This content has been written in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE). To gain feedback on your teaching statement or dossier, please contact TA training and writing support at CTE. Learn more about professional development opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows offered by the CTE.
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What is a teaching dossier? |
A teaching dossier is a portfolio of your teaching experience that demonstrates your reflective approach to teaching.
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Teaching dossier is the preferred term in Canada, but you might also hear the document referred to as a teaching portfolio if you apply to institutions outside of Canada.
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How does a teaching dossier differ from a teaching statement? |
A teaching statement (also called a teaching philosophy statement or a statement of teaching interests) is a one-to-two-page statement of what you believe and value in teaching as demonstrated through specific practices, supported by evidence of effectiveness.
The teaching statement is also the first section of a teaching dossier. You can think of the statement as an overview of who you are as a teacher, further supported by the narrative of the dossier and appendices. A good teaching statement can stand alone but also align, and be supported by, the remaining sections of the teaching dossier.
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How can I prepare materials for a teaching dossier? |
Below are four suggestions for gaining and preparing materials for your teaching dossier:
Collect evidence of your teaching: Start a folder to save materials you have developed for teaching. Things like lesson plans, lesson slides, teaching and learning activities, teaching evaluations (formal or informal), assessments you have (co-)developed and syllabi you have (co-)developed.
Seek out teaching opportunities: If you do not teach tutorials, labs, or a course, guest lectures are a great way to gain teaching experience. Let instructors in your department know you are interested in guest lecture opportunities.
Seek feedback on your teaching: Even if you do not receive formal course evaluations, there are many ways you can get feedback on your teaching, including asking your students to give you mid-term feedback or having someone observe your teaching. Check out CTE resources on tools for reflecting on your teaching and using mid-term student feedback for suggestions on collecting this feedback.
Consider professional development opportunities for teaching: CTE has professional development opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who want to develop their teaching skills.
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What is the structure of a teaching dossier? |
Recommendations for the length of teaching dossiers vary, but for academic job applications, they tend to be no more than 20 pages (10 pages for commentary, 10 pages for appendices).
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Since teaching dossiers are meant to be reflective and narrative, paragraphs are strongly encouraged over bullet points. There may be portions where bullets are used, but we strongly encourage using paragraph style for most of the document.
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Can I include student feedback and how do I do this? |
It is valuable to include feedback on your teaching from multiple perspectives, such as students, instructors and teaching centre staff. Student feedback can come from various sources.
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Student feedback from mid-term feedback: If you collected mid-term feedback from your students, you could provide a summary of the data or findings.
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What is the structure of a teaching statement? |
While there is no specific format for a teaching statement, one way to structure the statement is:
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The statement should focus on you as an instructor and your students, rather than comparing yourself to other instructors. Use first-person and present tense to highlight what you do in your teaching, rather than what you did or what you will do. Try to incorporate examples from your discipline to give the reader a sense of what it is like to be a student in your classroom.
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How do I determine my teaching beliefs and values? |
There are several reflective exercises and tools you can use to help you determine your core beliefs about teaching. Try some of exercises and see if they help identify your beliefs:
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What should I do if I have limited teaching experience? |
A teaching dossier can reflect all your teaching experience as a teaching assistant, lab instructor, guest lecturer and/or course instructor. You can still prepare a teaching dossier if you have not taught your own course. Here are some suggestions:
If you have limited academic teaching experience, consider writing about other teaching opportunities you may have had through your research (e.g., facilitating training or community workshops) or extracurricular activities.
Seek out teaching opportunities: If you do not teach tutorials, labs or a course, guest lectures are a great way to gain teaching experience. Let instructors in your department know you are interested in guest lecture opportunities.
If you find you have limited teaching materials to include as appendices, consider designing a syllabus, teaching activity or assessment for a course you would like to teach in the future and include the document as an appendix.
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Further reading |
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Tip for academic applications: Check to see if the institution you are applying to has a guide for teaching dossiers. It might be helpful to see what the institution you are applying to suggests for including in the document. |
University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Creating a Teaching Dossier (Teaching Tip).
University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Exploring Your Teaching Philosophy: Sample Exercises (Teaching Tip).
University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Tools for Reflecting on Your Teaching (Teaching Tip).
University of Calgary Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. (2021) Learning Module: Developing Your Teaching Dossier.
Kenny, N., Berenson, C., Jeffs, C., Nowell, L., &Grant, K. (2018) Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Montrell, G. (2003). How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Western University Centre for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Teaching Dossiers.
Western University Centre for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement.
University of Victoria. (n.d.) Guide to Preparing Your Teaching Dossier for Instructors at UVic.
University of Toronto Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation. (n.d.) Teaching Dossier Guide.
University of Toronto Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation. (n.d.) Statement of Teaching Philosophy.