Teaching is a core component of our role and responsibility as faculty. Thus, for all promotions, a Teaching Portfolio is required. This section of the website provides background information and resources that will help you build your Teaching Portfolio.
School of Medicine Guidelines
Please read the following directions before beginning your document.
- Everything should be listed in chronological order consistently throughout document.
- Please include ALL information that is requested on SOM format (dates, quantity, etc.)
- If possible, include the current location and position of former fellows/trainees. If they are in academia, list their current rank.
- Some sections required in the Teaching Portfolio are the same as your CV so you may copy those over to ensure the information is the same from one document to another. The School of Medicine will compare any similar information in all documents to ensure it matches.
- Please include your name, date and page number on each page.
Supporting Documentation
- Adequate documentation (letters, evaluations, etc.) is extremely important. You may solicit letters of support from past trainees. This letter should emphasize the importance of your teaching and/or mentoring in the mentee’s career development.
- Formal lecture or course evaluations are very important, and must be included when available. Make sure to collect student evaluations for each lecture you give.
- If student evaluations are not available, you can request a letter from the director of the course you taught in who can describe your role and comment on the overall quality of your teaching.
- All letters of support should be signed – either electronic signature or hand signature.
Background Materials
The Academic Ladder: The Role of the Teaching Portfolio (powerpoint by Kate Heilpern, MD)
Teaching Portfolio (Faculty Development Committee)
FAQs
Where do I start with preparing my teaching portfolio?
You are strongly encouraged to attend the faculty development lectures series for the School of Medicine, which annually includes one lecture about this topic. There is also an annual day-long faculty development seminar in the School of Medicine called “how to be a better teacher”, which offers a workshop about this topic. Moreover, on the Department of Neurology website, there is a link for materials and resources to help you prepare a Teaching Portfolio.
How long should my Teaching Portfolio be?
The SOM guidelines indicate that a Teaching Portfolio can be a maximum of 50 pages. You can have a maximum of 6 signed recommendation letters from a combination of prior students, mentees, and colleagues who can attest to your teaching/supervisory expertise. You may not include trainees over whom you have evaluative responsibilities.
What should be included in a Teaching Portfolio?
The following information can be included in a Teaching Portfolio: supervisions, lectures, conferences and seminars, bedside teaching, invited presentations, board examinations, continuing education courses, theses or dissertation committees, course or program direction and organization (including direction of training programs), education committee memberships. Materials to include are letters of evaluation, teaching/supervision ratings, education activities in professional organizations, teaching or education awards, letters from internal and external evaluators, prepared or edited teaching materials, trainees supervised, completed course and self-instructional activities.
How do you differentiate between a Teaching Portfolio and a Service Portfolio and can the content overlap?
Although there can be an overlap between content, the Teaching Portfolio should reflect participation with training programs, directing a course, or judging of science fairs. The Service Portfolio should focus more on service (i.e., service leadership programs). There may be events you have participated in that included both Teaching and Service activities. If this is the case, the event may be listed in both portfolios, but the emphasis on specific teaching or service activities must be different.
How do you maintain a Teaching Portfolio?
Your Teaching Portfolio should start now and be updated every time you do anything that falls in the category of teaching. It is essential to keep accurate records and collect letters of teaching efforts completed.
Should my Teaching portfolio look different depending on my area of distinction?
Your Teaching portfolio does not have to look different for each area of distinction. However, the relative amount of Teaching activities compared with Services or Scholarship activities can vary significantly between individuals depending on their areas of distinction. For instance, faculty who go up for promotion under Teaching as area of distinction are expected to submit a more extensive Teaching Portfolio than someone under the non-tenure Scholarship area of distinction.
What level of teaching is required for promotion to Associate Professor versus Full Professor?
Teaching at the Professor level requires significant leadership roles – e.g., Director of a Residency or Fellowship Program, national and international teaching, writing seminal papers on teaching for major journals, major teaching awards, and significant mentorship roles. Teaching for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor requires participation in the aforementioned activities, but not necessarily key leadership roles. It also differs by quantity of an activity.