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A more in-depth overview of the different parts of a teaching portfolio, with advice about when and how to start gathering materials.

Communication
As we transition to remote instruction, communicate with your students right away and often. Even if you don’t have a plan in place for your course, communicate with your students as soon as it’s clear that your course will need remote delivery. Be clear with them that changes are coming and what your expectations are for near term engagement with the course. Communication is best done with courses by using the Instructor Systems tool on the Registrar’s website, or by using the Email function of D2L.

Greetings Educators!Are you, do you, or have you ever - crossed paths with an international student or colleague at MSU? It is highly unlikely that your answer to these prompts would be "no" given the following information provided by the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS):
Since admitting its first international students in 1873, MSU has welcomed tens of thousands of international students and scholars to East Lansing. Today, MSU is home to over 9,000 international students, scholars, and their dependent family members from more than 140 countries. In addition to contributing to the academic and intercultural environment, international students also have a tremendous positive economic impact on the Greater Lansing area. Michigan State University's international students contribute $324.5 million to the local economy through spending on education, housing, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications, and health care. This economic impact supports 4,675 jobs in the Greater Lansing area. Source: NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool
Given the significant presence of international students and scholars and the depth of contributions they make in the Spartan community, it is crucial that you consider diversity, equity, and inclusion from a global perspective. For starters, check out the Michigan State University's own: James M. Lucas, Nicola Imbracsio, and Sheila Marquardt have shared an excellent resource on Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for educators entitled "Global DEI Models and Methods" (2021). You can access the PDF of this resource on iteach.msu.edu. You should also visit the Global and Intercultural Learning at MSU page for more information about internationalizing undergraduate experiences. To learn more about this topic, review the "Internationalizing the Student Experience: Working Group Report."You should also consider varying degrees of familiarity with spoken and written english. Every learner is unique in their exposure to and experience with english. For a guided asynchronous experience to help you think more on this topic, explore the "Teaching Multilingual Learners: An Introduction to Translingual Pedagogy" playlist! An additional resources is "Seven Tips Toward Linguistic Inclusion". Both of these resources were shared directly by other educators at MSU. Another MSU resource for linguistic inclusion is the English Language Center. You should, at a minimum, be aware of the services and programs they provide!More broadly speaking, there are other resources to help you think about inclusive teaching. A great place to start is MSU Libraries' Inclusive Teaching page. In partnership with the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, MSU librarians have developed this site to highlight research and resources focusing on inclusive teaching in the disciplines. The site is a work in progress. Librarians have begun gathering resources by carrying out preliminary searches in their subject areas and summarizing their findings and search processes. These lists are meant to serve as a starting point for faculty interested in looking into research on pedagogy and inclusion in their fields. A breadth of very insighful reasources (relevant to all) are shared in the "Trauma Informed Practice: Resources for Best Practices in the Classroom" article and site. Similarly, an important centeralized resource for all is MSU's Institutional Diversity and Inclusion office, that has developed a great foundational set of resources for Building Inclusive Communities. Some of these resources are also represented, along side many others, in the "Inclusive Teaching and Pedagogy" section of the "Expanded Educator Resources" playlist.Making big changes to your practice can seem overwhleming, but working toward a globally inclusive classroom is critical for the culture of MSU broadly and student success as a whole. You can take small steps to shifting the way you think about the design of your assignments (time based deadlines might not be that inclusive for individuals in time zones other than Eastern), your activities (whose perspectives are represented on your reading list), or even the your very first encounter with learners (a name is often core to one's identity, so correctly naming people is important [visit NameDrop for a free platform where anyone can share the correct pronunciation of their name])!Who will be globally inclusive in their teaching? Spartans will.Photo by Vladislav Klapin on Unsplash

MSU Teaching Dossier Template
These are 'suggested' sections for a dossier / portfolio. Consider these as starting points to building your dossier and highlighting your work.
Rationale
“...many teacher educators continue to believe that teachers learn to teach over time. In fact, it is the consensus in the teacher education community that we are never done learning to teach, because each group of new students brings new challenges and possibilities, and because as societies change, the problems and issues that teachers confront also change." (Cochran-Smith, M., 2012, p.2)[1]
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to help organize the development of a teaching dossier. As suggested in the above quote, teaching is an ongoing and evolving process. Your teaching dossier is an opportunity to organize and reflect on your instructional practice and related contributions to pedagogy such as professional learning and scholarship. This resource will help you to organize and highlight these efforts.
How to use this template
You should view your teaching dossier as a living document. Unlike a CV your dossier affords you the opportunity to include reflections, artifacts, and examples of your work to highlight your efforts, contributions, and growth as an educator. This document helps to outline core or common elements to be included to show your experience and perspective on teaching and learning. You may wish to omit or emphasize other areas of your work in this resource. Therefore, view this template as a starting point or organizer to begin the development of your dossier.
Biographical Statement
Provide a brief history of the journey to your current teaching position. Consider this your introduction. Provide a little background about your teaching experience but leave the specific details about your experience and current responsibilities for that section of the dossier.
Approach to Teaching / Teaching Philosophy
These are personal statements of your beliefs about teaching and learning. You can support your claims with anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. You may also highlight specific approaches that you employ in your practice. Your statement can summarize a general plan or goals for your teaching. The statement should be descriptive, but brief (1 to 2 pages). This isn’t a critique or analysis of various philosophies or theories of learning. It is your statement.
Teaching Methods & Examples
What types of instructional strategies do you use or rely on? Are you a proponent of active learning, peer instruction, problem-based learning, case-Based learning, or project-based learning? Maybe your instructional strategies are more didactic because these align with your philosophy of teaching. Here is where you can provide a description of the methods you use and show some examples of your work. You may consider including sample course materials such as:

Assignment descriptions
Course modules
Lab assignments / projects
Descriptions of activities
Outline of technologies used

Teaching Responsibilities & Activities
Offer a description of your teaching responsibilities and courses. You may describe the courses (modality, level, size, credit hour, etc.). Highlight your role in the design and delivery of these courses. You may consider including the syllabi for the courses that you are currently teaching or have taught. If you are involved with non-credit teaching such as seminars and workshops, include these as well.
Professional Development & Scholarship
Highlight your participation and commitment to ongoing professional development. What courses or sessions have you participated in? Are you a member of a professional learning community? If you have contributed to the academic community through a presentation, publication, or session related to the practice of teaching and learning than these efforts should be highlighted. Include links to artifacts and evidence.
Reviews & Feedback
Course reviews can be artifacts of effectiveness. You may have received peer or student feedback to highlight your efforts and effectiveness. It is important to show the alignment between your approach to instruction and the results highlighted in feedback and outcomes. Consider comments received via iteach.msu.edu “Thank an Educator”, or through peer feedback sessions (i.e. Peer Dialogues)
Awards and Recognition
Provide a description of the nominations, awards, and various forms of recognition that you have received for your contributions to teaching. These may include “Thank an Educator” awards from iTeach.msu.edu to invitations to speak or present about your work.
Summary & Reflections
Include a summary or reflection to add a narrative to the experiences you have had during instruction. Identify things that worked well, or things that could be modified to work better the next time. Reflect on things that you have learned, areas where you believe you have been successful and areas where you would like to improve or grow. You may outline goals in this portion of your dossier.
Appendices / Evidence
In a document format of your dossier, you would include links to resources and a list of citations outlining your work and contributions to teaching and learning. In a digital format you would be able to provide evidence more directly. As you build your dossier, you may want to outline the artifacts and evidence you will include in your dossier here.
 
 
[1] COCHRAN-SMITH, Marilyn. A Tale of Two Teachers: Learning to Teach Over Time. Kappa Delta Pi Record, v. 48, n. 3, p. 108-122, 2012. DOI:10.1080/00228958.2012.707501.

UNC - Chapel Hill's Writing Center offers resources for teaching and supporting English language learners in a college classroom.

Taken from the Faculty Handbook, this document explains the rights and responsibilities of those teaching and/or taking courses at Michigan State University, including information on syllabi, assessments, and complaint procedures.

With our guiding principles for remote teaching as flexibility, generosity, and transparency, we know that there is no one solution for assessment that will meet all faculty and student needs.  From this perspective, the primary concern should be assessing how well students have achieved the key learning objectives and determining what objectives are still unmet. It may be necessary to modify the nature of the exam to allow for the differences of the remote environment. This document, written for any instructor who typically administers an end-of-semester high-stakes final exam, addresses how best to make those modifications.  In thinking about online exams, and the current situation for remote teaching, we recommend the following approaches (in priority order) for adjusting exams: multiple lower-stakes assessments, open-note exams, and online proctored exams.  When changes to the learning environment occur, creating an inclusive and accessible learning experience for students with disabilities should remain a top priority. This includes providing accessible content and implementing student disability accommodations, as well as considering the ways assessment methods might be affected.  
 
Faculty and students should be prepared to discuss accommodation needs that may arise. The team at MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) will be available to answer questions about implementing accommodations. Contact information for Team RCPD is found at https://www.rcpd.msu.edu/teamrcpd. Below you will find a description of each of the recommendations, tips for their implementation, the benefits of each, and references to pertinent research on each.
There are three primary options*: 

Multiple lower-stakes assessments (most preferred)  
Open note exams  (preferred)  
Online proctored exams (if absolutely necessary)

*Performance-based assessments such as laboratory, presentation, music, or art experiences that show proficiency will be discussed in another document



Multiple lower-stakes assessments
Description: The unique circumstances of this semester make it necessary to carefully consider your priorities when assessing students. Rather than being cumulative, a multiple assessment approach makes assessment an incremental process. Students demonstrate their understanding frequently, and accrue points over time, rather than all at once on one test. Dividing the assessment into smaller pieces can reduce anxiety and give students more practice in taking their exams online.  For instance, you might have a quiz at the end of each week that students have to complete. Each subsequent quiz can (and should) build on the previous one, allowing students to build toward more complex and rigorous applications of the content. Using this approach minimizes your need to change the types of questions that you have been asking to date, which can affect student performance (e.g. if you normally ask multiple-choice questions, you can continue to do so).   For the remainder of the semester, use the D2L quizzes tool to build multiple smaller assessments. Spread out the totality of your typical final exam over the month of April. This can be as simple as dividing a 100 question final exam into eight 12-question “synthesis activities” that students complete bi-weekly.
Benefits as noted from the literature: 

No significant differences were observed in terms of keystroke information, rapid guessing, or aggregated scores between proctoring conditions;
More effective method for incentivizing participation and reading; 
Encourages knowledge retention as each subsequent assessment builds on the last

Rios, J. A., & Liu, O. L. (2017). Online proctored versus unproctored low-stakes internet test administration: Is there differential test-taking behavior and performance?. American Journal of Distance Education, 31(4), 226-241. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08923647.2017.1258628  Schrank, Z. (2016). An assessment of student perceptions and responses to frequent low-stakes testing in introductory sociology classes. Teaching Sociology, 44(2), 118-127. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0092055X15624745  VanPatten, B., Trego, D., & Hopkins, W. P. (2015). In‐Class vs. Online Testing in University‐Level Language Courses: A Research Report. Foreign Language Annals, 48(4), 659-668. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/flan.12160 
 
Open note exams 
Description: Open note assessments allow students to refer to the Internet and other materials while completing their assessments. By design, this disincentives academic dishonesty. Often instructors put time parameters around open note exams. These types of exams also lend themselves to collaborative work in which multiple students work together to complete the assessment. With an open note strategy, you can keep your general exam schedule and point structure, but you may need to revise questions so they are less about factual recall and more about the application of concepts.  For instance you might give students a scenario or case study that they have to apply class concepts to as opposed to asking for specific values or definitions. If you plan to make such changes, communicate your intent and rationale to you students prior to the exam.  One effective open note testing technique is to use multiple-true/false questions as a means to measure understanding. These questions (called “multiple selection” questions in D2L) pose a scenario and prompt students to check all the boxes that apply. For example, students may be prompted to read a short case or lab report, then check all statements that are true about that reading. In this way a single question stem can assess multiple levels of complexity and/or comprehension. 
Benefits as noted from the literature: 



Open-book exams and collaborative exams promote development of critical thinking skills. 
Open-book exams are more engaging and require higher-order thinking skills. 
Application of open-book exams simulates the working environment. 
Students prefer open-book exams and report decreased anxiety levels. 
Collaborative exams stimulate brain cell growth and intricate cognitive complexes.  



Johanns, B., Dinkens, A., & Moore, J. (2017). A systematic review comparing open-book and closed-book examinations: Evaluating effects on development of critical thinking skills. Nurse education in practice, 27, 89-94. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471595317305486
 
Couch, B. A., Hubbard, J. K., & Brassil, C. E. (2018). Multiple–true–false questions reveal the limits of the multiple–choice format for detecting students with incomplete understandings. BioScience, 68(6), 455-463. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy037 
 
Implementation for multiple lower-stakes and open note assessment strategies: 

Timed vs. untimed: On the whole, performance on timed and untimed assessments yields similar scores. Students express greater anxiety over timed assessments, while they view untimed assessments as more amenable to dishonest behavior. 

NOTE: If you typically have a time limit on your face-to-face assessments, increase it by 20% to allow for the added demands the remote environment places on students. </li >


If the exam is meant to be taken synchronously, remember to stay within your class period. Adjust the length of the exam accordingly.
Reduced scope: Decreasing content covered in the exam may be necessary to create an exam of appropriate length and complexity, given the unique circumstances this semester. 
Question pools: Create a pool of questions, and let D2L randomly populate each student’s quiz. This helps reduce dishonest behavior 

For example, a 10 question quiz might have 18 total questions in the pool, 10 of which are randomly distributed to each student by D2L. 


Randomize answer order: In questions in which it makes sense, have D2L randomize the order in which the answer options appear. 
Individual question per page: This can reduce instances of students taking the assessment together. It is even more effective when question order is randomized and a question pool is used. <//li>
Honor code attestation: Give students an opportunity to affirm their intent to be honest by making question one of every assessment a 0-point question asking students to agree to an honor code.  You can access the MSU Honor Code: https://www.deanofstudents.msu.edu/academic-integrity 
Live Zoom availability: In D2L Quizzes, set a time window during which the assessment will be available to students. 
Hold a live open office hours session in Zoom at some point during that window, so that students who want to can take the assessment while they have direct access to you - this way they can ask questions if any arise. 

Ultimately, our guiding principles for remote teaching are flexibility, generosity, and transparency.  Try to give students as much of an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge as possible.  

Consider allowing multiple attempts on an assessment. 
When conditions allow, consider allowing multiple means of expression. 
Can students choose to demonstrate their knowledge from a menu of options

M/C test
Written response
Video presentation 
Oral Exam (via Zoom) 


Consider giving students choices. Perhaps they can opt out of answering a question or two. Perhaps they can choose which of a series of prompts to respond to. Perhaps students can waive one test score (to help accomodate for their rapidly changing environments) 

Proctored assessments 
Description: Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor are tools for remote proctoring in D2L. More information is available at https://help.d2l.msu.edu/node/4686. Please consider whether your assessments can be designed without the need for Respondus. While Respondus may be helpful in limited circumstances (e.g., when assessments must be proctored for accreditation purposes), introducing a new technology may cause additional stress for both students and instructors, and academic integrity is still not assured.   High-stakes exams (those that are a large percentage of a student’s grade) that use new technologies and approaches can decrease student performance and may not reflect students’ understanding of the material.  Please do not use an online proctored approach unless your assessment needs require its use.   
 
Benefits: 
Increases the barrier to academic dishonesty. Allows for use of existing exams (assuming they are translated in D2L’s Quizzes tool). 
Implementation:

Any online proctored exam must be created and administered using D2L’s Quizzes tool. 
Prior to offering a graded proctored exam, we strongly recommend that you administer an ungraded (or very low-stakes) practice test using the proctoring tool. 
Clear communication with students about system and hardware requirements and timing considerations is required. 
MSU has gained temporary no-cost access to a pair of online proctoring tools provided by Respondus: https://help.d2l.msu.edu/node/4686 
Respondus Lockdown Browser requires that students download a web browser.
When they click into your exam, the Lockdown Browser opens, and prevents users from accessing anything else on their computer. 
Respondus Monitor requires use of Respondus Lockdown Browser and a webcam.
Students are monitored via the webcam while they complete the exam in Lockdown Browser. 

Additional Resources: 

Remote Assessment Quick Guide 
Remote Assessment Video Conversation 
D2L Quizzes Tool Guide
Self-training on D2L Quizzes (login to MSU’s D2L is required; self-enroll into the training course) 

 References: Alessio, H.M.; Malay, N.; Mauere, K.; Bailer, A.J.; & Rubin, B.(2017) Examining the effect of proctoring on online test scores, Online Learning 21 (1)  Altınay, Z. (2017) Evaluating peer learning and assessment in online collaborative learning environments, Behaviour & Information Technology, 36:3, 312-320, DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2016.1232752 
Couch, B. A., Hubbard, J. K., & Brassil, C. E. (2018). Multiple–true–false questions reveal the limits of the multiple–choice format for detecting students with incomplete understandings. BioScience, 68(6), 455-463. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy037  Cramp, J.; Medlin, J. F.; Lake, P.; & Sharp, C. (2019) Lessons learned from implementing remotely invigilated online exams, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 16(1).  Guerrero-Roldán, A., & Noguera, I.(2018) A Model for Aligning Assessment with Competences and Learning Activities in Online Courses, The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 38, pp. 36–46., doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2018.04.005. 
Johanns, B., Dinkens, A., & Moore, J. (2017). A systematic review comparing open-book and closed-book examinations: Evaluating effects on development of critical thinking skills. Nurse education in practice, 27, 89-94. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471595317305486  Joseph A. Rios, J.A. & Lydia Liu, O.L. (2017) Online Proctored Versus Unproctored Low-Stakes Internet Test Administration: Is There Differential Test-Taking Behavior and Performance?, American Journal of Distance Education, 31:4, 226-241, DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2017.1258628 Schrank, Z. (2016). An assessment of student perceptions and responses to frequent low-stakes testing in introductory sociology classes. Teaching Sociology, 44(2), 118-127. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0092055X15624745  Soffer, Tal, et al. “(2017) Assessment of Online Academic Courses via Students' Activities and Perceptions, Studies in Educational Evaluation, vol. 54, pp. 83–93., doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.10.001. 
Tan, C.(2020) Beyond high-stakes exam: A neo-Confucian educational programme and its contemporary implications, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52:2, 137-148, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2019.1605901 
VanPatten, B., Trego, D., & Hopkins, W. P. (2015). In‐Class vs. Online Testing in University‐Level Language Courses: A Research Report. Foreign Language Annals, 48(4), 659-668. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/flan.12160 

What's next to learn? If you're interested in learning more about what you need to do as you apply for jobs, try the "Preparing for Your Job Search & Postdoc" playlist.
 
If you're interested in more resources about teaching, try the "Using Your Teaching Skills" playlist or the "Working with English Language Learners" playlist.
 
If you want to consider a totally different facet of grad life, try the "Financial Planning for Early Career" playlist or the "Publishing Your Work" playlist.

Here is a set of resources about different aspects of student engagement and online teaching. 
 
“What Is Caring Pedagogy? An Introduction: Relationships of Reciprocity Series” by Monica B. Glina, NYU.
 
“Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes” by Vignesh Ramachandran, about Stanford research into the psychology of online work.
 
“8 Ideas Designed to Engage Students In Active Learning Online” by Caitlin Tucker, Pepperdine University.
 
“The Human Element in Online Learning” by Larry DeBrock, Norma Scagnoli and Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta for Inside Higher Ed.
 
“4 Zoom-Friendly Creative Warm-ups” by Hilary Buchanan and Alexis Schuknecht, Pixel Park.
 
“Zoom Friendly Warm-ups and Icebreakers” by Eugene Korsunskiy for Future of Design in Higher Education [Medium].
 
Hybrid Learning Models with components of different learning modalities from The Linden School.
 
Image Credit: ST.art / Shutterstock.com © 2020

The Center for Instructional Development and Research at the University of Washington explains the scope and goals of the teaching portfolio.

The Open University provides a free course that focuses on developing teaching skills, managing the demands of academic life, and assessing student learning.

We recognize that stepping back into the classroom next week will be challenging. To help you plan your next steps, we are announcing an upcoming webinar, "Rebuilding Hope: Teaching in the Aftermath," presented by the Office of the Provost in collaboration with leaders across campus. 
This webinar aimed to serve as an essential resource to navigate the challenges of returning to the classroom after a crisis. MSUPD addressed campus safety and Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko provided opening comments. 
The guest speaker, Dr. Alyssa Hadley Dunn, is a renowned expert on teaching after a crisis. Until recently, Dr. Dunn was a faculty member at MSU.  
In this webinar, Dr. Dunn shared her insights on supporting our students and colleagues as we return to the classroom. She provided practical tools and techniques for creating a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment and addressing the unique challenges and opportunities that arise in the aftermath of a crisis. 
Dr. Dunn has a deep connection to MSU, having served here as a faculty member until recently. She has colleagues, friends, and students here at MSU, and understands the unique challenges our community faces. Her compassion and empathy for our situation undoubtedly has helped us all navigate the difficult road ahead. 
Rebuilding Hope silde deck [read only, with MSU netID]Teaching on Days After: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do [read only, with MSU netID]Additionally, the MSU Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation has compiled the Resources for Teaching After Crisis playlist for all as the MSU community heals, and Lisa Laughman has shared a Special Message to Faculty on Spartan Resilience.