a teacher in higher education?
• what are my basic values and assumptions about teaching?
• how do I describe my role as an educator?
• how do I see the roles of students?
• what constraints and obstacles do I face as an educator?
• why do I do what I do?

The essay: Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement by Nancy Van Note Chism, Ohio State University provides a detailed look at preparing a statement of “theory of practice” or “philosophy of teaching” to be included in your teaching dossier.