Guidelines for portfolio preparation

o The reviewers of the portfolio are looking to examine the following

o Your portfolio needs to show why you are the best person for the modules that you
teach.
o Do you have a teaching philosophy and is it practiced. The lecturer will be assessed
on whether or not they are designing the learning process. (hand out article on
designing learning)
o Are you aware if your teaching methods are effective? Are you aware of what
makes the strategies effective? Are you aware of the level of impact you are making
on your students learning process?
o Are you aware of the teaching innovation that exists in the industry and are you
striving to use them to equip you to be the best educator you can be.
o Is there evidence that this lecturer is taking responsibility for their own teaching
development
o Ultimately are the teaching goals and aspirations of the lecturer aligned with the
goals and aspiration of the institution.

What is considered to be superficial answers?

o My student reviews are good, my results are good so I am making a good

impact on their learning
o I am an expert in my field and I bring tremendous value through that.
o I go the extra mile for my students
o Students are not willing to co-operate and I therefore cannot do much more
o The material is too content heavy and there is not enough time for
interaction. My subject is a study subject students just have to sit
down and study.

What is NOT considered as INNOVATION or

o Use of PowerPoint slides with embedded videos.

o Use of cell phones/devices to do research in or outside class
o The use of application to complete an activity after a traditional lecture.
Note: while the above is not considered to be innovation in teaching, it does (if
executed effectively) constitute interactive teaching strategies and while we
would like to stimulate deeper thought and innovation in learning design, we do
not discount the value of these strategies.

What is considered as innovation?

o Innovation in teaching is about how basic technology is used to get students to

construct their own understanding of concepts thereby transforming your teaching
style from teacher centred to student centred. Therefore innovation is not about
the technology per se but rather about the learning design behind it.
 Articulation of teaching philosophy
o E-mail a few teaching quotes and get the lecturer to reflect on the on the ones that
they relate to.
o Please note that the entire portfolio needs to be aligned with this. In other words, if
the portfolio needs to showcase how the practice is in line with their teaching
philosophy.

Interactive teaching
o In this section the lecturer needs to describe what makes their lectures interactive,
more importantly they need to explain and reflect on how successful their
interactive teaching attempts were, what made it successful and but also what
needs to be developed.
Collaborative learning more than just group discussions
http://zostera.co/collaborative-learning-more-than-group-discussions/
Team based learning: Group work that works
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ctl/largeclasses/#tbl
10 tips for establishing an inquiry based learning environment
http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/inquirybasedlearningtips.html
Reflection on activity based strategy
http://ngurung.blogspot.com/2013/05/reflection-on-activity-based-
strategy.html

Innovation in teaching
o Not everyone will have substantial information for this section and it is absolutely
fine and lecturers need to be reassured of this.
o This section is designed to prompt futuristic thinking and to also recognise and
reward forward thinkers and innovators. To reward lecturers that takes the lead
and work against the odds to enhance the learning experience of the student.

Take a look around you. Learning to learn in a new world

http://www.slideshare.net/langwitches/take-another-look-around
The top five blended and flipped classroom tools
http://www.edudemic.com/blended-and-flipped-classroom-tools/
The teachers guide to flipped classrooms
http://www.edudemic.com/guides/flipped-classrooms-guide/
Eight exciting technology enhanced teaching and learning approaches that
teachers are embracing in 2014
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2014/01/8-exciting-technology-enhanced-
teaching-and-learning-approaches-that-teachers-are-embracing-in-2014/
Education technology is the future of education video
http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/elearning/video-education-technology-is-
the-future-of-education/#
 Integrated support
o This is also a section that lecturers dont always score well in.
o Integrated support is referred to a teaching strategy that is designed to use the
actual learning process as a means to also provide support for learning challenges.
o For example student do not know how to take notes because they are not good at
identifying key concepts within a broader concept. Therefore if my activity is
designed in such a way that it requires students to apply their learning by firstly
identifying the key concept, then I am building the underlying skill for note taking.
Study smart not hard
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/slc/study
Coaching students on how to study
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ctl/largeclasses/#MaasCoachingStudents

Reflection section
o The first section on reflection need to showcase what you have learnt as the
lecturer about your teaching style, what you liked about what you learnt and where
you feel your next challenge or development area lies.
o The second section of reflection needs to showcase what impact you think your
teaching has had on the results achieved on the module. If you feel that the impact
was diluted by external factors what were they and how would you approach the
module differently should these external factors remain prevalent.

Being critically reflective: what does it mean?

http://mrkempnz.com/2014/05/being-critically-reflective-what-does-it-
mean.html
Where is reflection in the learning process?
http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-
reflection-in-the-learning-process/