Online Master's Degree in Education

Educational Portfolio

An educational portfolio is a systematic collection of multiple sources of information to provide evidence of significant endeavors and achievements in teaching. Although educational portfolios can be organized in many ways, the most common is a document or file divided into sections as follows:

Section 1: Teaching Philosophy

State explicitly your teaching philosophy and the educational goals of your career. You can integrate your personal background experiences, training, reading and reflection including:

Learning theory
Goals of instruction
Roles and responsibilities of the learner
Role of the teacher
Description of the variables which promote learning

Section 2: Teaching Responsibilities and Curriculum Development

This section should include teaching responsibilities and curriculum projects. Each curriculum packet should include the following instructional design elements:

Educational objectives in measurable terms for each unit or module
Development and sequencing of instructional units keyed to the objectives
Teaching methods consistent with objectives (e.g. lectures, small groups, Problem Based Learning, Case studies, clinical rounds)
Preparation of instructional materials (handouts and other supplemental resources)
Curriculum evaluation

Section 3: Teaching Competency

This section should provide information on teaching competency that focuses on the instructor's ability to deliver instruction to the learner using techniques, which maximize learning. The evidence for Teaching Competency may include:

Systematic peer evaluation
Systematic learner's ratings of instruction
Videotapes of exemplary teaching with self-analysis
Description of the audiences you teach and the teaching methods / strategies utilized
A detailed listing of the teaching activities for your audience (medical student, resident, faculty, community)
Samples of your teaching materials (syllabi, videotapes, CD-ROMs, lecture handouts, web-based programs, sample examinations)

Section 4: Assessment of Learner Performance and Evaluations

To provide evidence for your learners' learning and their level of competency, you can include a graphic summary of your assessment activities over time. Your assessment techniques should provide information regarding reliability (e.g. the consistency, precision, and dependability of the measurement) and validity (e.g. face, content, criterion, and construct). Your documentation may include the following:

Examples of learners' work
Medical student evaluations
Resident and fellow evaluations
Peer review / evaluations
Self-evaluations
Clerkship evaluations
Course evaluations

Section 5: Mentoring / Advising

This section provides the opportunity to document one-on-one involvement with learners as coach, guide, or mentor, which impacts their development as professionals.
If you have any responsibility in mentoring or advising you may provide:

A list of formal or informal advisees and examples of advisee work while under your guidance
Service description in formal mentoring programs
Information on mentoring medical students, residents, or fellows preparing educational presentations and writing manuscripts and grants
Information on mentoring junior faculty (e.g., promotion oversight committee)

Section 6: Administrative Service

This section provides information on administrative services that include serving as a course director, a curriculum coordinator, a director of residency program, leadership on various educational projects and programs, and departmental or community committees such as:

Departmental Education or Curriculum Committees
Hospital Education or Curriculum Committees
Medical School Education or Curriculum Committees
National Education Committees
Program Director (residency, faculty development, clerkship, etc.)

Section 7: Regional / National Scholarship

The scholarship of teaching is important to demonstrate contemporary knowledge of the field and current literature about teaching. The products of scholarship related to education include the following activities:

Research and development
Book and book chapter publications
Journal publications
Regional and national presentations
Educational grants or contracts
Presentation of posters and scientific exhibits on medical education
Curriculum units and teaching modules
Web-based materials
Participation and service in a professional education organization
Invited presentations / lectures
Reviewer for regional / national education-related conferences and / or journals

Section 8: Personal Development

This section provides information on your continuing development as an educator. If you participate in:

Institutional or National Faculty Development Programs
Educational fellowships (e.g., AAMC fellowship in medical education research, etc.)
Degree-granting programs (e.g., master's degree in education, public health, or health administration)
Medical education journal club

Section 9: Honors and Awards

Awards, certificates, and honors are evidence for one's high esteem, recognition as an "educator" and as a "clinician" or "scientist." These recognitions must be included in a portfolio as they represent the collective judgments regarding one's expertise. The following are the examples to document:

Departmental teaching awards
Institutional teaching awards
Society teaching and education awards
Editor recognition awards
Scientific exhibit awards
Membership on awards committee for national society
Certificates
Honors

Section 10: Long-Term Goals

The last section of the portfolio should cover your long-term goals, e.g. 1-2-page narrative description of your plans as an educator. You can reflect on your future projects, ideas to be investigated, skills to be developed through continuing education, and involvement in professional organizations. You may include the following documentation: