Presenting Our Work as Teachers: Finding the 'Tune' with a Teaching Portfolio
3 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2001
Date Written: August 17, 2001
Abstract
Mark Twain barely contained his use of profanity, a problem his wife abhorred and sought to cure. One evening, he and she were dressing for a formal dinner when a button popped off his shirt. He launched a tirade against buttons, formal shirts, and evening wear. After a few minutes, the profanity subsided. Twain's wife decided to use the moment to remind her husband to govern his language. Calmly, and in a flat voice, she repeated, word for word, the entire tirade. Twain replied, "My dear, you have the words, but you don't have the tune."
Much the same could be said of the way scholars describe their teaching. The typical curriculum vitae emphasizes written work over teaching. Promotion portfolios usually consist of a solid discussion of the candidate's intellectual contribution as a researcher, combined with a simple list of courses taught and perhaps some teaching ratings. The presentation has some words about teaching, but none of the music: choices made in course design; risks taken; successes (or learnings from failures); teaching philosophy and style; interpretation of the teaching ratings; growth as a teacher and plans for continued professional development. Absent these, the presentation of one's teaching is like the language of Twain's wife, flat and tuneless. This column summarizes the concept of the teaching portfolio as a way to present the teaching side of one's professional work.
JEL Classification: G00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation