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This pesky question, coupled with the looming prospect of entering the job market, provoked a group of graduate students to apply for the Graduate Assistant Teaching Portfolio Retreat. Over winter break in 2009, we met for three days for an intensive workshop to begin the daunting task of beginning to create our own teaching portfolios. We benefitted from the helpful guidance of interim director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Dave Eubanks, and Faculty Programs Graduate Assistant, Kirsten Crase. They introduced us to the basics of assembling the portfolio and led us through a series of exercises to begin brainstorming ideas for our own work.
| Having the time and space to work solely on the philosophy was invaluable, as was the peer feedback. |
One of the recurring themes of the retreat was
that because the teaching portfolio is a relatively new development,
its form and content are highly flexible; the length and structure
vary across specializations and types
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of job. As a result,
designing the ideal portfolio is a complicated task. The retreat
gave us the support and structure to deal with this issue. Dave and
Kirsten provided us with a basic template for the portfolio,
including items such as teaching responsibilities, activities to
improve teaching and learning, and mentorship.
The centerpiece of the
teaching portfolio is, of course, the teaching philosophy, so it was
a logical place to start. We spent many hours drafting and revising
our teaching philosophies, followed by incredibly beneficial peer
editing. For me, these activities were the most useful of the
retreat.
Having the time and space to work solely on the philosophy was
invaluable, as was the peer feedback. Indeed, commiserating with
other graduate students who experience the same anxieties and
have the same questions helped make the process less
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Despite the many hours of concentrated work, the retreat was
also fun. |
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intimidating. Further, Kirsten and Dave were on
hand to offer essential one-on-one support. We spent time working
through the other sections, as well, and many of us left with a
substantial, if not complete, document. Dave also informed us that
the Center for Teaching Excellence is available to offer
individualized support as we continue revising and updating the
portfolio.
Despite the many hours of concentrated work,
the retreat was also fun. It provided a rare opportunity for us to
get to know our colleagues in other fields, while preparing an
important component of our application materials. We also had
interesting conversations about pedagogy; engaging in these
discussions and preparing the teaching philosophy gave us an
important opportunity to reflect on our teaching practices. And,
perhaps most importantly, the Center for Teaching Excellence fed us!
I highly recommend this retreat to graduate students who plan to
enter the job market in the next few years.
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