The biggest part of the application to the Teaching Academy is the teaching portfolio. Here you can see more information about the application setup and browse through sample applications from some of those who have successfully applied to the Teaching Academy. It is well worth browsing these samples as you will see (a) that they are very different from each other (because each teacher has a different situation and approach) but also (b) fundamentally similar in being well-organised and development-oriented in a way that addresses the main criteria for admission.
Here below you can read through the course material from the application course of 2023, created by board members Guðrún Geirsdóttir, Matthew James Whelpton and Sean Michael Scully. The course focused primarily on the teaching portfolio, including the pedagogical reflection, supporting evidence and teaching CV. The following material will also address some of the common pitfalls that people fall into when writing an application of this type. It is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the course material before participating in the workshops of the application process.
We would like to thank our two international expert advisers, Roy Andersson, Centre for Engineering Education and Academic Development Unit, Lund University, and Anders Ahlberg, Academic Development Unit, Lund University, for their continuing help and support. They have kindly granted us access to their workshop slides from 2022 in developing these materials.
A teaching portfolio provides an opportunity for a teacher to document their teaching experience and to reflect upon it explicitly. The teaching portfolio and CV should establish clearly that the applicant meets the evaluation criteria for entry. We will look at criteria 1,3 and 4 separately but in general the portfolio should establish professional competence, as per criterion 2.
Professional knowledge – the ability to present professional knowledge in the context of learning and teaching.
- Applicants use recognised means to support students in tackling increasingly complex tasks and utilising their knowledge.
- Study materials and teaching methods are in accordance with the objectives of the course and the curriculum.
In the following video Guðrún Geirsdóttir of University of Iceland´s Centre for Teaching and Learning discusses the requirements of the Academy portfolio with our two international expert advisers: Roy Andersson, Centre for Engineering Education and Academic Development Unit, Lund University; Anders Ahlberg, Academic Development Unit, Lund University.
Arguably the most important portion of your teaching portfolio is your earnest reflection on your pedagogical principles, teaching experiences, and the broader context of evidence-based pedagogical knowledge. This reflective essay provides an excellent opportunity for educators to explicitly unpack their underlying assumptions about teaching, their use of teaching methods, put evaluations from students into context, evaluate the role of students in the classroom, dive into the nature of student learning, the interplay of teaching and research, and numerous other related issues. One might start this process by reflecting on a few opening end questions: How do you teach and why? What is learning? What is the aim of learning in higher education and your teaching programme? How do you know what/whether your students have learned anything? How can you adapt and develop your teaching to better address student learning?
In general, a teaching reflection is therefore a statement of the teacher´s teaching principles and an exploration of how those principles relate to their teaching practice. Since this reflection is highly personal in nature, it is okay to select a writing style that is more in line with prose (i.e. “writing how you speak”) than a more traditional and technical writing style commonly used in other academic works. Despite the highly personal nature of this reflection, for the purposes of the application, however, there are certain elements that should definitely appear to ensure that you adequately highlight your teaching work. The following is a useful template or recipe for a well-structured teaching reflection.
A recipe for the teaching reflection in the application
- Brief reading instruction and description of contents
- Brief teaching biography
- “Boiled down” core teaching principles
- 3-4 concrete cases; each should highlight
- Problem/observation of student learning
- What I did about it (change of teaching)
- Outcomes of new teaching approach (exams, evaluations, other learning outcomes)
- Reference to evidence (in attachment)
- Brief thoughts on future teaching development
- Brief reference list
Brief reading instruction and description of contents
Prior to jumping into specific sections, writers should provide the reader with a brief set of reading instructions on how to approach their portfolio and an overview of the contents of the portfolio. To this end, it would be wise to make careful and deliberate use of signposting to make it easier for reader to move effortlessly between topics as needed upon evaluating your portfolio.
Brief teaching biography
It is very common to open a teaching portfolio with a short (several paragraph) biography of the educator highlighting your own pedagogical experiences, professional training, and related work up to this point in your career.
“Boiled down” core teaching principles
Educators should put forth a handful (around 3-5?) of their “boiled down” fundamental teaching principles. Much like strong themes in a literary work, these teaching principles should be recurring and well-evidenced themes throughout your reflections.
Cases and Evidence
See more about cases and evidence below on this page.
Brief thoughts on future teaching development
Another critical portion of the teaching portfolio is your plans for further developing yourself as teaching professional. This section is often relatively brief and portfolio writers might consider identifying specific shortcomings that you see in yourself or skills that you would like to add that might be of benefit for you and your students. Future development might include going to specific conferences or seminars or taking courses in pedagogy or other useful skills.
Brief reference list
Like any scholarly work, your teaching portfolio should make adherence references to pedagogical literature that you have found to be helpful. This can often be overwhelming for many academics as we often have a poor knowledge of formal pedagogical study! But fear not, making good use of relatively few references is preferable to taking a scattershot “kitchen sink” approach. As with everything up to this point, the selected literature should be directly tied to how your teaching principles manifest. The format of the references does not matter and applications are free to use a reference system of their choosing.
A word of caution to pedagogists!
Strangely enough, one of the groups who have to be particularly careful in developing their teaching reflection is the group who in one way are best equipped to articulate and unpack their perspective: specialists in education research. Those whose primary field of research and publication is educational theory obviously have a vast resource at their disposal to define and discuss their teaching principles and perspective. However, the main point of the teaching reflection in this application is as a reflection on practice. How do *I* teach? What have I done in the course? How did it work out? What did I learn? This is very different from a general analysis of the nature of learning and teaching, especially as one would articulate it for other research scientists working in the field. Educational specialists must therefore take special care to focus on their own practice and how they have developed it.
Reflection on practice
At the heart of a successful application is the presentation of cases of teaching practice which show how a teacher attempted to support student learning in their practice, what problems arose and how those problems were addressed. Below, we will explore the notion of a case in more detail.
The third evaluation criterion for the Academy states:
- Clear pedagogical development for the future – professionalism in teaching
Applicants have worked systematically and enthusiastically to improve their teaching, in terms of content, presentation, and innovation in teaching methods.
The Academy seeks members who are driven to improve their teaching by reflecting on their experience and critically evaluating their methods. There is a clear desire to learn: from their own experience, from others, and from research-supported best practice.
In the following video, Guðrún Geirsdóttir of University of Iceland´s Centre for Teaching and Learning discusses how to present cases in the application with our two international expert advisers: Roy Andersson, Centre for Engineering Education and Academic Development Unit, Lund University; Anders Ahlberg, Academic Development Unit, Lund University.
Cases and Problematisation
In the application, a case problematises an aspect of teaching experience which has been significant in the professional development of a teacher. It describes a problem that the teacher perceived in their teaching practice and how they attempted to address that problem by adapting their practice. Crucially, it shows how the teacher evaluated the success of that attempt and what they learned from the experience in order to continue improving their teaching practice.
It is important to note that the attempt need not have been successful! Life and learning are about making mistakes. But the important aspect of the case is that it provided significant input to the teacher on how to move forward with their teaching.
However, it does matter that the driving motivation of the attempt and the lessons that are subsequently learned from it are consistent with the teaching principles reflected in the initial teaching reflection of the application. The teaching principles stated initially are supposed to be a brief statement of the motivating mindset which explains how the teacher has approached their teaching and their attempts to improve it.
Contrasting Cases
The strongest applications use cases to present the range of the teacher´s teaching experience and the issues that they have struggled with in developing their teaching. It is therefore a good idea to choose contrasting cases. For instance, a teacher might have taught both very small groups and very large groups, or on-site students and distance students, or survey courses for undergraduates and advanced research seminars for graduates. Each of these will pose different challenges. It is especially important not to forget supervision, including doctoral supervision, as teaching. The role of doctoral supervisor is one of the most challenging a university teacher faces and poses its own distinctive problems. These make good material for a case.
In the discussion of what constitutes a case, it was observed that „The Academy seeks members who are driven to improve their teaching by reflecting on their experience and critically evaluating their methods„. An applicant illustrates this developmental mindset by presenting cases which describe an attempt to improve teaching and „how the teacher evaluated the success of that attempt“.
The evaluation of success or failure, described in a case, should not simply be based in the gut instinct of the teacher but grounded in some evidence that the teacher has collected. This reflects the general orientation of the Academy towards the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), by which teachers apply to the evaluation of their own teaching the same evidence-based standards that apply in their research work.
In the following video, Guðrún Geirsdóttir of University of Iceland´s Centre for Teaching and Learning discusses the kind of evidence that applicants can use in support of their application with our two international expert advisers: Roy Andersson, Centre for Engineering Education and Academic Development Unit, Lund University; Anders Ahlberg, Academic Development Unit, Lund University. (There is also a lovely discussion of collegiality at 10:21.)
Kinds of evidence
For the purposes of the application, evidence can be of a variety of kinds.
Evidence related to student learning
Evidence related to student learning and engagement might include:
- Teaching evaluations (kennslukönnun)
- Collated student feedback (in-course surveys or other direct feedback)
- Focus groups, interviews with students
- Learning analytics from Canvas/Moodle
- Comparative student outcomes
- Comparative data on course completion
- Videos of student engagement
Evidence related to teaching practice and cases
It can also be effective to provide samples related to teaching practice and cases described in the main application.
- Teaching materials
- Instructions
- Syllabi
- Assignments and rubrics
- Feedback to students
- Team-developed instruction projects
- Supporting references from professional colleagues
Selection and presentation of evidence
A well-presented application will not include a massive data-dump of „evidence“ in a disorganized jumble. Instead it will include an appendix with carefully curated examples that reinforce particular points in the main text and are referenced there. If in doubt, the applicant should put themselves in the shoes of the assessors and imagine how samples of evidence might be useful to them if they were conducting an assessment of a large number of applications. Please note that materials in Icelandic do not need to be translated into English, though a brief note on the nature of the evidence would be appreciated. The Icelandic member of the evaluation committee will validate the nature of the evidence for the visiting assessors.
Hot Tip!
Instead of submitting a MOUNTAIN of supporting documents, consider hyperlinking to your chosen evidence in SharePoint or One Drive (or a selected cloud service of your choosing). That said, be sure to make sure that the document permissions allow persons from outside your institution are sufficiently set to ensure a review can access the files.
A teaching CV is a standard CV which emphasises teaching-related items rather than research- or administration-related items, which do not relate directly to teaching and teaching development.
In addition to the formal requirements listed on the application pageLinks to an external site., a teaching CV might include sections relating to:
- Academic positions
- Teaching administration and leadership roles
- Teaching grants
- Teaching awards
- Teaching practice-related publications
- Teaching practice-related presentations
- Personal academic development (courses etc)
Common pitfalls
A teaching portfolio remains an unfamiliar document type for many teachers, although it is rapidly becoming a important standard professional document internationally. The specific approach to the teaching portfolio for applications to the Academy also has its own distinctive characteristics. There is also no set formula for writing a good application, although this course offers one model which has generally proven successful both here and in the Nordic universities on which our academy is modelled.
It is therefore understandable that applicants encounter a number of difficulties in developing their portfolio and associated documentation. Here we list a few of the most common pitfalls that applicants fall into and on the subsequent two pages we address two of the main criteria for assessing applications which have proved to be problematic for applicants over the last couple of years: What do you mean by student-centred?; What do you mean by collegiality?
Here are some of the most common general pitfalls:
- Mismatch between teaching core principles and teaching practice examples
- Lack of problematization of cases (observation > action > outcome)
- Supervision and teaching leadership left out
- Poor structure, messy, unprioritized
- Lack of referring to supporting documentation (evidence)
- Overwhelming documentation
- No future vision for pedagogical development
1st Evaluation Criterion
The first evaluation criterionLinks to an external site. for the Academy focuses on student-centered teaching:
Student-centered teaching
- Applicants’ teaching is based on a clear teaching vision and knowledge of how students learn.
- In their teaching, applicants consider the relationship between learning outcomes, teaching methods, assessment, and how students learn.
- Applicants’ communication with their students is based on trust; they seek feedback from students and respond to it in a constructive way.
In the following video, three members of the Teaching Academy discuss understandings and mis-understandings of what „student-centered“ means.
Student-centered vs nice to students
The main source of confusion concerning the nature of student-centered teaching is that teachers easily fall into the trap of thinking that student-centered teaching simply means „being nice to students“; while it is certainly advisable to be cordial to our students and build a personal rapport with them, this is not at all what student-centered teaching is about. Indeed it is quite possible to be student-centered without the students feeling that you are being particularly nice to them!
Teaching becomes student-centered when it focuses on the question of how students learn and how it is best to support them in acquiring the knowledge, skills and competencies that we want them to acquire. This is why SoTL principles refer to the scholarship not just of teaching but also learning. An emphasis on student learning can lead to considerations of engagement and motivation and from there the issue of giving students a stake in their own learning and an increased role in what we would traditionally think of the teacher´s role. But at the heart of student-centered teaching is a focus on how the student learns best. Fortunately for educators, there have been numerous studies on „what works“ for learning, the challenge is dissecting this information and putting it into practice to help students learn in the context in which we find ourselves teaching.
This is also one of the reasons that being student-centered may not count as being nice to students, as it can put more responsibility on the student. But of course responsibility and support should go hand in hand but it is of course incumbent upon educators to provide high quality and critically-minded feedback. And one hopes that a focus on student learning and a willingness to engage positively with students on a personal level can go hand in hand.
For the purposes of the application, the main issue is the degree to which the applicant emphasizes the perspective of the student and their situation within the learning environment in order to enhance student learning most effectively.
4th Evaluation Criterion
The fourth evaluation criterionLinks to an external site. for the Academy relates to collegiality:
An active participant in conversations about learning and teaching.
- Applicants acquire, create, and share knowledge of learning and teaching in their field.
- Applicants collaborate with other teachers or professionals on pedagogical development and teaching methods.
- Applicants take an active part in discussions about teaching and share their pedagogical experience, for example through informal conversations, working groups, workshops, conferences, or publications.
In the following video, three members of the Teaching Academy discuss understandings and mis-understandings of what „collegiality“ means.
(Guðrún Geirsdóttir also discusses a lovely example of collegiality in the video on evidence at 10:21 – see What counts as supporting evidence?)
What is collegiality?
Collegiality refers to the positive working relationship between colleagues who share the same responsibilities, especially where the burdens are shared between them.
- companionship and cooperation between colleagues who share responsibility (Google/Oxford LanguagesLinks to an external site.)
- a friendly relationship between people who work together or do the same job (Cambridge DictionaryLinks to an external site.)
- cooperative interaction among colleagues (dictionary.comLinks to an external site.)
In the context of teaching, it is often used to refer to a culture in which teachers talk together about their own teaching and share ideas with each other about how to improve it.
Why is collegiality a big deal?
Collegiality is an important issue in academic development because teaching has so often been treated as an entirely private matter for individual teachers. One does not raise issues related to the organisation of teaching with other teachers, any more than one would discuss intimate personal matters with them. This means of course that it is very hard to grow and develop as a teacher, because one teaches in isolation.
One of the main aims of the AcademyLinks to an external site. is „to strengthen dialogue about teaching and pedagogical development within and between universities“. It therefore seeks applications from those who have shown an interest in engaging in conversations about teaching and sharing their experiences and research concerning their own teaching practice.
This is something that we take for granted in research. We would think it absurd that an academic would refuse to talk about their research and share it, either within their own institution or more broadly. It is simply taken for granted that it is positive both for the individual and for the field as a whole that research is shared and discussed. The Academy wishes to see a similar culture as regards teaching practice.
Collegiality is really a marker of a particular mind set: are you willing to share your experiences, learn from the experiences of others, and so grow and develop in your teaching?
But what does collegiality mean for my application?
The fourth criterion mentions a broad range of ways in which applicants can show that they have taken part in discussion about teaching practice: „informal conversations, working groups, workshops, conferences, or publications“. Notice that it is not just formal discussion, such as conferences and publications, but also informal discussion with colleagues, which count. If you have been active in discussions in your department about how to change or improve teaching, if you have taken part (either as a presenter or participant) in a discussion group about teaching (e.g. kennslukaffi), if you have shown your colleagues some teaching method you have tried in your classroom and discussed the outcome with them, all of these are part of collegiality.
Over the last couple of years, we have noticed that people often undervalue or ignore activities that are clear examples of collegiality. In one extreme example, an applicant in the peer review phase noted that they didn´t have much to say about collegiality; on probing it became clear that they had taken part in a major European project on the use of learning management systems to optimise teaching in their field! Collegiality remains a strange blind spot for academics: but usually those who are considering applying have already exhibited collegiality in a range of ways, which they are simply not used to valuing!
Useful readings and resources
Below are some readings and other resources that you might find useful when grappling with the concepts covered in this module!
- Chalmers, D. (2021). Building your career through teaching (bls. 328-344 ) Download Building your career through teaching (bls. 328-344 )Í L. Hunt & D. Chalmers (Ritstjórar), University teaching in focus: A learning-centered approach. Routledge (whole book included) .
- Cornell University’s Teaching Philosophy Statement https://graidschool.cornell.edu/career-and-professional-development/pathways-to-success/prepare-for-your-career/take-action/teaching-philosophy-statement/
- Krause, K-L. (2021). A quality approach to university teaching (bls,304-328) Download A quality approach to university teaching (bls,304-328). Í Lynne Hunt & Deniser Chalmers. (Ritstjórar), University teaching in focus: A learning-centered approach. Routledge (whole book included).
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
- Felten, P. (2013). Principles of Good Practice in SoTL. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 1(1), 121-125. https://doi.org/10.2979/teachlearninqu.1.1.121Links to an external site.
- Hutchings, P., Huber, M.T., Ciccone, A. (2011). Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Reconsidered. Jossey-Bass/Wiley. (Amazon linkLinks to an external site.)
- Ream, T.C., Braxton, J.M., Boyer, E.L., Moser, D. (2015). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate – Expanded Edition. Jossey-Bass. (Amazon linkLinks to an external site.)