Creating a Teaching Dossier (Faculty)
The teaching dossier (or portfolio) is widely used by faculty members and instructors to document their teaching experiences and to provide evidence of the quality of their teaching practice. Teaching dossiers and teaching philosophies are increasingly required for faculty and teaching positions at many institutions. At Dalhousie, candidates for faculty appointments, re-appointment, tenure, or promotion are usually required to submit a teaching dossier as part of the application process.
The Creating a Teaching Dossier sessions takes place over a few days in mid-May. The workshop series is partly presentation, partly work with peers, and partly individual consultation. You'll have the opportunity to think about your own philosophy or approach to teaching, and you’ll begin to organize your dossier, planning how to accurately capture your teaching practice and accomplishments for the readers.
Plan to spend some additional time between the workshop sessions working on your teaching dossiers. This includes preparing a draft of your Teaching Philosophy Statement prior to the second session.
This workshop is intended for faculty members, current instructors, and post-doctoral fellows. Graduate students should register for the Graduate Student Teaching Dossier Retreat.
Please note: Participants enrolled in the Faculty Certificate in Teaching and Learning Program must attend both presentation sessions and schedule at least one consultation.
All Dalhousie employees are welcome to request a teaching dossier and/or teaching philosophy consultation with any of the CLT’s Educational Developers at any time clt@dal.ca.
The sessions will review how to effectively presenting your teaching ideas, experiences, and evidence in a teaching dossier that's tailored to your specific context and purpose. You'll receive examples and guidance for conceptualizing a teaching philosophy, and you'll begin to draft a teaching philosophy statement or re-work an existing statement. You will also hear about experiences reading and evaluating dossiers, and exchange drafts of your teaching philosophy statements to discuss with your peers.
During the week following the workshop, we will hold virtual, individual consultation sessions. Several educational developers from the Centre for Learning and Teaching will be available to offer feedback and discussion in individual consultations.