Section 1 Guidelines for Preparing Tenure and Promotion

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The Tenure and Promotion Dossier
Section 1
Guidelines for Preparing Tenure and Promotion Applications
NOTE: These guidelines mainly focus on the Teaching Portfolio component of your Tenure and
Promotion Dossier and can be used as a model for developing your Research and Service components. It
is recommended that from the very beginning of your career at UTEP you enter all relevant data in
Digital Measures and upload/store all relevant documents there as well, including multimedia files,
images, etc. that support your claims of excellence. These guidelines do not constitute college or
university requirements, they are simply designed to help you think through the items and process of
assembling your dossier. Note that the emphasis is on creating the Teaching Portfolio component of the
Dossier, because it is the most complex piece of the packet.
Dossier Assembly
1. The final format of your Tenure and Promotion Dossier depends on your college’s requirements. Be
sure you understand them fully. Ask questions!
2. Understand the criteria and standards for Tenure and Promotion for your college and the university
(check with the Dean’s and Provost’s Offices).
3. Use Digital Measures as your Tenure and Promotion “collection box.” Enter every item and upload
any file you think may be relevant in accurately telling your story in your application.
4. Compile/assemble all relevant items in the required format for your college by running the necessary
reports in Digital Measures and downloading relevant files you stored there.
5. Check with your Dean’ Office on the final format of the Dossier.
6. To assemble your Teaching Portfolio, see the suggestions below.
What is the Tenure and Promotion Dossier?
An arrangement of organized, representative materials related to your professional practice and
explained by your teaching/scholarship/service statement(s) (adapted from Seldin. 2004).
What will it do for you?





Present a “picture” of who you are as an instructor, scholar, and member of the UTEP community. It
publishes your beliefs and values, and describes and documents the full range of your skills and your
effectiveness as a professor at UTEP with artifacts and evidence.
Help the reader understand your “story,” your work, and the integrated whole of your contribution to
the university.
Sell you as an expert to decision makers.
Justify why you should be tenured (a 30+ yr investment).
Approach it as your most important and largest grant application!
Who will read it; who is your audience?
 Tenured faculty members in your department
 Your chair
 Your college’s T&P review committee
 Your dean
 The provost
 The president
The Board of Regents makes the final decision, not the president or provost.
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What are the Parts of the Dossier?
Can take different forms, but in general there are two significant parts that “tell your story.”
1. Core statements, in some cases organized according to the headings below; in others fully
integrated into one document.
a. Overview, Introduction Statement to the Dossier (1-2 pages)
Introduces the reader to your portfolio, opens the door to “your story” of your time at
UTEP; a sort of “executive summary.”
b. Teaching Statement
This is the core of your Teaching Portfolio and can be as long as an 8- to 10-page essay
that explains why you do what you do as a teacher, how you do it, and documents how
well you do it through evidence in appendices. It should be a persuasive narrative, not a
technical statement. Show that you know, understand, and serve UTEP students.
Convince the reader that you “get UTEP.” Show you understand the purpose and role
this university plays in this community and in the lives of its people. The supporting
documents can come from your students, your colleagues, yourself, and others, and
may include syllabi, tests, student work, letters, and more. You should try to capture the
essence of your excellence in teaching UTEP students, where you are now, and where
you plan to go in the next 3-5 years.
c. Research Statement
An essay that explains the “path” you have travelled in your discipline from a PhD
graduate to an accomplished researcher. How did you start at UTEP, what was your
“baseline condition?” How did you take off from there; how did you plan your five years
towards the tenure application at UTEP? How were you able to move forward and
accomplish your plan during the past 5 years, and arrive at national recognition and
success? Describe how you moved forward with significant scholarship; what are you
recognized for by others in your discipline? Then explain your plan for the next 3-5 yrs in
light of UTEP’s pursuit of national research university status, and how you will continue
to build on your promising achievements.
d. Service Statement
An essay that shows you understand UTEP’s mission, the students we work with, and the
community we work in. Show how your service was an integral part of your plan towards
tenure, and if possibly, how your service was informed by your research and teaching,
and integrated in them. Show that you understood how your expertise in teaching and
scholarship could serve the profession, the university, your college, and department. Put
your service in context, explain why you engaged in that service in light of the mission of
the university, the preparation of young people in this community, and/or the border
region and its unique challenges. What do you plan to do in the future to serve the
university and the community? How does that fit with your teaching and research plans?
2. Supporting material
1. Supporting materials should be presented in thoughtfully created Appendices related to
teaching, scholarship, and service. The Appendices should NOT be a data dump! NO
reviewer wants to sift through hundreds of documents. Use documentation that support
your statements, refer to them in the narrative, and use bookmarks or internal links to
help the reader jump to the relevant evidence. If a document shows up in the Appendix it
should be referenced in the narrative.
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Section 2
TEACHING PORTFOLIO COMPONENT OF THE DOSSIER
(Based on Layne, Simpson, and Miller, Center for Teaching Excellent, Texas A&M University)
The Teaching Portfolio has received much attention nationwide (Seldin, 2004) and the strategy to develop
it could be used as a model for a research and service portfolio.
Your Teaching Statement and Philosophy should:
 Communicate your enthusiasm and commitment to teaching.
 Expresses your beliefs and values about teaching, learning, and students.
 Tell the “story” of your teaching: past, present, future.
 Point to evidence of your teaching success.
 Serve as the ENTRY to your whole teaching portfolio.
Please take some time to consider and write your thoughts on the questions below. They are simply “brain
teaser” to start you thinking about the many issues and variables that contribute to teaching excellence.
You don’t need to be able to answer every question; the goal is to arrive at a well thought out, evidencebased packet, and these questions should help give you some direction. Some of them may seem
redundant, but that is done to phrase the issue slightly different in the hope that it may spark new ideas
and thoughts. When you read a question just brainstorm and write down everything that comes to mind.
Your brainstorm will be your starting point for a first free write. Then you’ll start organizing it and
putting a logical sequence in place that makes sense to you. From there you can work on your final draft
that fits the constraints of your college requirements.
1. Philosophy of learning and teaching that motivates and drives your classroom
performance
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Why am I a teacher? What motivates me to teach (beyond the pay-check)?
How did I get into teaching? What drew me to it?
What is my definition of a great teacher and what experience(s) shaped that definition?
What do I believe about learning and teaching?
Why am I committed to teaching and learning?
How do I approach learning myself?
What does learning look like when it happens in the students I teach, or myself?
What does it look like when no learning occurs; what may have gone wrong?
What are my aspirations for the students I teach at UTEP? How did these aspirations
form?
j. What do I love best about teaching—i.e., when is it most rewarding?
k. What synonyms for “teacher” would accurately describe what I believe myself to be, or
what I would like to be, for my students?
l. Why do I teach the way I do?
m. Add anything else that come to mind related to your beliefs and values
2. Context and description of your courses
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
How long have I been teaching?
What do I teach? What are the course and disciplinary topics I teach?
What makes my courses/topic difficult/challenging to teach well?
What are the goals and learning outcomes of the curriculum my course(s) is(are) a part of?
What role does my course play in the curriculum(core course, majors/non-majors,
service course, required/ elective, prerequisite, capstone)? What are the consequences
for me as the teacher?
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f.
What is my role in the broader curriculum as an instructor of these courses? How does
my teaching connect to the rest of the programs learning activities (courses and
others)?
g. Who are the students I teach?
i. How many students?
ii. What level: developmental, undergrad, grad?
iii. Are they majors or non-majors?
iv. How do I advise them (degree plan, profession, etc). What advising activities do
I engage in?
v. What is the life-situation of my students (working, family, single mom/dad) and
how does that affect their performance? Does that affect how I teach?
vi. What are the students’ goals, expectations; why are they taking my class? Even
if the class is required, what might be their underlying motivation?
vii. How do my students learn best? What do I do to match this?
viii. What are their preferred learning styles? Do my learning activities incorporate a
variety of activities on a regular basis to meet a variety of learning styles and
keep students motivated?
ix. Do I supervise teaching assistants? How do I supervise them? What do they
learn from me other than content?
x. Do I chair/serve on graduate student advisory committees? What is my role?
How do I actively advise/mentor these students to help them achieve their
career goals/ plans?
xi. What are the student’s strengths coming into my program/class?
xii. What are their needs and their challenges?
h. How do I deliver my class(es): online, hybrid, classroom, blended?
i. What do students want to learn more about after they leave my course? How have I
stimulated them to learn more, and what skills have they learned to help them do so?
j. In what physical environment do I teach my class? Does it pose challenges (field
teaching, service projects, etc.)?
3. Learning Outcomes of my Course(s)
a. How do I want the students to change as a result of my classes?
i. What new things should they be able to do, say, and know when they finish my
class? What are they capable of doing after they leave my course?
b. How have I aligned my course learning outcomes with those broader curricular goals
(for the core curriculum if the class is in the core; program curriculum)?
c. In what way are the learning outcomes for my course(s) forward-looking (i.e. focused on
knowledge, skills, and attitudes students need after they leave my class)?
d. Do my learning outcomes go beyond simple knowledge acquisition (see Bloom’s
taxonomy) and incorporate broader dimensions (values, reflection, caring, learning how
to learn)?
4. Assessment of Student Learning
a. What are my beliefs and values related to assessment?
b. How does my general assessment strategy fit my beliefs and values?
c. What do I know about how well my students are learning and how do I know it?
i. Do I really know how the students perform on each of the learning outcomes in
my course(s)? D o I really evaluate their performance on each of the learning
outcomes stated in the syllabus?
ii. What is the role of assessment in my class (auditive and backward looking, or
educative and forward-looking).
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d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
iii. How are the assessment tools I use integrated or aligned with the goals and
learning outcomes of my course(s)?
iv. How do I define acceptable standards of performance for students in my
classes?
v. How do I grade student work; what are my strategies (stay with objective
quiz/exams; use rubric for essays and projects, other)?
vi. Do I vary the weight of graded assignments based on the relative importance of
the learning outcomes they are associated with, or the time available for
practice?
Do my students know what kind of performance I expect on what sort of assessments?
Am I open and informative about formative and summative assessments and how they
impact them?
What is the balance of formative and summative assessment in my class?
How useful are the assessments in helping students learn from their performance on
them? Do I allow them to try again and correct their mistakes, and show they learned?
Do I give multiple practice opportunities before I give a summative assessment for a
grade?
Am I reaching all of my students or only the ones who learn the way I do?
How do I make their thinking visible? How frequent do I do so in one class session?
Do I provide frequent, discriminating, immediate, and empathetic feedback that helps
them correct their errors, faulty reasoning, other mistakes? Do I focus on helping
students correct mistakes or do I just plow on, even when I know half the class did not
“get it?”
What strong evidence/documentation (see handout) do I have that I am effective in
helping students learn?
Do I provide students opportunities for self-assessment and reflection? What do I do
with that information?
5. Learning activities, experiences, and practice opportunities
a. How have I designed my class to help students progress to a higher level of complexity,
skill, understanding, and attitude? How have I planned backwards from the goals and
learning outcomes of the class, and then build the learning experiences to facilitate
progressive disclosure of increasingly complex material/thought processes (scaffolding)?
b. How are these learning activities and experiences related to the learning outcomes and
assessments? How well are all three integrated and linked?
c. What do I ask my students to do with what I ask them to read or prepare for class?
d. What weight do I place on writing and reasoning in preparation for or during class?
e. What do I do with their writing; what do they do with it?
f. What strategies do I use to hold students accountable for completing their work before
and during class?
g. What kind of learning support materials do I prepare for the students?
h. Do I take the variety of learning styles in my class into consideration when I design
learning experiences/activities?
i. How do I ask them to critically think? What model of critical thinking do I use? What is
my strategy to help them think critically, creatively, analytically?
j. Do I prepare rich learning activities and experiences for them (e.g. debates, roll play,
simulations, service learning, authentic projects)? Why do I select particular assignments
and learning experiences for my students?
i. What do I do in the classroom and outside the classroom to help students learn?
ii. What do I ask students to do in the class and outside the class to help their
learning?
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iii. What guidance do I give my students to help their learning?
iv. What kind of feedback strategy do I apply related to the learning activities?
k. How do I take advantage of instructional technology tools to enhance teaching and
learning?
l. Do I differentiate between fast and slower learners, those who are well-prepared and
those who are not?
m. Do I offer students times and opportunities to reflect on their learning through
journaling, a learning portfolio, other, as part of their learning activities?
6. Teaching strategies and techniques for learning
a. What teaching strategy do I use (e.g. straight lecture, lecture and class discussion,
cooperative learning, team-based learning, service learning, etc)?
b. What teaching methods/techniques do I use most frequently (ask questions of students,
small group discussion, in-class questions/quizzes, Socratic questioning, etc)?
c. How learner and learning-focused are my strategies and techniques?
d. How do I interact with the students during class (or online); how do I behave and with
what purpose (stand behind lectern/computer station; roaming the classroom, greet
them before class start, speak with them individually)?
e. Other thoughts?
7. The Syllabus
a. What is the role of my syllabus in helping students understand the essence of my course
and the learning they can expect to gain from it?
b. How has my syllabus evolved over the last 5 yrs?
c. How are my syllabi learner-centered? Can a student use my syllabus to help them plan
their semester and create a time-management plan that can help them succeed?
8. Efforts to assess and improve my teaching effectiveness
a. What do I know about my teaching effectiveness and how do I know it?
i. What self-assessments have I conducted?
ii. Am I sensitive to the differences (ability, skill, prior knowledge, culture,
ethnicity, gender, learning styles, etc.) that may have an impact on learning?
How?
iii. Do I need to update my course to reflect current research on effective teaching
and learning? When did I last check that literature and updated my teaching?
iv. What sort of evaluation tools do I use and when? How will I know how the
course is going during the semester? How it went (end of semester)?
v. What do I do with the results of intermediate and end-of-course evaluations?
vi. How do I evaluate my performance on an ongoing basis? What is the role of the
students in this; the role of colleagues; the Center for Effective Teaching and
Learning?
b. Do I interact effectively with the students as a teacher, helping them learn? Am I
personable, approachable, and available from the students’ point of view?
c. What have I learned along the way during the past 5 years?
d. How has what I have learned changed my teaching over time?
e. How have I documented those changes? Where is my evidence?
f. If I overheard students talking about my class to their friends, what would I want them
to say? What would they say?
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9. What efforts have I made to improve my teaching?
a. Do I read and implement scholarly/research results in my teaching (i.e. conduct
scholarly teaching)?
b. Have I engaged in efforts to strengthen and further develop my teaching skills
(conferences, workshops, faculty learning circles, readings, requested formative peer
observations, etc.)?
c. How have I documented these efforts?
10. Future teaching enhancement goals statement and growth plan
a. What are my plans to improve and strengthen my teaching over the next 1-3-5yrs? Do I
have SMART goals; goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timeline?
b. What strategies will I employ to learn more about effective teaching and how will I
implement what I learn?
c. What is exciting in the future about teaching?
11. Other activities that support/inform learning and teaching.
a. Add anything else that you think is relevant to demonstrating your excellence in
teaching. For example, mentoring graduate students through theses and dissertations;
student publications and presentations completed under your guidance or tutelage;
teaching and learning workshops (e.g., for CETaL or K-12 schools) you’ve presented;
teaching awards you’ve received; teaching awards your students have received (for
example, former students who were named teacher of the year or received other
teaching awards; document how you influenced their career and achievements);
advising is teaching – how many students have you provided academic and career
advising; how you assess advising quality; how you changed or improved your own and
your academic program’s advising over time; how you engaged in curriculum review and
program improvements, etc. This is just an attempt to help you get started in thinking
through all the things you do. For some hints, see the outline below.
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Section 3
What I do to Document Teaching and Learning in the Courses I teach
Yes
1.
I save copies of student exams from past semesters.
2.
I keep student test scores and papers to compare over multiple semesters.
3.
4.
I collect samples of student writing.
I give short quizzes or writing exercises to check my students’ comprehension and track
changes.
I prepare study guides for my students.
5.
6.
7.
8.
I give students pre- and post-tests on units of study or on the entire semester.
I repeat some test items from semester to semester to record change in performance over
time.
I coordinate test items with other instructors teaching the same course.
9.
I save copies of student projects.
10. I keep old versions of assessments and learning activities/experiences as create
new/revised versions to show progress over time
11. I record extraordinary performances of my students during and after the class
12. I give students detailed evaluations of their work and save copies of my comments.
13. I record what happens in each class period as soon as class ends.
14. I keep the assignments, handouts, and activities I design for my classes.
15. I keep alternate versions of assignments I give students over the semesters.
16. I keep all versions of my syllabi.
17. I survey my students about their perceptions of the class regularly.
18. I administer a student evaluation of my courses at midterm of every semester
19. I administer a student evaluation of my courses at the end of every semester and plot
these to show improvement trends and patterns.
20. I have copies of student emails or letters thanking me for my help.
21. I help students present and publish the research they do with me and keep copies of the
publications.
22. I keep track of my professional interactions with students beyond the classroom
23. I keep records of honors or awards my students have received if they are related to our
work together.
24. I receive regular feedback from my colleagues on my teaching. (Classroom observations,
syllabus review, etc.)
25. I design in-class research to track changes in aspects of teaching and learning in my
courses using valid, reliable, and objective assessment tools as much as possible.
26. I frequently attend workshops or conferences on teaching and learning and keep a record
of them, and the impact they had on my teaching.
27. I present on teaching and learning issues at academic conferences and/or locally.
28. I publish my work on teaching and learning in academic journals.
29. I prepare extensive curricular materials as there are no adequate textbooks in my field.
30. I document my own contributions to the department curriculum.
31. I have a record of teaching honors, awards, recognitions, etc
32. I document when I work with students on their teaching skills (TA’s, student assistant,
peer leaders, etc)
33. I document when I observe or mentor other faculty members on teaching or work
otherwise with them to improve teaching and learning
34. I keep a list of references of papers and books on teaching and learning that form the
foundation of my teaching practice
No
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Section 4
Possible Organization of Your Teaching Portfolio Contents
1. Teaching Philosophy, Objectives, and Commitment to Teaching. Present a substantive statement of
teaching philosophy, values, objectives, and commitment to teaching undergraduates. This could be
an elaboration on your teaching statement (see above). Visit the CETaL website’s Award pages for
the statements of previous award winners for examples. Illustrate your extraordinary commitment
to teaching. This statement should be the “invitation” to your portfolio. Writing a narrative piece,
telling a story, is very different from the expository writing most academics do. If such writing is not
strength, seek advice and feedback. This narrative should capture the essence of your excellence in
teaching. A possible outline for this section may look like this:
a. Start with the key components of your teaching philosophy and values focused on students;
b. A brief segment on how your philosophy and values inform your approach to teaching and
interactions with students;
c. A short overview of how the evidence presented in this packet supports your excellence in
teaching (i.e. excellent student performance on learning outcome assessments, positive
student feedback, letters of support by students, letters of support by peers, sustained high
student course evaluations, etc).
d. Brief description of extraordinary performances by students as a direct result of taking your
classes (i.e. students engaged in community service, developed a new product or campaign,
started a student academic club, etc.).
e. What you do to continuously enhance teaching (i.e., attending teaching development
events, working with colleagues, attending conferences, engaging in scholarly teaching
and/or scholarship of teaching and learning, etc), linking it to assessment and the
continuous improvement in course materials and student learning.
2. Chart of Courses Taught: suggested format, modify as needed/appropriate.
Past
Academic
Year
5
4
3
2
1
Undergraduate Courses
 Course #
o Enrollment
o Semester credit hrs
Graduate Courses
 Course #
o Enrollment
o Semester credit hrs
Mentoring/Advising
Undergraduate Advising
 List of Students Advised (may be
attached)
 Type of advising (degree plan/courses;
career)
Graduate Advising/Mentoring
 List of Students Advised/Mentored (may
be attached)
 Type of advising (degree plan/courses;
career; research; other.
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Here is another example of how to capture your teaching activities in a simple table (from CETaL
workshop by Dr. Juan Noveron, 2009).
3. Student Learning Outcomes
a. Overview of Assessment Strategies in Your Courses. Start this section with a short narrative
using this heading to inform the reader of the learning outcomes you focus on in your
classes, the context and logic behind the examples you are presenting here, and how the
assessment strategies provide feedback to the students and inform your continuous
improvement of your courses.
b. Learning Outcomes Assessments. In this section you will include examples of learning
outcomes and their assessments used to ascertain student attainment of these learning
outcomes, such as well-thought out course exams (possibly different from the norm),
authentic assessments of higher order thinking, analytical ability, teamwork, community
engagement, etc. Clearly show the direct link, the integration, of your learning outcomes
and your assessments. Select specific examples of assessments used to ascertain student
performance improvements and learning, and show how they relate to the learning
outcomes, and the learning activities that provide students opportunities for practice. Limit
the number of examples to 3-5 for each of 2 courses.
c. Student Engagement in Learning. Provide examples of student engagement in learning
(such as active learning strategies, field experiences, service learning, learning communities,
and/or undergraduate research). Select examples of student activities that show the lasting
and significant impact of your teaching on students’ engagement and learning. For example,
as a result of your class students decided to engage in service activities, extracurricular
efforts related to the discipline, got involved in peer mentoring, etc. Simply listing
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engagement during in-class activities is not sufficient. Document how your teaching changes
students. Explain the significance of the examples in the context of the curriculum and the
mission of the department and university, if applicable.
4. Student Evaluations of Teaching
a. End-of-Course Student Evaluations. Start with a brief narrative that puts the evaluations in
context and explains the patters shown in the data you provide. Don’t leave their
interpretation to chance.
b. Provide a record of student evaluations for each course taught over the past years. Include
a sample of individual student evaluations or written comments, to illustrate how you have
used their opinions to strengthen the course(s). Compare statistical results against college
norms to further demonstrate effectiveness. You can use well-organized tables or graphs as
visual aids to more effectively tell your story.
c. Letter(s) of Support from Students. Consider including letters of support from students that
are clearly and thoughtfully constructed and not simply “fan letters.” Solicit letters from
students who write well.
5.
Teaching Evaluations from Non-Student Sources
Peer review evaluation of curriculum quality, classroom expertise, and demonstrated focus
on learning outcomes and assessment of those outcomes. Solicit reviews from award
winning teachers of these items. Ask them to observe your teaching and write a report.
b. At this time (AY 2010-2011) teaching observations by your Department Chair or Program
Director are required.
c. Letters of Support from Peer Faculty. Include letters of support from peers. Seek letters
from peers who have firsthand knowledge of your teaching through team teaching
activities, guest appearances in your classroom; who worked with you and your students; or
who otherwise gained direct knowledge of your teaching skills beyond their attendance at a
presentation or workshop you may have given on teaching.
d. Evidence of Teaching Awards. Provide evidence of teaching awards received at department,
college or university levels or elsewhere (professional discipline or teaching associations).
Include copies of award letters in this section, or images of certificates, plaques, etc. in the
appendices.
Syllabus of a Recent Course.
a. Include the syllabus from a course you recently taught. This should be a course for which
you present materials in the other sections. The syllabus should be student-centered and
clearly communicate to the students what they can expect to learn from this course
(learning outcomes), the learning activities they will experience, and the assessments they
will complete.
b. Ensure that these three are clearly integrated, and that there is a logical sequence and
scaffolding in the schedule of activities. Feel free to explain your strategy behind your
syllabus in a brief introduction, especially if it deviates from the traditional formats.
a.
6.
7.
Evidence of Discipline-related Interaction with Students beyond the Classroom.
a.
8.
Describe how you engage with students outside of the classroom such as the sponsorship of
student organizations, sponsorship of scholastic fraternities, field experiences, and
undergraduate research, among others. Also include awards or signs of appreciation you
might have received from student organizations.
Continuous Improvement of Course Materials.
a.
Include a narrative showing through specific examples from 2 courses how your course
materials, instructional methods, teaching strategies, and assessments have changed over
the last several times you taught the courses. Explain the reasons for the changes and show
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they positively affected student learning and performance. Briefly describe what you plan to
do next to sustain continuous improvement.
9.
Examples of Course Materials.
a.
10.
Using Technology in the Classroom.
a.
11.
b.
Illustrate your commitment to high quality undergraduate education through your
participation in, and experience from, teacher training (CETaL/ISS workshops, etc.) and/or
academic teaching conferences (i.e. the Sun Conference). Explain what these activities mean
to you, how you use them in your teaching practice, and how you and your students benefit
from them.
Training Others to Teach.
a.
14.
Describe the truly unique learning activities, teaching strategies, or other teaching
components you have implemented in your courses and how those affected students’
learning and performance. How did you come up with the idea for the innovation(s), how
did you implement it, how did the students react to it, and how did you know that it really
impacted them?
Demonstrate your ability to link faculty scholarship (i.e. your research) with innovative
course development, content, and intellectual challenges that together will inspire
students’ curiosity and creativity, and promote student engagement in the learning process
or your research.
Continuous Personal Development.
a.
13.
In a short narrative explain how you have integrated instructional technology into your
courses and the benefits of this to your students’ learning and performance. Simply using
Blackboard as an information delivery system or a quiz and grade book tool is not
considered effective use of instructional technology. The technology needs to play a strong
pedagogical role and be an integral part of the learning process, is learner-focused, and
tightly integrated into the course curriculum. You can include examples of its use, links to
website, or even multimedia files as relevant illustrations of your strategy, but don’t go
overboard.
Pedagogical innovations.
a.
12.
Start this section with an explanation of how the course materials fit in the context of your
course and the curriculum. Select relevant examples that clearly reflect your philosophy;
link them to course learning outcomes and the assessments you presented in other sections
of this document. Show the integration of these learning materials, your philosophy, the
learning outcomes, and the assessments to reflect the thoughtful efforts behind the design
of your courses.
Provide a brief overview about your beliefs related to training others to become
independent learners and teachers themselves (in a broad sense; i.e. from teaching their
children to formal instruction), and highlight your most relevant activities. List all instances
(and their dates if possible) in which you helped others become better teachers. This can
include training peer leaders, teaching assistants, presentations to peers, workshops,
mentoring colleagues on teaching, etc, but not scholarly presentation since they are
included below.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
a.
Explain your engagement in scholarly teaching (i.e. how you based your teaching strategy on
current research literature on teaching and learning) and/or your scholarship of teaching
and learning. List the presentations and publications you have produced on teaching and
learning during your career. These should be peer-reviewed presentations and publications.
The 150 page limit may not allow you to include complete files of your published, in press,
and submitted papers. In that case you should include the title pages of published papers,
abstracts, in-press, and submitted manuscripts or links to the web sites where they are
published.
UTEP T&P Dossier Preparation
13
Attributes you may want to emphasize
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Sustained high performance in student exit (end-of-course) evaluations for more than one course;
evidence should include high evaluation scores and trends, absence of grade inflation patterns, and
positive written comments.
Peer review evaluation of curriculum quality, classroom expertise, and demonstrated focus on
learning outcomes and assessment of those outcomes.
Sustained or clearly improved quality of teaching documented using multiple sources of evidence.
Evidence of continuous improvement and innovation in the preparation of course materials.
Commitment to high quality education demonstrated through participation in, and experience from
teaching enhancement activities.
Appropriate use of instructional technology in the classroom and its integration into the curriculum.
Evidence of teaching awards received at department, college or university levels or in the
profession.
Evidence of discipline-related interaction with students beyond the classroom, such as sponsorship
of student organizations, sponsorship of scholastic fraternities, field experiences, and
undergraduate research.