Course Portfolio Discussion

1. What is a course portfolio?
2. What is in a course portfolio?
3. What do these items accomplish?
4. How should one go about writing a course portfolio?
5. What is a course portfolio used for?

1. What is a course portfolio?

A course portfolio is an artifact which documents a course, how it was taught, what it covered, what its objectives were, and how they were accomplished. There are many different reasons for maintaining a course portfolio, including:

• to document and preserve reform efforts
• to help other instructors develop the same or similar courses,
• to document what the course accomplished, for the benefit of follow-up courses, or courses in other departments which rely on the course
• to assess course content and goals
• to document student learning and teaching effectiveness

2. What is in a course portfolio?

• materials defining and information about the course:
  • the instructor's syllabus for the course
  • the actual course syllabus as handed out
  • the actual course syllabus as covered in the term
  • a specific statement of course goals (if these are not documented, e.g., in the syllabus)
  • specific information on the pedagogical methods employed in the course

• course materials developed for the course:
  • in-class handouts, labs, etc.
  • homework exercises and solutions
  • tests and project assignments
  • developed software

• assessment relevant to the course
  • instructor's evaluation of the course and reflections
  • evidence of student learning
  • information on course materials or methods adopted elsewhere

3. What do these items accomplish?

• what did the course accomplish?
  • what were you (as the instructor) trying to accomplish with the course?
  • why were those goals selected?
  • did the course meet the goals? how is this evident?
  • what problems were encountered in meeting the goals?

• how was this accomplished?
  • how was the course conducted and the students challenged?
  • how was the level of the students addressed?
  • what topics, materials and assignments were covered, and how and why were these changed in the course of the term?

• what pedagogical issues were addressed?
  • how were independent thinking and intellectual development encouraged in the class?
  • how was student competence with the subject matter obtained?
  • how were applications of mathematics worked into the course?
  • how was enthusiasm for the material conveyed?

• how should things change?
  • what should be done differently next time?
  • what was most interesting and most frustrating about the course?

4. How should one go about writing a course portfolio?

developed by Gavin with reference to materials provided by Steve Dunbar

Model 1

The first items in the portfolio may be most easily developed before the course is taught. These are, from section 2 (What is in a course portfolio), "materials defining and information about the course".

1. Document the goals for the course. While this may be part of an included syllabus, it may also be a separate document which briefly describes the objectives in both general terms (e.g., as to a dean or provost) and in different levels of greater specificity (e.g., as to a colleague not in the department, and then to a departmental colleague -- who may be teaching the same course).
2. Document the pedagogical substance in the course: how the course is conducted, what students get out of coming to class, where they will be challenged and how they will overcome the challenges. Explain how what the students learn is measured, and how the standards by which their work is judged relate to this and to other courses (both more introductory and more advanced).
3. Document the rationale for the course. Again, this may be part of other included documentation. A separate document may describe why the course format was chosen as it was and the motivation for the content---in particular, how does it teach students in the area of the course? How does it connect with other courses? How does the order in which the material is covered connect with the objectives, etc.?
4. Include syllabi---that handed out to the students, and that documenting what is to be covered in the course and when (if this is not included in the handed out syllabus, as is always the case in my syllabi).

5. Include the actual syllabus---what was actually covered.
6. Include class handouts, labs, tests, project assignments and homework (with solutions), etc.
7. Include an evaluation of the course: in particular, what worked and what didn't. Also evaluate the degree to which students (or the instructor!) attained the objectives for the course and how this is known.
8. Include an assessment on how the course should be changed to improve it the next time it is taught. Include specific reference to the pedagogical methods employed.

Model 2

This course portfolio consists of:

• a course information and syllabus document, which includes
  • course objectives
  • standard course information
  • a period-by-period syllabus giving the topics to be covered in the term
• the final exam for the course
• all homework assignments for the course

5. What is a course portfolio used for?

• it provides a record of the course, which should facilitate teaching the course again
• it documents the priorities and goals of the course
• it documents how the course fits into the academic environment in which it is taught and the degree to which it accomplishes its goals in this environment
• it documents the value of the course and instruction in the course to the ``consumers'' of the course, be they students, the state, the trustees, or university colleagues
• it is a portion of a teaching development record