Summer 2008 faculty opportunity and FCTL's Course Portfolios Initiative

Course Portfolios Faculty Learning Community

About
This is a three-phase project to write and compile various content, documents, and artifacts that focus on a single course that you will teach in Fall 2008.  The first two phases will occur during the summer; Phase III will be in Fall 2008.  If you wish to participate in this work (and we, of course, hope you do!), it is important that you aim to complete at least Phases I and II.

About Course Portfolios. A number of years ago, my colleagues and I (Todd) wrote, "A course portfolio is a scholarly project reflecting the choices an instructor makes in designing, implementing, and evaluating a course. More than just a collection of teaching materials, the course portfolio represents the exploration of an instructor's teaching practice through inquiry and reflection, with the ultimate focus on student learning. Therefore, all course portfolios are works in progress as the instructor continues to redesign and implement aspects of a course after examining results of both student and self-learning."
A few years before that, Dr. Deborah Langsam, now Professor Emerita of Biology at UNC-Charlotte, stated, "The purpose of the course portfolio is to provide a vehicle for inquiry and reflection into the teaching and learning process."

Phase I (Summer 2008)

• Statement of purpose, goals, and audience: Think of this as the introduction to your course portfolio. It defines the intended audience, describes the goals or purpose of the course portfolio, and so on.
• Philosophy of teaching: Describe and explain your teaching philosophy.
• Course context: Describe the place of the course both in the discipline and in the curriculum (program). How does the course fit into the broader context of the discipline and the narrower context of the program? How does it relate to the mission of the University, the value of higher education, liberal learning, etc.? If there is a metaphor that matches or best describes your course, use it as another way to explain the course.
• The students: Who are your students? What prior knowledge and experience do they bring to your course that influences or shapes how you teach and what you want for them to learn?  What attitudes, dispositions, expectations, etc. do your students possess at the outset?  How do the students help you become a better teacher? What information do they provide you and how do you use it?  And so on.

Logistics
Facilitator: Todd Stanislav

We will meet for 2 hours once each week for 5 weeks beginning the week of May 19th (specific dates TBA).  Part of the time during each meeting will be spent in conversation, reading portfolios (including those that your colleagues involved in the project are writing), discussing relevant papers, etc., while during the remaining time you will write the various elements of your portfolio.  Between sessions, you will, while working individually or with a colleague involved in the project, continue writing and reading about course portfolios.  Experience suggests that you may need to spend as much as 1 1/2 to 2 hours working outside of the time when we actually meet in order to be happy with the portfolio you create.  At the end of the 5 weeks, it is hoped that you will have final versions of the elements described above.  If so, you will receive a $400 PDI.

To register for this session, please contact Laurie Daniels at ext. 2440 or danielsl@ferris.edu.  If you have any questions about this session, please contact Todd Stanislav at ext. 3541 or stanist@ferris.edu.

Phase II (Summer 2008)

• Learning outcomes: What are the student learning outcomes for this course? What knowledge, behaviors, skills, and ways of thinking do you want your students to possess or master? Why are these and not others (that are relevant and valid alternatives) the student learning outcomes?
• Teaching methods and student activities: Relative to each student learning outcome, what teaching method(s) do you use to help students achieve the learning outcomes? Why these and not others? What are the students doing? What expectations, roles, and responsibilities do you assign to them? What activities are they to engage in? Why these and not others? What can you learn from the students and their work?
• Evidence of learning: Describe what evidence you use to determine whether and to what extent students achieve the learning outcomes for this course? Describe how you use the evidence to improve teaching and learning?
• Course materials: You may wish to include examples of course materials [e.g., lecture notes, exam, writing assignments, student work (do you have their permission?)] to document and illustrate various aspects of the course. For each example you include, be sure to provide an explanation of its purpose, meaning, etc.
• Looking ahead to Phase III:  Identify two questions about your teaching or your students' learning that you wish to examine, and identify or develop the means, assessment tools, or methods to collect information that will provide answers to your questions.

Logistics
Facilitator: Todd Stanislav

We will, more or less, follow the same format that we followed in Phase I.  We will again meet for 2 hours once each week for 5 weeks beginning the week of June 30th (specific dates TBA).  At the conclusion of the 5 weeks, the intent is that you will have written final versions of each of the elements described above.  If you have, you will receive a $400 PDI.

To register for this session, please contact Laurie Daniels at ext. 2440 or danielsl@ferris.edu.  If you have any questions about this session, please contact Todd Stanislav at ext. 3541 or stanist@ferris.edu.

Phase III (Fall 2008)

In this, the third and final phase of the Course Portfolios Project you will, to borrow from Bernstein et al., (2006), "Provide evidence of your students' learning, understanding, and performance, and reflect upon their learning in relation to your overall teaching goals for this course."  To accomplish this, you will, during Phase III, implement the "Looking Ahead" plan you developed in Phase II.

Logistics
Facilitator: Todd Stanislav
More details are forthcoming.