EXCERPT from: THOMAS BARTLETT
Thomas Bartlett, "What Makes a Teacher Great? Chronicle of Higher Education,
December 12, 2003.
http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i16/16a00801.htm
....
The biggest advocate for the use of the teaching portfolio -- and the person
often credited with its creation -- is Peter Seldin, a professor of
management at Pace University. His book, The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical
Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions, which will be
published in its third edition in January, has sold more than 20,000 copies.
He has preached the virtues of teaching portfolios at conferences and
workshops around the country.
In 1990, according to Mr. Seldin, only 10 colleges used teaching portfolios.
Now there are more than 2,000. "The reason it seems to work is that it
captures both the individuality and the complexity of teaching," he says.
Like Ms. Huber, Mr. Seldin argues that by looking at a variety of material
-- like student evaluations and personal statements from professors
-- colleges can get a better idea of what's going on in the classroom.
Still, it's important to demand that professors produce evidence that they
are actually doing what they say they are doing. If they say they have
helped students write better, then they should include samples of student
writing in the teaching portfolio. If they say students are scoring better
on tests, include the scores, says Mr. Seldin.
He encounters people in academe who scoff at the idea that the quality of
teaching is something that can be measured. But the success of teaching
portfolios proves that the skeptics are wrong, Mr. Seldin argues. "There are
some folks who just think it's inappropriate to try to measure teaching," he
says. "But my notion of measuring teaching is whether someone is reasonably
effective, not whether they are a 4.8 on a 5.0 scale."
....