Teaching Portfolio Template

UFS TEACHING PORTFOLIO TEMPLATE
www.ufs.ac.za
UFS TEACHING PORTFOLIO TEMPLATE
The following template document aims to provide structure and guidance to academic staff in the compilation of a teaching
portfolio that needs to be submitted as part of the of the UFS Academic Performance Framework. Please note the
following:
• A phased approach will be implemented in the requirement of teaching portfolios at the UFS. In 2021 it is
compulsory for all academic staff that want to apply for promotion (according to the UFS Academic Performance
Framework) or the Vice-Chancellors Award: Learning and Teaching, to submit a teaching portfolio in their
application.
• Academic staff that are not applying for promotion in 2021, can use the headings set out in the document as a
guideline for Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) in their performance management process. This will allow
academic staff to start reflecting on these areas in building a portfolio for the future.
• The teaching portfolio template have been aligned with international and national best practices, as well as with
all requirements set out in Faculty Specific Academic Performance Criteria and can be used by all faculties.
• A teaching portfolio is a narrative document, that allows an academic staff member to reflect on their teaching
and learning in an evidence-based manner. The development of a portfolio is usually accompanied by a
workshop and guided developmental process. The narrative section of the document should not exceed 10
pages, BUT must be substantiated with supporting examples and evidence (thus not included in the 10 pages).
This can be in the form of examples described within the reflective narrative itself, or references or hyperlinks to
appendices. If appendices are included, they should only include excerpts pertinent to particular statements in
the reflective narrative.
• Faculty-based workshops will be hosted in the June/July 2021 period to support academic staff in the
development and compilation of their learning and teaching portfolios.
• For additional support, please contact your Faculty Teaching and Learning Manager or Tiana van der Merwe
(tvdmerwe@ufs.ac.za) at the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
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Teaching Philosophy
This statement is a philosophical framework of your personal approach to teaching and the rationale behind what guides
your practice. What impacts on you as an educator and how it influences your teaching? Why do you teach the way you
do? It should achieve the following: provide evidence of your sincerely-held beliefs, provide scholarly evidence (If you say,
“I run a learner-centred classroom”, make sure you show how you do this), examine your teaching practices, monitor your
development as a teacher.
Your philosophy comprises your view and approach to teaching and learning, including the underlying theories, believes,
assumptions, convictions and values you have in terms of your teaching and learning.
You might want to demonstrate that you are aware of your institutions (or discipline’s) teaching and learning goals or
objectives; and how your teaching philosophy aligns with the institutional goals or objectives. What are your teaching
objectives, short term and long term.
Your teaching philosophy influences ALL decisions and activities within your teaching and learning. The teaching
philosophy should thus be a golden thread throughout the teaching portfolio and be evident throughout all the different
sections and supported with evidence.
Personal Profile
A brief introduction to highlight your current role and responsibilities at the UFS.
Teaching responsibilities (undergraduate and post-graduate modules taught in the past five years).
Teaching Approach, Practice and Effectiveness

This section focus specifically on your teaching approach, both in and outside the classroom. This include aspects such
as:
- Role of yourself (as lecturer), and students in various teaching and learning activities
- What is your teaching methodology? (Face-to-face/blended/online)
- Planning and preparation that you do in terms of your teaching e.g. lesson plans?
- Teaching activities (in-class/face-to-face and online/practical’s and tutorials)
- Use of educational technology in teaching (both in and outside of the classroom)
- How do use materials and resources in support of your teaching approach?
Promotion of Student Learning

In this focus, special attention is drawn to activities and strategies to promote student learning and success. This include
aspects such as:
- Describe who the students are who you teach.
- Identify key features of your discipline/profession that students struggle with and explain how you address these
issues through your teaching.
- What teaching/learning strategies do you use to promote learning?
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- How do you develop student understanding in your discipline?
- How do you promote student engagement with the discipline?
- How do you know that your students learnt as a result of your strategies?
- What have you learnt thus far about how students learn (both in general and within your discipline)?
Student development and support (including student discipline)

Here you may mention and describe any specific efforts focusing on supporting students to learn better, such as:
- Mentoring and coaching
- Academic advising
- Tutorials
- Developing academic writing
- Developing graduate attributes and
- Student motivation
You also need to outline how you maintain student discipline and deal with academic misconduct.
You may want to differentiate between pre-graduate and post-graduate teaching.
Curriculum and Course development

Describe your role in curriculum/program development within your department or faculty.
Indicate how curriculum and course development addresses UFS strategic priorities in terms of aspects such as universal
design for learning; decolonisation of the curriculum; blended/online learning; community engagement/service-learning
and/or integration of graduate attributes.
Provide evidence of materials and resources developed.
Assessment practices
Describe your assessment approach (formative/summative/continuous)
Outline your assessment plan - indicating the alignment between course outcomes, teaching activities and assessment
opportunities.
The assessment methods you use and why (include examples of instruments, as well as examples of marking and
providing feedback).
Mentoring and Coaching

WHO did you mentor in the field of teaching and learning? Time period?
Formal or informal?
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- Peers
- Tutors
- Assistant lecturers and/or teaching assistants
On what did you mentor them e.g. content development, classroom teaching, use of technology in teaching etc.
Reflection and Feedback

Review feedback from different sources (peer/student/data analytics and self-evaluation) and demonstrate how you have
used this data or plan to use the data to improve your teaching.
Peer reviews:
• Classroom observations (Letter or written feedback from colleagues)

• Review of teaching materials (Letter or written feedback from colleagues)
• Both of these can include reports or data
Student feedback:
• Student module/programme or teaching evaluation data which provides an overall rating of effectiveness or
satisfaction, or suggested improvements
• Letter or comments from students
• Include reactions or feedback from Postgraduate students where applicable
Data analytics:
• Demonstrate how different data sources throughout the semester/year have been used to improve on teaching
and learning e.g. Blackboard data / Assessment data
Self-evaluation:
• Include any self-evaluation or reflection you have done after a specific class/module
Professional Development and Teaching Recognition

The focus is on the development of your teaching, facilitation and assessment skills and abilities. Identify your teaching
challenges and explain ways you have investigated to improve.
Teaching development qualifications obtained (SLP’s / MOOC’s and formal qualifications).
Development and training related to learning and teaching (training opportunities and conferences attended and/or
presented, workshops and courses attended, collaboration with other colleagues and institutions).
Participation in educational groups, consortiums and/or communities of learning related to learning and teaching.
Leadership in the field of learning and teaching (associations, positions in departments and/or faculties, if you played a
special role on a committee, guest speaker or panel member).
Recognition for learning and teaching (awards, certificates, grants etc. for teaching and learning excellence).
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Research and Scholarship
Provide a description of any research into teaching developments, curriculum development and/or student learning. It
provides evidence of your commitments to teaching. In presenting an account of your teaching scholarship, you should
make explicit, and provide, examples of the links between teaching and research.
Grants received to support any research into teaching and learning provides proof of your expertise.
This section could include references to latest research in your field of study; how you integrate the nature and importance
of research in the creation of new knowledge into the subject/s you teach; whether you encourage your students to actively
participate in research through the way you design your courses and/or assessment; where you incorporate your own
research findings into your teaching.
Research that directly contributes to teaching and learning (conference papers and published papers, articles and books,
or chapters) (International/National, Institutional, peer-reviewed).
You can add appendices to further support this section.
Appendices
A teaching portfolio is evidence-based. Please remember to attach relevant examples and other evidence as referred to
throughout your document.

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Teaching Portfolio Template

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UFS TEACHING PORTFOLIO TEMPLATE

Teaching Approach, Practice and Effectiveness

Promotion of Student Learning

Student development and support (including student discipline)

Curriculum and Course development

Mentoring and Coaching

Reflection and Feedback

• Classroom observations (Letter or written feedback from colleagues)

Professional Development and Teaching Recognition

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