• Introduction
• The Macquarie University Context
• Documenting Your Teaching
• Documenting Your Research
• Documenting Your Community Engagement
• What Does a Body of Evidence Look Like
• Further Reading

Introduction

Why would you want to collect evidence of your activities and work? Many colleagues will do so as support for promotion, in which case, there is an explicit need to provide evidence of the quality and impact of performance across the three elements of teaching, research and community engagement.  This clearly detailed in the Academic Promotions Procedures. Other forms of recognition such as teaching awards often require a similar set of supporting evidence.  In any event, it is a good idea to keep and collate evidence of the quality and impact of our work.  Having such a 'portfolio' of evidence to hand can be very useful in applying for jobs, tenure, promotion, awards, grants, or in simply critically reflecting on one's professional practice.

Such a portfolio is a mechanism through which we can record the events of our academic careers and source evidence for the development of teaching and research quality. The maintenance of such a portfolio enables us to take a scholarly approach to all aspects of our work as we consider the sort of work we do, the evidence for the quality of our work, the ways in which we can use the evidence for the development of our teaching and research practice, and to provide a space for long-term scholarly critique on all aspects of our work.

Prosser et al. (2000) suggest that an academic portfolio provides:

• A record of events and results and our reactions to them
• Data on which to base reflective discussion
• Opportunity for us to challenge ourselves and what we do
• Impetus to take action that is informed and planned
• The means to develop a personal philosophy of teaching and research

The most important reason to develop an academic portfolio is for the systematic and scholarly enquiry into all aspects of our own work. We can use aspects of an academic portfolio to suit a variety of different reasons ranging from personal academic development, improvements in the quality of our teaching practice, development and maintenance of an overall research plan, informing the development of our leadership and management roles, to guiding our decisions on how we focus our community service to best effect.

The Macquarie University Context

The University has an interest in the development of the quality of its staff in relation to several key areas:

• Learning and Teaching
• Research
• Community Engagement

To this end these are the focus of Performance Development and Review for academic staff.  Indeed, staff applying for promotion must have completed their PDR in the preceding year and submit a copy of the completed form with their application for promotion.   

Any academic portfolio should enable you to prepare well for discussions with academic advisors and provide evidence to support your areas of strength and help identify areas that you may wish to develop. You can use information from your portfolio in whole or in part, as evidence that you have met the criteria of promotion or award.

Documenting Your Teaching and Student Learning

Scholarly teaching and the quality of student learning are two of the most important aspects of academic life. Teaching gives us the opportunity to contribute to the intellectual development of our students in a way that also allows us to disseminate the critical elements of our disciplines. For these reasons it is vital that we adopt the same rigorous and scholarly approach to our teaching as we would to any other academic endeavor.

The promotions policy at Macquarie University give a clear indication of the importance of teaching to university life and suggest elements that can contribute to the claim for promotion. These range from a description of the context in which you teach, the sorts of materials that you develop, to your philosophy of teaching.   When documenting teaching and learning for the purpose of applying for promotion the policy suggests five indicative criteria that can be evidenced.  These criteria are:

• Leading and promoting learning and teaching
• Leadership in curriculum design
• Student-focussed learning and teaching
• Research-enhanced learning and teaching
• Scholarship of teaching

Whilst promotions applications are judged against these criteria, remember these criteria are indicative only; evidence can be collected and presented that relates to the overall category of teaching and learning.  A useful way of preparing a collection of documents that support the quality development of your teaching is to focus your collection and reflection in the key areas above.  Similarly you could focus on broad areas related to learning and teaching and ask yourself some or all of the following questions, the answers to which could support your claims:

• How can I demonstrate my effective ability to deliver units and/or supervise students?
  
• What is my commitment to and evidence of professional development?
  
• What is my commitment and evidence of scholarship in learning and teaching?
  
• How do I know that my curriculum design and delivery is of high standard?
  
• What makes me a reflective practitioner?
  
• How do I use student feedback to improve practice and outcomes?
  
• How do I use the variation in educational, cultural, and discipline experience in my classes?
  
• How does current discipline and educational research inform my teaching?
  
• What is my teaching philosophy?
  
• What evidence do I have of leadership and innovation in learning and teaching?
  
• Have I won awards, citations or received similar peer esteem indicators?
  
• How do I build productive learning and teaching collaborations?
  
• Have I attracted funding to support learning and teaching?
• What learning and teaching leadership roles have I taken beyond the discipline?

Documenting Your Research

Another highly valued component of academic life is research. The quality of your research can be determined by impact and esteem as well as the nature and extent of your research activities and outcomes. Research can focus on many different things so the research section of the portfolio should demonstrate a coherent and progressive research plan and any outcomes from the research. Research can be defined as the 'scholarship of discovery' and as such research outcomes can include a range of things from papers published in journals, invitations to speak at professional meetings, creative works, books and so on.

Contributions to this section of the collection of evidence could include:

• a description of your overall research plan
• copies of research grant applications and outcomes
• copies of referees' comments and how you have dealt with them
• copies of papers that you have published
• extracts from other works that cite your own
• reviews about your creative works
• invitations to speak at scholarly meetings or conferences
• your involvement and contribution to a research team
• your supervision of honours, masters and doctoral students
• indications of how you integrate your research with your teaching profile
• commissioned work or consultancies that have resulted in the advancement of your research

In this section it is important to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to research and how your research plans are sustainable, relevant and manageable.

Criteria related to research under the present policy are:

• Research performance
• Leadership in research
• Research mentoring
• Research collaborations

The evidence supporting your claim against research criteria will of course vary depending on your experience and level of academic seniority.  Bearing this in mind, some questions that might prompt your reflection on these criteria are listed below.  It is expected that the evidence gets progressively more inclusive as the levels of promotion are worked through:

• What is the evidence of my engagement with and impact of, my research?
  
• What is the extent of my publications and their standing in the discipline?
  
• What is my professional standing and esteem in the discipline?
  
• Where is the evidence of impact in my field of expertise?
  
• Can I describe my research program and its trajectory?
  
• How do I build productive research collaborations?
  
• How do I attract research funding and to what effect?
  
• Which postgraduate research students have I supervised to completion?
  
• Has my research influenced practice or thinking in the field?
  
• Does my research have a national or international standing?
  
• Do I contribute to the research community through activities such as refereeing, examining, or other peer esteem indicators?
  
• Am I recognised as an authority or leader in my area?
  
• Have I attracted major funding and grants?
  
• Do I take a leadership or mentoring role in the supervision of junior research staff?

Other so called 'esteem factors' could also be considered in your collection of evidence such as:

• appointment to prestigious professional, governmental, international body
• award of academic Prize by peer body
• invited membership of program committee, or invited convener of
• prestigious international/national conference or symposium
• invited Expert Advice (e.g. Chair/Member of Community Advisory Committee,
• Expert Witness activity, etc)
• high category of membership of professional societies and associations
• leadership in professional societies and associations as demonstrated by the
• holding of executive office
• membership of nationally and internationally recognized honorific societies
• membership of government advisory bodies, committees of inquiry and boards
• of management
• membership of international delegations in the candidate's area of expertise
• invitations to serve as a referee or adjudicator by major national and competitive
• grant awarding or award-granting schemes or organizations
• invitations to serve as external examiner in other higher education institutions
• invitations to speak at major international conferences
• invitations to serve as visiting Professor in other higher education institutions or
• as visiting academic in government departments and agencies
• invitations to edit special issue journals, books
• opinion sought by other institutions for their research
• chair of a major (international) conference
• invitation to serve as external member on high level selection committees
• appointments to international journal editorial board

Documenting Your Community Engagement

Service to the University and the broader community can be considered in many ways. It can include your willingness to be involved with University decisions and policy making by contributing to department and divisional meetings, by being responsible for the co-ordination of courses and students, by providing leadership within your department (perhaps by being a mentor to other staff members), by being part of courses committees, by setting up liaison groups with students, and so on. The University expects that you will contribute your expertise to the development of the quality of the University and then extend this contribution to the community at large. The Enterprise Agreement suggests that your involvement with the University community and the community at large can be recorded by showing:

• service to secondary education through syllabus or examination committee membership
• membership of boards or governing bodies of public institutions
• provision of advice or information to governments, public service departments, industry, community groups and so on
• willingness to speak in the public media
• disseminating knowledge to the community
• informing and contributing to public debate relating to areas related to your academic expertise
• serving as an expert member on policy or advisory boards for government, industry or community groups

Presently at Macquarie there are two indicative criteria for community engagement described as:

• Contributions to the University, faculty and/or departmental community
• Contributions to community and professional organisations, government agencies, NGOs, public intellectual discussion and the general community

Self-reflective questions that might help in the collection of your evidence and in thinking about the level of your involvement or claim include:

• What is the evidence of my contributions to department, faculty or University?
  
• What administration duties do I perform?
  
• What initiatives have I been involved in to improve the broader student experience?
  
• What advisory or other roles do I perform?
  
• What evidence do I have of communicating effectively with the community?
  
• Is there anything I do to impact positively on the relationship between the wider community and the University?
• Have I helped to raise the profile of Macquarie University?
  
• Am I involved in University governance?
  
• Do I make major contributions to University committee work?
  
• Can I demonstrate leadership in an area of research, teaching or policy development?
  
• Can I demonstrate leadership within the community, professional, commercial or industry sectors?
  
• Have I been proactively involved in initiatives to promote sustainability and growth of the University?
  
• Do I have any other evidence of leadership in University operations?

What does a source of evidence file or portfolio look like?
Two brief examples:

Elaine

Elaine is an Associate Professor whose goals on appointment were learning to teach effectively in a cross-cultural environment and commence a PhD. This is what was in her collection of evidence at the conclusion of her first semester:

Overview

• A statement of her overall aims for teaching and student learning
• A copy of her CV, her application for the job, and a description of the context of the discipline
• A developmental time line negotiated with her academic advisor

Teaching

• A copy of her teaching philosophy
• A description of her aims and achievements with students in her first semester
• A copy of TEDS results with a description of what she wants to work on
• A copy of a unit guide she developed with notes on student reactions
• Copies of some of the feedback she gave students
• Summary of a workshop that she went to on generic skills
• Copies of email messages from students about how they enjoyed her classes

Research

• Some descriptions of possible PhD topics and of discussions with a potential supervisor
• An application to go to a conference and why it would be important to go
• A summary of research methods that may be important for her research topic

Community Engagement

• A copy of her response to the Head of Department about support for international students
• A letter of appreciation for her help with a community education lecture

Alfonso

Alfonso is an Associate Professor who is keen to apply for a Professorship.  He has a large collection of evidence available to him but this is what was in his source of evidence submitted with his application:

Overview

• Table of contents
• PDR Review

Teaching

• A copy of his teaching philosophy
• Selected student comments from his TEDS forms
• Summaries of TEDS results and commentary on how feedback has been incorporated into practice
• Copies of unit outlines
• Descriptions of learning and teaching grants, projects and their rationale and outcomes
• Copies of flyers and posters promoting various professional development events organised by him

Research

• Examples and evidence of his published works
• Selected off-prints of papers
• Citation data detailing the frequency of citations of his published work by others
• Details of grants received
• A description of his future research plans and rationale

Community Engagement

• A copy of a proposal for and the first edition of a journal edited by him
• A list of invitations to present at various scholarly events
• A contract for a book under development
• Copies of correspondence on substantive matters with scholars elsewhere
• A copy of his statement on academic freedom adopted by the senate of the University
• A copy of an address he made a recent graduation ceremony

With this evidence and the details contained in his CV, Alfonso was able to stake a claim for promotion based on scholarship in all three areas, asking the promotions committee to judge his learning and teaching, research and community engagement as aspects of one whole.  On the basis of this clear articulation of his claim and how the evidence supported the claim, he was promoted from level D to level E.

Further Reading

Applying For Awards

Methods and Strategies for Evaluation of Teaching and Units