Creating a Teaching Dossier
Dr. Shea Wang
Interim Faculty Evaluation Coordinator
780-633-3591
Feb. 17 2015
Faculty Evaluation at MacEwan
Five elements to evaluation:
• Teaching dossier
• Peer review
• Annual report
• Student Course Evaluation Surveys
• Stakeholder review (Appointment Review
and Promotion Committees)
Principles of Policy C5065
Evaluation is guided by the philosophy that we:
• promote a culture of teaching & learning
• foster professional development & scholarly activity
• promote fairness & transparency
• benefit faculty members through timely & accurate
feedback
• comply with Collective Agreement
• undertake as a process involving multiple
stakeholders & a variety of assessment approaches
What is a Teaching Dossier?
Policy C5065:
• “A teaching dossier is a concise, evidencebased record of teaching activities and
other academic accomplishments
prepared by a faculty member.”
Criteria for Continuation of
Probation, Continuing, and
Promotion
• Statement of the case for continuation of probation, continuing
status, or promotion (assessment of career- duties assigned)
• CV – entire academic career, format approved by AGC
• Record of academic & professional accomplishments
(continuing status application)
• Teaching practice [Article 11.0; 11.3 (a)-(f)- teaching dossier
material]
• Service (level and significance of participation/responsibility,
workload, demands on time, a description of the setting)
• Scholarly activity (e.g., publications, research grants,
presentations, exhibitions, performances, etc.)
• Professional activity if relevant to assigned workload
2014-17 CA:10.1.8 (p.43-44)
19.4.5 (p.49)
Why do we need a dossier?
Titling
What do you need to demonstrate?
E.g., Associate Prof./Professor for Engineering
“…candidates must submit a teaching dossier which
includes evidence concerning course and program
design and delivery, leadership, student advising, the
results of both peer review and student assessment, and
a statement of teaching philosophy. Other supporting
materials may be included at the candidate’s discretion.”
http://www.macewan.ca/wcm/ExecutiveandGovernance/
AcademicGovernanceCouncil/AcademicTitling/index.htm
Why do we need a dossier?
Probationary -> Continuing
What do you need to demonstrate?
E.g., BCOM probationary faculty
• Contributions to course, curriculum, &
program development; committees
• Reflections & actions on student feedback,
peer & administrative reviews
• Research/scholarly activity
• PD (ISW is required)
What else can we use it for?
• Help when applying for employment
• Keeps teaching/professional accomplishments
organized
• Vehicle for presenting information about teaching
activities
• Could be presented to institutional & legislative
bodies or for consideration of awards
• Understand & reflect on teaching skills &
weaknesses
• Plan for future teaching practice
• Promote yourself through personal websites
Writing a Teaching Dossier
FIVE STEPS:
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•
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Step 1: Develop an outline
Step 2: Write a statement of teaching philosophy
Step 3: Clarify your teaching responsibilities
Step 4: Reflect on your future teaching goals
Step 5: Select and compile your best evidence
Step 1: Develop an Outline
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•
•
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A statement of Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Responsibilities
Course Development and Innovation
Service (a list accompanied by sufficient
details)
• Research
• Appendices
See handout for example of tables of contents
Step 2: Activity
Break into small groups and discuss the
following sentences:
• I most enjoyed teaching when __________
• I knew I had a problem when __________
• What do you think this says about your
teaching and learning environment?
• What is your teaching philosophy?
See handout for information on teaching perspectives
Step 2: Philosophy Statements
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•
•
•
Most are brief ~ less than 1 page
Use language appropriate for the audience
Use a first-person voice
Use reflection to create a vivid description
of your teaching & learning ideas
• Personalize (insightful, interesting, & lively)
Step 3: Responsibilities
Consider:
• Workload
• Courses taught with student
numbers/levels/credit hours
• Details of other academic activity: seminars,
research supervision, coaching, advising…
• Student supervision
• Resource materials development
• Did you or any of your students get an award
as a result of your teaching?
Step 4: Goals
short-term (1 year) & long-term (2-5 years) goals
• Efforts at improving teaching, learning, service…
 Formal courses
 Conferences
 Participation in peer consultation/review
• How will you be changing your performance…
 New technology?
 Lecture -> case study?
Step 4: Goals
Teaching goals other considerations…
• How do your courses contribute to students' achievements in
and outside of MacEwan?
• How do you nurture students in a setting where grades can be
the key motivation to learn?
• How do you help students to learn and master knowledge in
their field? (teaching methods/tools)?
• What steps do you take to encourage higher level learning
(such as critical thinking, problem-solving, etc.)?
• What is engaged learning and how do you use it in the
classroom and in assignments?
• How do you evaluate these goals (manageable & realistic) ?
Step 5: Appendices
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•
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•
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Curriculum Vitae
Bibliography
Service contributions
Awards
Information from student/stakeholder
feedback
• Information from peer reviews
• Information from administrators
• More…
Student Feedback
Structured Reflection on Student Feedback
Context (workload, new course…)
Use of mid-term evals, CATS, …summarize
Summarize quantitative & qualitative feedback
– objectively
Validate Students Feedback (written responses
to results) – CA: 11.4
My reflection of this term…. How can I
improve? What do I need to change?
Dossier as a Tool for Personnel Decisions
• For personnel decisions, faculty members
need to gather and present hard evidence
and specific data about teaching
effectiveness. This involves demonstrating
student learning through instruction.
• The burden falls to the faculty member to
provide a carefully organized case that
establishes the connections with the
evidence.
Personnel Decisions: Activity
2014-17 CA:10.1.8 Faculty members are evaluated on
performance pertaining to academic responsibilities
which can include:
- Teaching
- Scholarly activity
- Service
- Record of academic & professional accomplishments
- Professional activity
In small groups, discuss what specific criteria you think is
used to assess a teaching/professional portfolio and
ways you can demonstrate it…
What are Reviewers Looking For?
• Clear statement of responsibilities
• Purposes and goals consistent with department
and institution
• Evidence-based success in teaching as
demonstrated by student learning
• Comments from peer reviewers and colleagues
• Student ratings and comments
See handout for example of reflection on Student Course
Evaluation Surveys
Evaluating Your Dossier
Questions to ask:
• Is real evidence of accomplishment presented, not
just a reflective statement?
• Is the reflective statement consistent with the
syllabi, student evaluations, and peer feedback?
• Does the dossier present evidence that the
student’s actually learned in the instructor's
course(s)?
• Have efforts been made by the faculty member to
assess and improve their teaching?
See handout for guide to evaluating teaching dossiers & organizational matrix
Online Portfolios
• Many faculty are now compiling online
portfolios:
• http://home.gwu.edu/~nmilman/service/index.
html
• http://ageducation.org/portfolio/index.html
• http://kinzie.edschool.virginia.edu/
• http://academic.macewan.ca/katod/instruction
al-philosophy (PhyEd)
• http://academic.macewan.ca/pollardc4/testpage/ (Health and Community Studies)
Resources
https://facultycommons.macewan.ca/services/faceval
• Teaching Dossier – examples, instructions,
resources
• Student surveys – incl. instructions on accessing
reports
• Faculty Evaluation Policies [C5065]
• Chair & Faculty Evaluation Handbooks
• Events, speakers, workshops & past presentations
Final Tips…
Consider
• readers - busy administrators
• purpose - build a story how you’ve
improved/how you deserve the title
• at least 12-15 hours
• collecting materials throughout the semester
• permission to include students’ work
• description, reflection, and connection
• having someone read your material – my
job!!!