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XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning

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Options to Document Teaching Effectiveness

How to Create Teaching Portfolios

A teaching portfolio is a consistent set of materials and work samples with reflective statements, created by faculty that represent their teaching practice related to student learning.

It includes their thoughts, philosophy, values, improvements, reflections, evidence of student learning, teaching effectiveness, and contributions to their institution in relation to their teaching profession.

  • Benefits of Developing a Teacher Portfolio
    • Teacher Portfolios can help faculty see teaching as an ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection.
    • Faculty reflect on their teaching and work to make improvements
    • Helps present faculty’s viewpoint on development in their teaching over time
    • Helps place responsibility for teaching evaluation in the hands of faculty-à the need to evaluate teacher portfolios can lead to discussions on standards for effective teaching
    • Helps foster a culture of teaching
  • Components of a Teaching Portfolio

    A teacher portfolio involves 4 parts as shown in the figure below. Faculty will work on creating artifacts for their teacher portfolio. XCITE will have workshops and 1:1 consultations on how to create/develop these artifacts and how to curate them.

    teacher portfolio parts

    These artifacts will include the following that will represent their teaching philosophy, values, improvements, and effectiveness:

    1. Materials from Oneself (Documentation of their Teaching and Improving your Instruction)
      Artifacts for ‘Material from Oneself’ can include the following:
      • Creating a Teaching Philosophy Statement 
      • Creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement (How be inclusive of all students) 
      • Writing a Mentorship Statement (In relation to mentoring and advising your students) 
      • Sample course syllabi (with details on course content and objectives, teaching methods, readings, homework assignments and a reflective statement as to why the class was so constructed OR Copies of their syllabi – annotated with notes on how effective they were and short reflections on how they have made changes to improve their courses) 
      • The pursuit of research contributing directly to teaching one's discipline 
      • A list of courses taught and/or TAed, with enrollments and a description of your responsibilities 
      • Video Recordings of your Teaching 
      • Redesigning a Course (reasons, procedures and changes) 
      • Incorporating Community-Engaged Teaching Practices (strategies and evidences) 
      • A personal statement by the professor describing teaching goals for the next five years and a description of steps taken to improve teaching including changes resulting from self-evaluation, time spent reading journals on improving teaching, participating in seminars and workshops on sharpening instructional skill. 
      • Summary of steps taken to identify students with special problems and to design teaching and assessment procedures which facilitate their learning. 
    2. The Products of Good Teaching (Evidence of Student Learning)
      These are materials that show evidence of student Learning. The artifacts can include any two of the following depending on faculty’s choice (NOTE- Share any student work with their authorization):
      • Students scores before and/or after a course (evidence of student learning)
      • Student lab workbooks or other kind of logs or journals.
      • Student reflection essays
      • Student essays, creative work, and project or field work reports
      • Publications or awards won by students in course related work
      • Student internship experience or similar
      • Evidence of effect of courses on student careers or career choices
      • Evidence supporting for help given to secure employment by student(s)
      • Evidence of help given to fellow faculty colleagues on teaching improvement
      • …other
    3. Materials from Others (Teacher Effectiveness and Contributions to the Teaching Profession and/or your Institution)
      These show Teacher Effectiveness and Contributions to the Teaching Profession and/or their Institution. Material from others (at least two or more) can include:
      • Student course and teaching evaluation data (suggesting improvements or effectiveness or satisfaction)
      • Course Evaluations
      • Assessment and outcomes reporting (in consultation with MAC committee and Dr Omar Safi- Teaching Effectiveness)
      • Statements from fellow faculty colleagues (or XCITE staff) who have looked the faculty classroom materials, the course syllabi, assignments, testing and grading practices, and reading lists)
      • Written comments from students on class evaluations
      • Invitations to teach from external organizations, present a paper at a conference on teaching one's discipline or on teaching in general
      • Publications in teaching journals
      • Papers delivered on teaching
      • Reviews of forthcoming textbooks
      • Service on teaching committees
      • Assistance to colleagues on teaching matters
      • Work on curriculum revision or development
      • Letters from students, preferably unsolicited
      • Letters from course head, division head or chairperson
      • Statements from alumni
      • College committee testimonials on faculty teaching
      • Honors, Awards, or Recognitions in Teaching
      • List of Faculty Development Activities (for example: participation XCITE offerings, participation in a faculty development program and/or similar, or external vendors like QM, OLC, OneHE)
      • More similar…..
    4. Teacher Portfolio (Faculty) Website
      • This is about documenting and/or curating faculty Teacher Portfolio with all the artifacts from the previous slides.
      • Also, can be called Electronic Portfolio (No longer the need of a print portfolio)
      • Can help faculty think about their teaching in different ways.
      • Teaching portfolios are intended to make teaching public. Distributing a portfolio on the web makes it even more accessible to students, peers and others.
      • Multimedia can be easily organized on the web rather than printed.
      • Along with the portfolio artifacts shown in previous slides, faculty can also include their research, service and other publications.
      • XCITE will show them how to create their own website using the free tools available
      • XCITE will demonstrate the best practices and how they can organize their work on the web and open it to general public
      • XCITE will go over the Copyright/privacy of their website during the training/workshop
  • Components and Needed Artifacts (For Teaching Assistants and Graduate Students)

    A teacher portfolio for graduate students and Teaching Assistants is shown in the figure below. Graduate Student Teacher Portfolios do not require as many materials as experienced faculty. They can still consider suggestions from the previous page of this module as they build on their teaching careers. 

    Components and Needed Artifacts chart

     

    TAs and Graduate Students will work on creating artifacts for their teacher portfolio. XCITE will have workshops and 1:1 consultations on how to create/develop these artifacts and how to curate them. Teacher portfolios can benefit students hoping to get a career as a faculty
    Deliverables can include:

    • Teacher Philosophy Statement/Instructional Design Philosophy
    • Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Statement
    • Sample Course Syllabi
    • Teacher/Scholar Website
    • Teaching Videos
    • Sample Grading Work/Feedback to their students
  • Preparing your Teacher Portfolio

    Collect/prepare all the documents described earlier in this presentation
    As a starting point, the body of the teacher portfolio can include

    • A cover page
    • A table of contents page
    • summary of your teaching experience and responsibilities
    • a reflective statement of your teaching philosophy and goals
    • a brief discussion of your teaching methods and strategies
    • activities undertaken to improve teaching
    • a statement of goals and plans for the future
    • your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 

    The body of a portfolio can be about 5-8 pages long and is followed by appendices in total that can make up about 8-15 more pages. 

    The appendices would consist of supplemental materials that further document or support the information you provide in the body of your portfolio as evidence.

    See the reference used to create this page here
    https://www.slu.edu/cttl/docs/cuts-forms/preparing-a-teaching-portfolio.pdf

  • Sample Teacher Portfolios

    Sample Teacher Portfolios

    • Ask senior faculty colleagues or mentors on the UCR campus to see if they are willing to share their portfolios as samples

     

    Teacher Portfolio Template

  • Evaluating your Teacher Portfolio
    • There are no set criteria to evaluate a teacher portfolio. It all depends on your individual needs or your goals or your departmental needs or university needs. It is very important to align your teacher portfolio to your needs and goals. For example: aligning to your job application or merit and promotion files and most importantly aligning to your own purpose. A teacher portfolio cannot just be a scrapbook. The materials presented should align with the statements you provide (as described in your goals, intentions, teaching philosophy, and DEI statement).
    • You can also find this rubric in the google doc here
    • The table below is just a sample rubric to evaluate your portfolio on your own.


    Improvement Actions

    		 Criteria Going Further
      Quality of Materials
    Are your materials current?
    Does the material appropriately represent traditionally under-represented scholars (people of color, international, women etc.) and alternative perspectives?
    Are your materials representing the best work in the field?
    Are your materials representing enough coverage of course content?
    Do they align with course goals?    		  
      Inclusive Excellence
    Do you integrate teaching strategies that are inclusive to everyone’s needs?
    Do you help your students to achieve their accessibility needs?    		  
      Intellectual Tasks (level of preparation for students)
    Did the students learn aligned to the departmental curriculum goals and/or objectives?
    Did the majority of the students achieve a mastery level of achievement in each of the goals? This defines intellectual performance. 
    Do you assignments represent student performance and are aligned to course objectives?    		  
      Faculty knowledge in their academic discipline
    Have you as an instructor kept yourself up to date with the developments in your field? and what do you do to achieve this?    		  
      Alignment to their faculty position, department, and University mission
    Have you engaged with departmental or program level teaching committees and initiatives?
    Are you a good citizen regarding teaching responsibilities in collaborating with department and university support staff?
    Do you recognize problems that hinder good teaching and are trying to solve them?    		  
      Extent to achieving excellence in teaching
    Have you sought feedback about your teaching quality?
    Have you explored or experimented with alternative teaching methods or tried new teaching ideas and strategies?
    Have you developed special teaching materials or participated in efforts to upgrade teaching quality?    		  
    • References used to create this document:
      • Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. (2000). Teaching students to think critically (CRLT Occasional Papers No. 11). University of Michigan.
      • Mues, F., & Sorcinelli, M. D. (2000). Preparing a Teaching Portfolio. The Center for Teaching, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Developing & Writing Your Teaching Philosophy Statements (TPS)

  • Getting Started
    • What is a Teaching Philosophy Statement?
    • A teaching philosophy statement (TPS) is a document that articulates who you are as a teacher-scholar and the values, beliefs, and goals that underpin your approach to facilitating and assessing learning, and your own continuous development. It is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. It is a narrative about your teaching. 
    • Below are some quotes on TPS:
      • “In preparing a statement of teaching philosophy, professors assess and examine themselves to articulate the goals they wish to achieve in teaching … A clear vision of a teaching philosophy provides stability, continuity, and long-term guidance … A well-defined philosophy can help them remain focused on their teaching goals and to appreciate the personal and professional rewards of teaching.”- Gail Goodyear and Douglas Allchin (1989) Statement of Teaching Philosophy
      • "A teaching philosophy statement is a systematic and critical rationale that focuses on the important components defining effective teaching and learning in a particular discipline and/or institutional context." - Schonwetter, Sokal, Friesen, and Taylor (2002) 
      • "A teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. In addition to general comments, your teaching philosophy should discuss how you put your beliefs into practice by including concrete examples of what you do or anticipate doing in the classroom." - University of Michigan
      • Your teaching statement develops from your teaching philosophy and uses evidence from your teaching to make the case that you have excelled as a teacher. Your teaching philosophy can shape your syllabi or introduce your course website. A teaching philosophy statement is about your intellectual and creative skills and knowledge that you as a teacher use to enable your students to achieve in their discipline. It is about how you see your role and interact with students and how you address the challenges in teaching in your discipline. This statement is NOT about your course topic or texts or course content but about how you interact with your students to guide them and engage with your course material. TPS is always written in present tense and first-person format.
      • Like CVs and Resumes, teaching philosophy statements are intended for a purpose and for an audience. A teaching philosophy statement can be created for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to merit and promotion, job applications, and your course website. 
      • Teaching Statements are mostly longer at the tenure level like 3-5 pages or more. For hiring purposes, they are typically 1-2 pages in length.
    • References used to prepare this Page:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty
         
  • Why make a TPS?

    Developing your teaching philosophy statement has the following benefits:

    • Articulate your values, beliefs, and goals
    • Be able to stand firm and advocate for good teaching practice
    • To share your TPS with students and others
    • To have a document for applications and merit and promotion files
    • Reflect and respond succinctly during student Q/A or job interview questions
    • TPS helps tp provide standards to judge the quality of your teaching
    • TPS provides evidence of your teaching effectiveness

    Teacher Portfolios can be used to demonstrate teaching effectiveness. The items below can be included in eFile as part of teaching portfolios.
     

  • Thinking Checklist- Reflect on your teaching to get started
    • Reflect on your journey as an instructor. Use the list of questions provided below to refine and structure your ideas. Make brief notes for each question. Review your thinking and look for themes, implicit assumptions, emerging values, and ideas about teaching that matter to you as you respond to this checklist. 
    • Assessment of Learning
      • How does learning take place?
      • Based on my observation and experience, what do I think happens during a learning episode?
    • Assessment of Teaching
      • How do I facilitate learning?
      • What are my assumptions about teaching?
      • Why do I teach the way I do?
      • How do I motivate, challenge, or support students?
      • How do I deal with students who struggle?
      • How do I vary my approach?
    • Goals for Students
      • As a result of learning, what do I expect my students to know, do, or value (in their careers and future lives)? Why?
      • What does my teaching philosophy mean for my students?
    • Implementation and Assessment
      • How are my conceptions of teaching and learning transformed into instructional strategies?
      • What are the consequences of my instructional strategies?
      • How do I know my teaching is effective?
      • What data do I use to gauge my effectiveness?
    • Your Future as a Successful University Teacher (Personal Growth Plan)
      • What goals have I set for myself as a teacher?
      • How will I accomplish these goals?
      • What are some present challenges to overcome in order to achieve my goals?
      • How have I developed?
      • What evidence do I have that can demonstrate my development?
      • What has changed over time in my assumptions and actions?
      • How have I met the goals that I set in the past?
    • This Canvas page is taken from the following reference:
      • Indiana University. (n.d.). Tips for writing a statement of teaching philosophy. Center for Teaching and Learning. Access here
  • Writing Process to Develop your Teaching Philosophy

    A TPS can be structured in the following sections:

    1. Introduction
    2. Thesis Statement
    3. Evidence
    4. Commentary
    5. Repeat bullets 2, 3 & 4 as needed to build your ideas
    6. Section describing your own continuous development (how do you assess your teaching and continuously improve?)

    A simple guiding structure for your essay could be:

    • GROUND. My values and motivations/goals as a teacher-scholar.
    • ACTION. How I teach and assess learning – how this is guided by my perceptions of student needs and identities and my values, beliefs, and goals as an educator.
    • CONTINUITY. How I continue to learn and improve my teaching.

    Paragraphs within your TPS could be written using the AEC or AXES model below.
    AEC Model:

    Assertion: Main or Key Idea, Topic Sentence. The paragraph has a single and explicit focus.
    Evidence: Information or facts that support the assertion. In a TPS this is often evidence from teaching and observing teaching.
    Commentary: Explanations and elaborations that connect the Evidence to the Assertion.

    AXES Model:

    • Assertion
    • EXplanation
    • Example
    • Significance

    Your Complete TPS:

    • Use the AEC or AXES models to build your ideas within paragraphs
    • Make sure as you build your ideas they align with your thesis
    • At the end of your TPS, it is very important to comment on what you do to assess your own teaching and continuously improve your teaching methods and strategies for the betterment of your students.
       
    • References used to prepare this Page:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Academic & Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty
  • Crafting an Introduction

    Introductions are unique and like the rest of the essay reflects your writing style and expectations in your discipline. However, you might be interested in an overall structure to get you started. Here is an example, followed by an analysis of its structure and logic. 

    Example and Analysis
    I fell in love with the Renaissance as a teenager and was lured into a scholarly pursuit of ideas and artifacts from this rich and complex period of human history. This life-long love affair has led me into the exciting journey of educating others and helping them build bridges between life today and this rich past. We do this in ways that clarify how far we’ve come but also how fundamental questions then and now share many similarities and are embraced by all cultures. Understanding that college age students might have difficulty relating literature from centuries ago to contemporary life, I teach about the Renaissance using a project-based comparative approach. I integrate popular art and literature to engage students in critical and divergent thinking, discussion, and writing. Experiential learning enables my students to not only know and appreciate the Renaissance, but to link it cogently to our lives and concerns in the 21st century

    Analysis of the Introduction 

    TOPIC – discipline or domain of study
    ATTITUDE – passion, scholar


    I fell in love with the Renaissance as a teenager and was lured into a scholarly pursuit of ideas and artifacts from this rich and complex period of human history.
    FOCUS – teaching
    ATTITUDE – linking topic to present day – relevance to students.


    This life-long love affair has led me into the exciting journey of educating others and helping them build bridges between life today and this rich past. We do this in ways that clarify how far we’ve come but also how fundamental questions then and now share many similarities and are embraced by all cultures.
    THESIS
    CONTEXT: student at center, aware of student challenge
    SLOs: knowledge mastery, appreciation, link to relevant aspects of life today
    APPROACH: project based, experiential.    		 Understanding that college age students might have difficulty relating literature from centuries ago to contemporary life, I teach about the Renaissance using a project based comparative approach. I integrate popular art and literature to engage students in critical and divergent thinking, discussion, and writing. Experiential learning enables my students to not only know and appreciate the Renaissance, but to link it cogently to our lives and concerns in the 21st century.

    When to Write Your Introduction

    At the beginning. Some writers create an introduction that leads to a guiding thesis. The thesis then becomes like a mini map that generates the outline or structure of the essay.

    At the end. Some writers take a discovery approach. They free write the essay, allow a structure and logic to emerge, and then based on what they have created, they write an introduction and thesis statement that reflects the essay. 
    Most of us are somewhere in the middle. Planning an introduction and thesis gives us a writing direction that helps us work effectively. But remember to be flexible as you might discover new or better ideas that shift you away from the thesis. So, from time to time review and revise the introduction and the thesis. Most writing is an iterative process. 

    • This page is taken from the following references:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty
  • Thesis Statement

    Always write for an audience. Make sure of this by reading your thesis statement, role playing someone else seeing it for the first time. Better yet, find a critical but friendly person to read and give you feedback. What might be your (their) answers to these questions:

    1. What can you derive of the writer’s values and goals as an educator?
    2. What can we expect the essay to contain based on the thesis statement?

     

    Creating a thesis statement gets you thinking and compressing what you believe – a large and nebulous set of perspectives – into a concise statement. This is very good practice for interviews, presentations, and general conversations where you will be able to present your philosophy succinctly and with conviction. 

    A thesis statement gives your reader an overview and helps them anticipate what is coming. A well-written introduction and thesis will get your reader wanting to read the full essay. Also, even if they do not read the rest of the essay, they will have a good idea of your philosophy. Think about busy search committees or merit and promotion committees– a well written introduction and thesis statement can make the difference between the essay being passed over and someone really engaging with it fully. 

    Thesis Statement Analysis

    Here are 2 examples of thesis statements. What can you tell about these individuals’ teaching philosophies and pedagogical approaches?

    • I believe deep learning and critical, creative thinking about art and art history happens when students are engaged in experiential learning in real world settings, and receive active, on-going feedback from both peers and teachers. 
    • Understanding the difficulty of relating literature from centuries ago to contemporary life, I teach about the Renaissance using a project based comparative approach integrating popular art and literature that engages students in high-level critical and divergent thinking

    In the first one – this teacher is primarily concerned about cognitive-creative development and realizes this cannot come from book learning alone – she values learning by doing, her teaching might involve community projects. She values students’ input in learning, which also signals a confidence and comfort level in managing student critique. There are likely many other values and principles that could come in the essay, but her choice of what to use in a thesis underscores her key areas of concern.

    The second one focuses on meaningful connections to students’ lived experiences – this signals a primary focus on meaning-making and relevance to students. There are likely other values and principles that could come in the essay, but this thesis choice centralizes meaningfulness factor as a critical factor in his teaching philosophy. 

    • This page is taken from the following references:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty. 
  • Steps & Guidelines - Crafting and Writing TPS

    There are different ways to develop your Teacher Philosophy Statement (TPS). Below are some ideas and suggestions to help you get started.

    You can also access this information via the document here. 

    • Reflect on your teaching goals, beliefs values, concepts, assessments, activities, and your own ways to improve.
    • Write out these reflections as notes.
    • Read over your notes. Trust yourself as an educator, trust your values and aspirations, and that you have given thought to how to teach, assess, and interact with your students. 
    • Using the guiding structure of a TPS– begin writing your first draft. You want the words to flow in a stream of ideas.
    • Do not worry about the length at first. Create a draft as long as you want. This will allow you the space and flexibility to develop ideas fully.
    • Then shape and compress this to a 1 to 2-page essay in the final draft (or longer depending on your goals for tenure in alignment with your department's needs).
    • Check your draft with your original notes. Edit to include and integrate missing ideas.
    • Review the logic of your essay. Does your TPS move from WHAT you believe in and WHY to HOW this is reflected in your teaching via examples, evidence, and commentary? Your reader must see your philosophy in action in your examples and evidence of teaching.
    • Look for connections and unnecessary overlaps. Are there paragraphs that refer to the same values or examples or interchangeably mean the same thing? 
    • Be prepared to revise your sentences and paragraphs to find the best flow of ideas.
    • Use the TPS checklist as a guide to make sure you have covered the key areas
    • References used to prepare this page:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty.
  • Teaching Philosophy Statement Checklist/Rubric

    TPS Checklist/Rubric

    Use these criteria to guide the writing of your TPS and also to evaluate it after you finish writing your statement. Some criteria may overlap and may be connected, meaning you can consider one section or paragraph of your TPS fulfilling more than one criterion. You can also access this checklist/rubric here

    Improvement Actions Criteria Going Further
     

    Connection to your Academic Discipline and Scholarship

    What are the key areas of my discipline I prioritize in my teaching?

    What do I want my students to learn about this discipline?

    How is my teaching shaped by my discipline?

    		  
     

    Outcomes & Goals

    What are the types of goals I set for my students to achieve in mastery in the subject I teach?

    What learning outcomes related to human capacity and skills are most important to me to help my students prepare to flourish in life and their future careers? - Consider

    		  
     

    Teaching Vision

    What do I really love about Teaching & Learning?

    What values and ideas drive my desire to teach? 

    How do I hope to make a difference in the lives of my students through my teaching?

    		  
     

    Teaching Methods/Approaches

    What principles and strategies do I use to build my students’ sense of agency and self-efficacy?

    How do I make my subject matter and learning process more meaningful and relevant?

    Do I implement strategies beyond traditional lecturing to help my students feel actively engaged in their learning?

    		  
     

    Use Evidence/Examples (Application)

    Do I provide specific examples of my teaching methods and approaches?

    Do I connect my teaching methods and approaches to principles of pedagogy and learning and motivational theories to help my students?

    		  
     

    Creating and Inclusive Learning Environment

    How do I make my students feel they each matter?

    How do I create a sense of community and belonging among my students in my classes?

    How do I integrate a range of learning and teaching modalities to be inclusive of all my students' needs?

    How do I adjust my teaching methods to invite diversity and make learning inclusive and equitable?

    Do I ensure the digital tools I use to teach do not marginalize some learners?

    How do I ensure my assignments are inclusive and equitable?

    		  
     

    Assessment of Learning

    Do I explain learning outcomes to my students and show how assignments and activities are aligned with them?

    Are my assignments meaningful and relevant to my students?

    What kind of feedback do I give to my students? Do I provide formative feedback where students get time to make revisions? How do I know my students find feedback useful to their learning?

    Do I provide students with clear criteria for success in assignments, for example explaining rubrics and more?

    How do I make learning visible – to my students? How do I know when I have taught successfully? How do I know my students have learned? How do my students know they have learned? 

    		  
     

    Assessment of Teaching (Continuous Development)

    How do I know when I have taught successfully? 

    In what ways do I assess my teaching? 

    How do I use student evaluations?

    What goals do I have for myself as an educator and how will I reach them? 

    What do I do to ensure continuous professional development as an educator? 

    Do I attend teaching-related conferences and conduct research that involves teaching work or give presentations that contribute to my goal as an educator? 

    How have my attitudes toward teaching and learning changed over time?

    		  
     

    Technology Integration

    Do I integrate technology to improve student engagement and learning?

    How do I engage students in online and blended teaching and learning spaces?

    		  
     

    Philosophical Coherence

    In your TPS, are the teaching methods and explanations consistent with the values, beliefs, and goals that you express?

    		  
     

    Organization, Structure, Mechanics, & Style

    Are your ideas logically sequenced?

    Is there any jargon or noise in your writing?

    Are you writing in the first-person format?

    Is your tone appropriate?

    Are you using active, direct, non-verbose syntax? 

    Is your writing free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors?

    		  
    • References used to prepare this document:
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Center for Faculty Excellence. 
      • Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Teaching Philosophy Statement Workbook. Preparing Future Faculty. 
         
  • Teaching Philosophy Statement Samples
    • Consider samples from the schools below available on the web:
  • Further Resources & References

    Resources and References for Further Exploration:


    Articles from Faculty Focus:


    Consider the Cornell Graduate School - TPS as an additional resource. Also, consider the articles on Teaching Statements below found on this website:

  • Recording for Training Session - Wednesday, October 9th, 2024

Writing your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement

  • What are Diversity Statements?

    A diversity statement presents your position and approach as a teacher and scholar in promoting inclusivity and equity in the work that you do. It demonstrates your awareness of current issues of diversity and inclusivity in higher education and your position with regards to this in terms of your own engagement with diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of your work. This includes your past, present, and future engagement in promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion, and equity in your research, teaching, and service. 

    We must understand diversity in the context of our concern about eliminating structural inequities from a social justice perspective on access and oppression in relation to identity and social status. Issues in this area include systemic inequities with racial oppression, ableism, homophobia, and sexism. Therefore, in your diversity statement, you should focus on issues, opportunities, and pedagogies around these diversities of identity and social status. 
    Length of Diversity Statements is limited to one to two pages. 

    Higher education institutions recognize the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity as part of their mission. In 2010, the Board of Regents of the University of California adopted a policy statement about diversity. They defined diversity as “the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more." Here is an extract from the University of California’s Regents Policy 4400:
    “The diversity of the people of California has been the source of innovative ideas and creative accomplishments throughout the state’s history into the present. Diversity – a defining feature of California’s past, present, and future – refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more.

    “Because the core mission of the University of California is to serve the interests of the State of California, it must seek to achieve diversity among its student bodies and among its employees. The State of California has a compelling interest in making sure that people from all backgrounds perceive that access to the University is possible for talented students, staff, and faculty from all groups. The knowledge that the University of California is open to qualified students from all groups, and thus serves all parts of the community equitably, helps sustain the social fabric of the State.
    “Diversity should also be integral to the University’s achievement of excellence.”
     
    Read the full statement here. 

    References: This page is taken from Diversity Statement Workbook from Preparing Future Faculty at Claremont Graduate University

  • Defining Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

    Diversity = is a descriptive word – How we see. A description of the multiple facets of identity that make up individuals in a social context. This includes race; nationality; historical and social cultures; socio-economic status; political affiliations; gender; sexual orientation; lived experiences; social networks and belonging; physical make-up; health; emotional make-up; learning histories, modes, habits, and cultures. 
    Inclusion = an action-oriented word – What we do. Intentional action and practices that recognize, embrace, and engages positively with diversity. According to AAC&U (2009), inclusion is an “active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.” 
    Equity = is an outcomes word. What we strive to achieve. Our destination. The desired outcomes as a result of inclusive practices that create access and opportunity for a diverse range of individuals in any social space. In using inclusive practices to work for equity, we recognize that this demands active work to create access and support engagement toward success.  
    Justice = an action-oriented word – What we do.  The systematic fair treatment of all students, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all. It is not just the absence of discrimination and inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain equity through proactive and preventative measures.
    Inclusive pedagogy recognizes and embraces diversity and works to create equity. Based on the principle of engaging EVERY student and supporting them toward success, inclusive pedagogy, takes a design approach in creating curricula and teaching methods that ensure ALL students have optimum opportunities to learn and flourish. “Even though some of us might wish to conceptualize our classrooms as culturally neutral or might choose to ignore the cultural dimensions, students cannot check their sociocultural identities at the door, nor can they instantly transcend their current level of development… Therefore, it is important that the pedagogical strategies we employ in the classroom reflect an understanding of social identity development so that we can anticipate the tensions that might occur in the classroom and be proactive about them” (Ambrose et. al., 2010, p. 169-170).
    REFERENCES
    Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M. & Lovett, M.C. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Chang, M. J., Sharkness, J. A., Hurtado, S., & Newman, C. J. (2014). What matters in college for retaining aspiring scientists and engineers from underrepresented racial groups. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(5), 555–580.

    Cole, D., & Zhou, J. (2014). Diversity and collegiate experiences affecting perceived gains in critical thinking: Which works, and who benefits? The Journal of General Education, 63(1), 15–34.
    Darder, A. (2015) Freire and education. New York: Routledge

    Higher Education Research Institute. (2014). Findings from the 2014 College Senior Survey. Retrieved from http://www.heri.ucla.edu/briefs/CSS-2014-Brief.pdf. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute

    Huang, G., Taddese, N., & Walter, E. (2000). Entry and persistence of women and minorities in college science and engineering education. Education Statistics Quarterly, 2(3), 59.
    Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation. NY: Crown Publishing.
     
    This page is taken from Diversity Statement Workbook at Preparing Future Faculty at Claremont Graduate University. 

  • University of California Riverside – Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    UC Riverside is committed to Diversity. UCR recognizes that excellence is inextricably linked to the diversity of our faculty, staff, and student body. We define diversity very broadly and take seriously Regents Policy 4400, which states:
    “The diversity of the people of California has been the source of innovative ideas and creative accomplishments throughout the state’s history into the present. Diversity – a defining feature of California’s past, present, and future – refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more.”
    UCR Office of DEI Mission Statement:
    The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is committed to the urgent, sustained, and comprehensive work of creating a campus climate of mutual respect and communal vision at the University of California, Riverside. This work belongs to every member of our community and includes ensuring greater representation of individuals from all backgrounds in every part of the university and keeping fairness and accessibility in higher education at the heart of our policies and procedures. We value a deep, collective understanding that an institutional and personal commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is a true commitment to meaningful, lifelong learning.
    For further details visit the UCR Office of DEI website here.

  • Aspects & Questions to Generate Ideas for Writing

    CRAFTING A DIVERSITY STATEMENT
    A diversity statement is your philosophical position about diversity and inclusion. Your values and beliefs about diversity, inclusion, and equity emerge from analytical reflection on your experiences in life and academic settings. These then guide your practice as a scholar, teacher, and active member of an educational institution. Your diversity statement demonstrates your history, readiness, and capacity to contribute to institutional efforts to develop inclusive, equitable experiences for a diverse population.

    SUBJECTIVE PRESENCE. Authenticity. Empathy. Sensitivity. A relatable personal narrative. 

    Some part of the diversity statement is about you and your experiences with diversities of identity, and how this informs your perspectives and actions as an educator and scholar. What have been your experiences in discovering your identity in relation to how and why you can empathize with your students and their different challenges? But, do not insensitively assume and equate your experiences with theirs. You cannot claim to have an insider view of someone who has been marginalized if you yourself have not been. For example, being excluded because you were shy is not the same as the exclusions faced by a person of color at a primarily white institution. If you have been in a position of privilege, acknowledge this and show how and why you have come to be aware of it. However, this does not mean you cannot empathize, nor does it mean you have nothing to say. If you grew up privileged, how does acknowledging it help you realize the work that has to be done, or given you opportunities to work for equity in your work as a scholar and teacher? Cite studies and evidence from studies that shows your interest in and knowledge of diversity issues. Find ways to make your specific experiences relatable and generalizable to larger issues we face as educators. This allows you to tell your story, but be grounded in the narratives of those we teach and work with. 

    ENGAGEMENT WITH DIVERSITY ISSUES. How has your work as a teacher-scholar helped under-served students engage with learning?
    Whether in formal or informal settings, what have you done with communities or individuals from underserved contexts. For example, have you done any volunteer work, mentoring, after school coaching? In addition to demonstrating your awareness and involvement in working with under-served students, you should also write about what you learned and how you grew through these experiences. Avoid a deficit view that only sees that under-served communities have great needs and lack many things. While this is true, we must never lose sight that they have a wealth of strengths and capacities, and different ways of knowing and being that we can learn from, and that we can help empower. 

    COMMITMENT INTO THE FUTURE. Make explicit your values and beliefs about equity and how they inform and shape your teaching goals. How are you willing to contribute to the campus community both in your teaching design and facilitation, in your interest to engage with student life activities and programs, and in your interactions with students. 

    EXPLICITNESS AND RIGOR. Ground your values and beliefs in rigorous evidence and experience and offer concrete examples rather than unfounded statements and generalizations. It helps to present examples from differentiated course design, how you facilitate learning that demonstrates clearly your commitment to diversity in all its forms, specific instances of your engagement with the communities you work with, in and outside the institution, to promote diversity and inclusion. 

    QUESTIONS TO GENERATE IDEAS FOR WRITING
    Reflect and make notes in response to these questions to gather ideas for writing. You might not include everything in your final statement, but the reflection process will help you think about multiple aspects of your experiences and work with diversity and inclusivity.

    Diversity and Your Identity

    1. How do you define diversity, inclusion, and equity?
    2. Are you aware of your own implicit biases? How have you come to this awareness and how did this contribute to your values and beliefs about diversity, inclusion, and equity?  In what ways do you embody these ideas now in your work as a teacher and scholar, as well as in your larger life? 
    3. What in your own experiences in life and academic settings have prepared you to be an advocate for inclusive, equitable practices that embrace diversity in all aspects of your work? Can you speak to any formal training or preparation in this regard? 

    Diversity Awareness 

    1. Are you aware of the broad range of identities that students today bring into our classrooms? Consider age, race, culture, socio-economic status, religion, nationality, readiness level to work on your subject (depending on their high schools or previous colleges, they might have widely differing abilities), life status and experiences – veteran, first generation, married/single, working etc.).  
    2. Are you aware of the issues many students of color face in college? Research on Under-Represented Minorities (URM) – Latino, African American, Native American/Alaska Native – shows that they have both less access to college and trouble persisting toward successful college completion. Students who are the first in their families to go to college and/or were not adequately prepared for college may not have a clear sense of what college life and experiences are like. While they might have the basic facts, they may not understand the unwritten expectations and practices such as the use and purpose of office hours, how to connect with their professors, using the library effectively, their rights and responsibilities as a college student etc. Without this understanding, they may not take advantage of resources.
    3. How do you inform yourself of diversity issues, trends, and strategies for equity at your university as well as in the larger higher education context?

    Diversity and Inclusion in Your Practice

    1. What are your strategies for inclusive teaching that support engagement, retention, and success of under-represented groups in your classroom teaching and campus engagement? What principles of inclusive pedagogy do you practice? What training have you had?
    2. Is your course design informed by the work of scholars from under-represented groups, such as scholars of color, women, transgender scholars etc.? 
    3. How does the material you use in teaching – scenarios, examples, case studies, websites etc. – connect with and reflect the contexts and lived experiences of communities your students come from?
    4. To what extent do you invite students to bring their experiences and perspectives into their work in your courses? 
    5. In what ways do you ensure that you do not take a deficit view of your students? That is, while you see knowledge and skills gaps or a lack of cultural capital for college, you also see their strengths, and the value of the contexts from which they come.  
    6. How do you ensure all students are included and scaffolded to engage equitably with learning? For example, providing opportunities to build learning skills such as note-taking, or reading effectively; using multiple modalities in teaching like verbal as well as image based material; considering life challenges in designing assignments such as allowing group work time in class as many of your students might have challenging life obligations.
    7. How do you engage all students in building a trusting and respectful relationship that makes them feel included and cared for? What do you do to create a safe learning environment that helps them approach you and interact with each other?
    8. As a scholar, do you engage your students in your research process allowing them to understand your research and to be involved in helping you with research?
    9. How do you help students from under-represented communities find inspiration and role models to help them engage and aspire for success? 
    10. Have you mentored others from under-represented groups – students or peers – to foster connections, integration, and success in a learning or professional environment? 
    11. How do you advocate and show your support for diversity and inclusion in your department and among the larger university community? With what specific initiatives were you involved? What was your role? What events and initiatives do you actively and visibly support? Have you served on any committee that focused on diversity, equity, inclusion in an organizational setting or in working with community partners? Can you speak to any achievements or milestones met?
    12. How are diversity and inclusivity reflected in your research interests and process? Are you aware of and do you address cultural and methodological bias or blindness in your discipline and specifically in your own research? Does your research address any specific question or issue of diversity, inclusion, or equity?
    13. Are your values, beliefs, and practices with regards to diversity and aligned with any specific institutional initiatives for diversity support and the promotion of inclusion and equity?

    References: This page is taken from Diversity Statement Workbook from Preparing Future Faculty at Claremont Graduate University.

  • DEI Statement Worksheet

    https://tinyurl.com/tpdeiworksheet

  • Samples and Further Resources

    Sample Statements:


    Your statement is unique and therefore no 2 statements will be alike. Neither is there a formula for writing a diversity statement. Reading a few statements others have written will give you a sense of the range of these statements.
    Sample Diversity Statement
    Sample Diversity Statements - UC San Diego

    Resources 
    Inside Higher Ed article on writing a Diversity statement  (2016). Tanya Golash-Boza gives you 8 tips on writing a strong statement. 

    Explore EDUCAUSE resources for diversity, inclusion, and equity.

    Berkeley’s rubric to assess job candidates’ commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity.

    Modeling Inclusive Pedagogy: Five Approaches.  This article is about Philosophy, but the approaches and the explanations of them are very useful for any discipline. The models are - Status Quo, Critical, Reform, Pluralist, and Abolitionist perspectives.

    Learning Policy Institute. Educational Equity. Linda Darling-Hammond’s article on educational equity 50 years after the Kerner Commission’s report. Education and the Path to One Nation, Indivisible.
     
    Diversity in Literature. This article explores the question of whether white teachers can teach non-white texts and about what it means to not assume racial authority. 

    “He brings up the main issue many have with white people teaching non-European literature – how they lack the racial background that the writers of these books have, and thus can’t “teach” them as faithfully. He says that even if he may not be qualified to teach specific stories, he is qualified as a reader to “read the words on the page,… talk about the implications of those pages and the words on those pages and to frame those pages in historical context and think about what different connections emerge”. He suggests that teachers like himself should teach these novels not with the intent of explaining what the author means, but as people who have something to learn along with their students.
    Along the same lines, Matt Mitchell, who teaches African-American Literature here at Uni, says that he tries to “allow the books and authors to speak for themselves as much as possible.” His own personal experience rarely comes up in the classroom – rather, it is his educational experience that allows him to facilitate a conversation through providing literary, historical, and cultural context.
    “My primary aim is to get an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion going, that will allow students to explore the issues raised by the literature and to formulate ideas they can pursue further in their own writing,” he stated. “I don’t claim or even imply that my ability to lead a critical discussion of any book is dependent on my own personal experience – that is precisely the value of bringing a diverse range of authors’ voices to the table.”

    Video: Teens Talk About Diversity
    Listen to teenagers explain what “Diversity” means to them and how it affects them - things like “explaining my mind … things that I would not think of otherwise”, “helps me understand others”  These young people are the future - and the minds and perspectives we connect with in our classrooms and workplaces. What values and beliefs are they articulating? How does it inform your values and beliefs as an educator and leader? What assumptions about students, diversity, inclusion, and equity are being challenged?

    Video: TEDx Lamont Sellers Talks About Diversity
    Lamont Sellers, is a social justice advocate and Associate Vice President for Diversity and Senior Diversity Officer for the University of South Dakota discusses ways to make changes supporting diversity on University campuses. He specializes in intergroup dialogues, as well as topics of cultural competence, privilege and oppression, diversity in the classroom, multicultural leadership development, and other social justice topics. As you listen to his talk, think about how his views and strategies connect with the teenagers’ perspectives in the previous video and your own emerging and explicit definitions, values, and beliefs about diversity and inclusion.

  • Diversity Statement Rubric

    Use these criteria to guide your writing. Note that while the competencies are presented separately they often are intertwined in your writing. For example, in demonstrating your sense of inclusivity, you can easily also address your motivation and teaching purpose, how you approach and assess learning etc.

    Improvement Actions

    Competency Criteria

    Stretching beyond competency
      Perspectives on Diversity - Inclusivity - Equity
    You define the terms ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’, and ‘equity. Your definitions go beyond race/ethnicity. You show awareness of key issues we face today with systemic bias in education in marginalization of people of color, (dis)abilities or neurodiversities, women, LGBTQ communities, non-native English speakers, literacies etc.     		  
      Grounding in your identity and lived experiences.
    You bring in your lived experiences of privilege and barriers as a result of your intersectional identities in your educational journey, connecting this to how this shapes your commitment and work to promote diversity and work for inclusion and equity. 
         		  
      Explicit Action as Commitment
    You show evidence of action for inclusivity and equity in professional development, participation beyond the classroom within institutional settings, professional associations, with colleagues, or beyond in other communities. You show commitment and action as an ally and advocate for embracing diversity, and working for inclusion and equity.    		  
      Scholarly Engagement
    You show awareness of and address cultural and methodological bias or blindness in your discipline and relevance to diverse communities.     		  
      Pedagogy for Inclusion and Equity
    Examples of Inclusive education values and strategies in your teaching and learning facilitation.    		  
      Specificity: Addresses the Institution
    If writing for a specific institution,     you show awareness of their student body demographics, and knowledge of and interest in their programs for diversity, inclusion, and equity.     		  
      Mechanics and Style
    There is no jargon; technical terms where necessary are given specific definitions. 
    You write in the first person using active, direct, concise, and precise syntax. You show control of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
    Your formatting (fonts, margins, spacing) is sound and consistent.     		  

    References: This page is taken from Diversity Statement Workbook from Preparing Future Faculty at Claremont Graduate University. 

  • Recording for Training Session – Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
    • Link coming soon

Additional Methods to Document Your Teaching Effectiveness

As you consider how to document your teaching effectiveness, the three methods below each offer a different way to provide evidence on the quality of your course design and/or share proof of your additional pedagogical trainings (as in the case of badges or certificates earned). Remember, no single piece of teaching evidence is as important as having enough pieces to provide an in-depth and holistic account about the work you performed in your commitment to effective and impactful teaching.

  • Course Maps

    Instructors can undertake the constructive alignment of course goals and learning outcomes to course assessments, assignments/activities, and technologies through the creation of a simple course map. The exercise of course mapping helps instructors to identify ways activities and assessments can reinforce or help to achieve outcomes or overall goals, and to identify what tools or technologies would be most appropriate to achieving them. 

    Course Mapping Resources
  • Quality Matters Self Reviews

    UCR is now subscribed to Quality Matters (QM), an organization out of the University of Maryland that oversees a widely-adopted and recognized quality-assurance framework and community of practice for designing online and blended courses, improving existing online courses, or making specific improvements to courses centering around issues like alignment, measurable objectives or competencies, or welcoming students.

    Quality Matters offers a number of face-to-face, online, and web conferencing workshops to help you use QM tools to improve courses. Quality Matters tools and resources can also be used to enhance fully in-person, or face-to-face courses. As part of our membership benefits, you can sign up to create a MyQM account that can be used to register for professional development opportunities through Quality Matters, such as the free, self-paced course “Elements of Quality Matters,” a good place to start!

    A MyQM account will subscribe you to the Quality Matters newsletter, and will provide you access the Quality Matters Course Review Management System, a tool that facilitates free, self-review of courses according to the 7th edition of the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric (PDF ⤓) , a framework for course quality recently updated in July 2023.

    Please refer to the handout called “Getting Started with Quality Matters” for helpful links. For a QM Rubric Workbook, a link to the fully annotated version of the rubric, or any questions, contact UCR’s Quality Matters Coordinators, Samantha Eastman and Debbie Nelson. 

    QM Self Review Instructions and Resources

    We highly recommend using the QM Self Review tool, provided on the QM website, to complete this task. 

    Here is a link to some instructions for how to set up your Quality Matters account. Please sign up using your NetID@ucr.edu email address.

    Sign in with your QM login or create a QM account (using your UCR email) by clicking the link above and choosing ‘No I am new here’ in the response to the password question.  Next, fill in the required fields, accept the terms and conditions, and select ‘Higher Education’ as your preferred program.

  • Badges and Certificates

    Occasionally, XCITE and other organizations will offer documentation of participation or completion of workshops or programs. These can be submitted with eFile as documentation of efforts toward teaching improvement.

How to Track Canvas Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are formal statements of the observable and measurable results of what a student will be able to do at the end of a learning experience (e.g. completing a project, program, or course). Explicit Learning Outcomes assist instructors in implementing their course through Backwards Design and identifying areas for improvement as well as increasing equity for students by communicating expectations clearly to them. Learning Outcomes also allow for the alignment of different learning experiences in a student’s progression through a course of study and for analysis of the effectiveness of teaching methods. At XCITE, we are leading the effort toward making learning outcomes more concise/specific, student-centered, measurable, meaningful, and achievable.

How to Request Peer Observations of Teaching and Learning

The Academy of Distinguished Teaching (ADT) will advise instructors on peer evaluation of teaching. Contact the ADT to learn more. Contact: Active Members

How to Submit Evidence on Courses and Programs Developed

How to use Student Self Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG)

A self-assessment instrument for how students themselves feel they have learned material in a course, the SALG protocol, known as “Student Assessment of Learning Gains,” is an accepted approach to add to your documentation of teaching effectiveness. 

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