Instructor Reflection
Instructor reflection is an important part of documenting teaching effectiveness because it allows faculty to collect, examine, and make meaning from evidence of their own teaching. Evidence might include course materials, assignments and assessments, student work, changes made to a course, teaching strategies, or observations about student engagement and learning. Reflection moves beyond simply documenting what was done to consider what the evidence shows, why it matters, and what it suggests for future teaching. By intentionally gathering evidence and reflecting on it, faculty can develop a more thoughtful and meaningful record of their teaching effectiveness while also identifying opportunities for continued growth.
Top 10 Tools for Reflection
A teaching narrative provides a factual, descriptive overview of a faculty member’s actual teaching responsibilities. It summarizes the what of the teaching role: the types of courses taught, typical class sizes, modalities (online, hybrid, in-person), student populations, workload expectations, program responsibilities, supervision or mentoring roles, curriculum development, and any other instructional duties.
The teaching narrative offers essential context for interpreting evidence of teaching effectiveness by helping reviewers understand the instructor’s teaching environment and scope of responsibilities.
Faculty Example:
I regularly teach a combination of undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of xxx. Over the past five years, I have taught 12 distinct courses, including both required core courses and advanced electives. My typical annual teaching load consists of two courses per semester, with enrollments ranging from small graduate seminars of 6–12 students to large introductory undergraduate courses of 60–90 students. I also supervise independent studies, direct graduate capstone projects, and serve on thesis and dissertation committees.
In addition to classroom teaching, I contribute to curriculum design and program development. I have led revisions to our undergraduate major sequence, collaborated on updates to learning outcomes for graduate courses, and helped integrate high-impact practices—such as undergraduate research, reflective learning, and community-engaged assignments—across the program.
The materials included in this dossier reflect and support the breadth of my teaching roles and responsibilities. Sample syllabi from both undergraduate and graduate courses demonstrate the clarity of my learning outcomes, the alignment between objectives and assessments, and the intentional scaffolding built into my course designs. I have included representative assignments that showcase my use of active learning, project-based work, and reflective pedagogies. Teaching evaluations, peer observation reports, and examples of student feedback further document the effectiveness of these practices in diverse class settings, from small seminars to large-enrollment introductory courses. In addition, materials related to curriculum development—such as revised course maps, updated learning outcomes, and evidence of program-wide initiatives I helped design—illustrate my ongoing contributions to program improvement and high-impact educational practices. Together, these artifacts provide a comprehensive view of how my teaching is grounded in intentional design, responsiveness to student needs, and continuous improvement aligned with departmental and institutional goals.
Annotated Note: Notice how the instructor uses the narrative statement to guide the reader of the dossier, explaining why certain items were included as evidence of teaching effectiveness.
A teaching philosophy is a concise, reflective statement that articulates what an instructor believes about teaching and learning, how those beliefs shape their classroom practices, and what they ultimately hope students will gain from their educational experiences. It serves as both a personal guide for intentional teaching and a professional document that communicates one’s approach to students, colleagues, and institutions. Writing a teaching philosophy helps educators clarify their values, connect theory to practice, and make their instructional choices more purposeful and transparent.
Reflective teaching is the foundation of meaningful growth in higher education, allowing faculty to examine not only what happens in their classrooms, but why it happens. Reflection can occur before teaching (as instructors plan with intention), during teaching (as they make real-time instructional adjustments), and after teaching (as they analyze student learning, feedback, and outcomes). It may take the form of journaling, peer observation, dialogue with colleagues, analysis of student work, course evaluation review, or participation in teaching communities. Through these reflective practices, faculty deepen their awareness of student learning, equity, instructional impact, and professional identity. When reflection becomes a consistent habit rather than an occasional task, teaching evolves from routine delivery into a dynamic, evidence-based, and responsive practice that continuously enhances both student success and instructional excellence.
Faculty use multiple types of assessment to understand student learning and to demonstrate the impact of their instruction. These assessments—diagnostic, formative, and summative—each serve a distinct purpose and together provide a comprehensive picture of the teaching and learning process.
Including lesson plans, lesson slides, and/or short video clips in a teaching dossier is important because these artifacts provide direct, authentic evidence of instructional design, classroom practice, and the faculty member’s ability to facilitate meaningful learning. These materials document teaching effectiveness by making visible the alignment between learning objectives and activities, the use of evidence-based strategies, and the clarity and structure of instructional communication. Faculty can annotate lesson plans to highlight pedagogical intentions, select slide decks that demonstrate thoughtful sequencing and engagement techniques, and submit brief video excerpts that capture classroom interaction, pacing, and responsiveness to students.
Directed Individual Studies (DIS) as well as undergraduate and graduate research provide powerful evidence of teaching effectiveness because they highlight a faculty member’s ability to mentor students through personalized, high-impact learning experiences. These individualized experiences require intensive instructional design, close supervision, targeted feedback, and/or sustained intellectual engagement, all of which showcase advanced teaching skill and deep disciplinary expertise. They also demonstrate a faculty member’s commitment to supporting student initiative, independent inquiry, and professional or scholarly development, often culminating in tangible products such as research papers, creative works, conference presentations, graduate school preparation, graduate degrees, and publications. When documented in a teaching dossier, DIS illustrate excellence in mentorship, adaptability in instruction, and meaningful student-centered teaching that extends well beyond the traditional classroom.
Engaging in professional development demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement, innovation in teaching, and adoption of evidence-based practices. Documented participation in these activities becomes especially meaningful when paired with reflection and evidence of application, showing not only what you learned but how you used it to enhance student learning and course design. Professional development takes many forms, including conferences, workshops, and seminars that support engagement with current research and pedagogical innovation; online teaching courses or certifications that provide structured training in instructional design and pedagogy; mentoring, peer observation, and collaborative projects that highlight reflective practice; university-led initiatives such as teaching academies or faculty learning communities; and participation in professional organizations that support ongoing disciplinary and pedagogical growth.
Being nominated for and/or winning teaching-related awards provides powerful external validation of a faculty member’s teaching effectiveness and impact on student learning. Even the nomination process itself serves as meaningful evidence that students, peers, or administrators recognize the quality, innovation, and dedication reflected in one’s teaching. Preparing an award packet is also a highly valuable reflective exercise, as it requires faculty to articulate their teaching philosophy, document instructional practices, analyze student outcomes, and select representative evidence of impact. This process often helps instructors clarify their professional identity as teachers, recognize patterns of growth, and intentionally connect their daily work to broader goals for student success. When included in a teaching dossier, nominations, awards, and accompanying materials strengthen the narrative of teaching excellence through both recognition and reflection.
Faculty Example
*Need direction from Kelly here