Portfolio for Applicants to the Society of Teaching Scholars

The Mission Statement of the Society of Teaching Scholars at the University of Florida, College of Medicine is: To honor and foster teaching and educational scholarship. Each year, the Society of Teaching Scholars (STS) anticipates accepting up to three new members deserving of this special recognition and honor. Applicants to the STS are asked to prepare an Educator’s Portfolio as a vital part of the application process, in which they illustrate and emphasize their unique strengths and contributions. This portfolio is a collection of materials documenting educational scholarship, both in terms of productivity and quality. It consists of 4 major sections, each of which represents a primary Goal of the Society of Teaching Scholars:

In addition to submitting information addressing each of the following four goals, the portfolio should also include:

  1. A brief (1-2 page) description of your philosophy of education (ie, your thoughts about how students learn, how you help them to learn and help to achieve their transformation, as well as your views regarding the characteristics of a good teacher)
  2. A letter of support from your department chair


GOAL 1 (20%): Excellence in Teaching

To establish which faculty have demonstrated excellence in teaching and commitment to the formation of physicians and scientists.

Examples of excellence in teaching:

  • Documentation of a high level of teaching involvement and evaluation by learners and peers (such evaluation may be on a local, statewide or national scale)- A letter from an education supervisor documenting the performance of the applicant (course or clerkship director, program director, appropriate Associate or Senior Associate Dean). This letter should include the scope of teaching, evidence of creativity, highlight major accomplishments, use of varied pedagogical methods, and responsiveness to feedback regarding teaching skills.

    - Learner evaluations with peer comparisons. This would be a summary of all student evaluations, including discussions about the context of the evaluations, with an emphasis on areas of major assignment. Examples include:
    —– explanation of trends in evaluations
    —– description of ways that evaluation data have impacted teaching

    - Learner outcomes. Examples include:
    —– performance on specific content areas on national examinations where relevant
    —– resident inservice scores for on specific content areas where relevant
    —– board passage rates (for program directors)
    —– Peer evaluations. The purpose and level of rigor are important aspects of the utility of peer evaluations. This should include a description and appropriate context of what is provided in the packet (i.e. formative vs. summative, trained vs. untrained evaluators, solicited vs. unsolicited review, departmental vs. institutional, explanation of ways that the review(s) impacted teaching).

  • A list of teaching awards and honors, including Exemplary Teaching Awards, with descriptions of the criteria and scope (i.e. departmental, national, number of and type of learners) for each award.

 

GOAL 2 (40%): Excellence in Educational Scholarship

To demonstrate the faculty member’s professional development as an educational scholar and role model. Only the products of educational scholarship, not other types of scholarship such as evidence of clinical research, should be included in the educator portfolio. A definition of educational scholarship can be found at this location: http://education.med.ufl.edu/faculty-development/the-society-of-teaching-scholars/portfolio-for-applicants-to-the-society-of-teaching-scholars/

Please make sure that each entry in this category can be easily characterized as educational scholarship; it would assist in our determination of the validity of an entry if you would explain in a sentence or two why the entry is educational scholarship.

Examples of scholarship in education:

  • Peer-reviewed manuscripts about education
  • Peer-reviewed educational materials, such as curricula and assessment tools (e.g. MedEdPortal publications or other methods that disseminate the content)
    • Curricula developed –include: a description of curriculum, how it was developed (e.g. needs assessment, research into existing resources, goals and objectives, how teaching methods selected, implementation, assessment), and scope of use if used outside the institution.
    • Book chapters addressing topics in education
    • Regional or national paper, abstract or poster presentations on medical education (faculty should describe whether presentations were invited or peer-reviewed, impact of meeting on medical education community, any follow up such as requests to use materials or collaborate)
    • Regional or national workshops on medical education (faculty should describe whether presentations were invited or peer-reviewed, impact of meeting on medical education community, any follow up such as requests to use materials or collaborate)

Evidence of national recognition:

  • Invited talks at national/international meetings and other academic institutions.
  • Selection to serve on national accrediting and licensing organizations (e.g. LCME, ACGME, NBME) or clinical specialty education committees
  • Journal editorial board selection.
  • Grant review committees for national organizations

 

GOAL 3 (20%): Contributing to academic excellence

To demonstrate the enhancement of the educational mission, including service as a mentor and/or role model to junior faculty, residents, and students, and an assessment of the outcomes of mentorship.

Examples include:

  • serving as a resident advisor
  • counseling a learner with difficulty
  • speaking at a “career night” or involvement in discipline-specific student interest groups
    • performing peer evaluations
    • mentoring activities within and outside of the department and/or institution

Further examples of excellence as mentor and role model:

  • Description of advisor/mentor activities, with a discussion about the context (including number of mentees, duration of mentoring relationships, type of mentoring [assigned advisor, mentoring a research project, overall career mentoring])
  • Illustration of the impact advisor/mentor activities have had on learners (ie, one or more 1-2 page letters written by advisees or mentees,
  • A list/description of mentee accomplishments and successes related to the mentoring, such as tenure achievement, grants obtained, new courses developed,
  • Participation in workshops or presentations on mentoring

 

Goal 4 (20%): Self-improvement, educational leadership and service

To demonstrate a commitment to high quality teaching and learning, plus continuous quality improvement process of the educational program by providing leadership and evidence of growth as an educator.

Examples may include:

  • Developing or revising a curriculum for residents or students for a specific topic or setting
  • Participation in the Graduate Medical Education, Curriculum, Admissions, Departmental Education, course/clerkship directors committees or other similar committee
  • participation in educational CME, including workshops
  • attending regional and national education meetings
  • seeking peer evaluation
  • Developing or revising a curriculum that is implemented across a residency program, medical school course, or disseminated regionally or nationally
  • Serving as a course director, clerkship director, program director, departmental education director, assistant or associate dean in education, or similar positions
  • Active participation in national or international committees or organizations dealing with education in general (such as the AAMC Group on Educational Affairs, Group on Student Affairs, Research in Medical Education or others) or specifically within a discipline (Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine, Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, Program Directors of Surgery, or similar organizations)

Further examples of submissions to demonstrate excellence in this goal may include the following:

  • Specific assessment tools developed with a description of the process, rationale for development, and any evidence of reliability
  • Use of a variety of pedagogical and assessment methods and tools
  • Evidence of effective curriculum or program development and assessment
  • Educational administrative roles (e.g. assist/assoc dean, program or fellowship director, course or clerkship director) and includes evidence of effectiveness of leadership (e.g. program accreditation, program or course evaluations, innovations, successful learner outcomes, evaluations by learners, supervisors and peer
  • Service on an educational committee – faculty should describe his/her role with concrete descriptions of his/her contributions. Examples of work products that resulted from this committee work may be included in the portfolio, noting the faculty member’s role in developing them.
  • Reviewer of educational awards (institutional, regional or national)
  • Service as an editor or a reviewer of educational submissions for a journal or educational abstract submissions
  • Participation in faculty development in medical education (e.g. seminars, workshops, longitudinal programs focusing on faculty development). Faculty should describe the time commitment to this program,the content learned, and where appropriate, include descriptions and/or examples of work products that resulted from these activities.
    • List any additional training in education, whether a formal degree program or CME activities specifically taken to improve skills in education
    • List any national, regional or local awards for educational programs, curricula, or projects (this does NOT include teaching awards).

NOTE #1 – We in the Society of Teaching Scholars are happy to assist you in any way we can if at ANY time you have questions regarding the preparation of your application Portfolio, or regarding the application / acceptance process itself. Please feel free to ask!

NOTE #2 – In the event that you are not admitted to the Society of Teaching Scholars this year, your Portfolio will be kept ON FILE for up to 3 years. All you would need to do to reapply for membership to STS over the next 3 years would be to submit a letter requesting reconsideration of your application, and to include an ADDENDUM with any updated/additional material you would like to submit to support your case.