Portfolios provide documented evidence of teaching from a variety of sources—not just student ratings—and provide context for that evidence.
The process of selecting and organizing material for a portfolio can help one reflect on and improve one’s teaching.
Portfolios are a step toward a more public, professional view of teaching as a scholarly activity.
Portfolios can offer a look at development over time, helping one see teaching as on ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection.
Teaching portfolios capture evidence of one’s entire teaching career, in contrast to what are called course portfolios that capture evidence related to a single course. For more on course portfolios, see the Peer Review of Teaching Projects’s page on course portfolios.