Creating a Teaching Dossier

1. Creating a Teaching Dossier Shea Wang, Ph.D Interim Faculty Evaluation Coordinator 780-633-3591 April 2014

2. Faculty Evaluation at MacEwan Five elements to evaluation: • Teaching dossier • Peer review • Annual report • Online student feedback • Stakeholder review (ASAC)

3. Principles of Policy C5065 Evaluation is guided by the philosophy that we: • promote a culture of teaching & learning • foster professional development & scholarly activity • promote fairness & transparency • benefit faculty members through timely & accurate feedback • comply with Collective Agreement • undertake as a process involving multiple stakeholders & a variety of assessment approaches

4. What is a Teaching Dossier? Policy C5065: • “A teaching dossier is a concise, evidence-based record of teaching activities and other academic accomplishments prepared by a faculty member.”

5. What information does it contain? • It documents achievement and reflection through the following information: • Teaching Philosophy • Teaching Responsibilities • Non-instructional Responsibilities • Service (to MacEwan & profession) • Professional Development • Scholarly Activity • Appendix of Documented Evidence (CV, reviews & reports; assignments; achievements, communication)

6. Why do we need a dossier? Titling What do you need to demonstrate? E.g., Titling for AEPS • curricular development, course design and delivery, student advising, and appropriate use of technology • leadership • documented evidence of research, scholarly activity and creative achievements http://www.macewan.ca/wcm/ExecutiveandGovernance/AcademicGovernanceCouncil/AcademicTitling/index.htm

7. Why do we need a dossier? Probationary -> Continuing What do you need to demonstrate? E.g., BCOM probationary faculty • Contributions to course, curriculum, & program development; committees • Reflections & actions on student feedback, peer & administrative reviews • Research/scholarly activity • PD (ISW is required)

8. What else can we use it for? • Help when applying for employment • Keeps teaching/professional accomplishments organized • Vehicle for presenting information about teaching activities • Could be presented to institutional & legislative bodies or for consideration of awards • Understand & reflect on teaching skills & weaknesses • Plan for future teaching practice • Promote yourself through personal websites

9. Writing a Teaching Dossier FIVE STEPS: • Step 1: Develop an outline • Step 2: Write a statement of teaching philosophy • Step 3: Clarify your teaching responsibilities • Step 4: Reflect on your future teaching goals • Step 5: Select and compile your best evidence

10. Step 1: Develop an Outline • Teaching Philosophy and Goals • Teaching Responsibilities • Course Development • Service (a list accompanied by sufficient details) • Research • Appendices See handout for example of tables of contents

11. Step 2: Activity Break into small groups and discuss the following sentences: • I most enjoyed teaching when __________ • I knew I had a problem when __________ • What do you think this says about your teaching and learning environment? • What is your teaching philosophy? See handout for information on teaching perspectives

12. Step 2: Philosophy Statements • Most are brief ~ less than 1 page • Use language appropriate for the audience • Use a first-person voice • Use reflection to create a vivid description of your teaching & learning ideas • Personalize (insightful, interesting, & lively)

13. Step 2: Review Statements • Review the teaching philosophy statement on your table (choose1 example) • Roll the “Teaching Cube” and discuss the teaching philosophy based on that facet • Can you apply this question to your own teaching philosophy? See handout for examples on teaching philosophy

14. Step 3: Responsibilities Consider: • Workload • Courses taught with student numbers/levels/credit hours • Details of other academic activity: seminars, research supervision, coaching, advising… • Student supervision • Resource materials development • Did you or any of your students get an award as a result of your teaching?

15. Step 4: Goals short-term (1 year) & long-term (2-5 years) goals • Efforts at improving teaching, learning, service… • Formal courses • Conferences • Participation in peer consultation/review • How will you be changing your performance… • New technology? • Lecture -> case study?

16. Step 4: Goals Teaching goals other considerations… • How do your courses contribute to students' achievements in and outside of MacEwan? • How do you nurture students in a setting where grades can be the key motivation to learn? • How do you help students to learn and master knowledge in their field? (teaching methods/tools)? • What steps do you take to encourage higher level learning (such as critical thinking, problem-solving, etc.)? • What is engaged learning and how do you use it in the classroom and in assignments? • How do you evaluate these goals (manageable & realistic) ?

17. Step 5: Appendices • Curriculum Vitae • Bibliography • Service contributions • Awards • Information from student/stakeholder feedback • Information from peer reviews • Information from administrators • More…

18. Dossier as a Tool for Personnel Decisions • For personnel decisions, faculty members need to gather and present hard evidence and specific data about teaching effectiveness. This involves demonstrating student learning through instruction. • The burden falls to the faculty member to provide a carefully organized case that establishes the connections with the evidence.

19. Personnel Decisions: Activity Policy 5065: 4.2.2 Faculty members are evaluated on performance pertaining to academic responsibilities which can include: - instruction - research, scholarly activity, artistic engagement • service In small groups, discuss what specific criteria you think is used to assess a teaching/professional portfolio and ways you can demonstrate it…

20. What are Reviewers Looking For? • Clear statement of responsibilities • Purposes and goals consistent with department and institution • Evidence-based success in teaching as demonstrated by student learning • Comments from peer reviewers and colleagues • Student ratings and comments See handout for example of reflection on student feedback survey

21. Evaluating Your Dossier Questions to ask: • Is real evidence of accomplishment presented, not just a reflective statement? • Is the reflective statement consistent with the syllabi, student evaluations, and peer feedback? • Does the dossier present evidence that the student’s actually learned in the instructor's course(s)? • Have efforts been made by the faculty member to assess and improve their teaching? See handout for guide to evaluating teaching dossiers & organizational matrix

22. Online Portfolios • Many faculty are now compiling online portfolios: • http://home.gwu.edu/~nmilman/service/index.html • http://ageducation.org/portfolio/index.html • http://kinzie.edschool.virginia.edu/ • http://academic.macewan.ca/katod/instructional-philosophy (PhyEd) • http://academic.macewan.ca/pollardc4/test-page/ (Health and Community Studies)

23. Resources https://facultycommons.macewan.ca/services/faceval • Teaching Dossier – examples, instructions, resources • Student surveys – incl. instructions on accessing reports • Faculty Evaluation Policies [C5065] • Chair & Faculty Evaluation Handbooks • Events, speakers, workshops & past presentations

24. Final Tips… Consider • readers - busy administrators • purpose - build a story how you’ve improved/how you deserve the title • at least 12-15 hours • collecting materials throughout the semester • permission to include students’ work • description, reflection, and connection • having someone read your material – my job!!!