Fulbright and Jaworski L.L.P. Faculty

Excellence Award Survey Results

This document summarizes the results of a survey of some of the recipients of the Teaching and Evaluation Category of the award. It may have helpful hints as you think about preparing your own mini-portfolio.

Question from Survey / Average
Time / Standard Deviation / Minimum / Maximum / Mode
1. Please provide a rough estimate of the total amount of time you spent preparing each aspect of your portfolio. (Do not include time specifically spent updating your CV)
  • Personal Statement
/ 6.7 / 5.7 / 1.5 / 24.0 / 3.0
  • Documentation
/ 12.6 / 15.9 / 1.0 / 80.0 / 20.0
  • Structured summary
/ 6.0 / 5.2 / 1.0 / 24.0 / 2.0
  • Other
/ 10.1 / 7.9 / 1.0 / 24.0 / 4.0
Question from Survey / Average
Rating
(5 = very useful) / Standard Deviation / Minimum / Maximum / Mode
2. Please rate the usefulness of the following sources of information about the award and/or your mini-portfolio.
  • Reviewing award web site
/ 4.3 / 0.8 / 3.0 / 5.0 / 5.0
  • Attending portfolio workshop(s)
/ 4.1 / 1.1 / 2.0 / 5.0 / 5.0
  • Consulting with Betty Jeanne Moran
/ 4.6 / 0.6 / 3.0 / 5.0 / 5.0
Question / Comments
3.. What advice would you have for other faculty preparing their mini-portfolio for the first time? / Time
  • Start now
  • Start early getting documentation from the college. Keep a record of all teaching efforts real time
  • Begin at least a couple of weeks before the deadline
  • Allow plenty of time. Ask for evaluations
  • Give yourselves plenty of lead time. I found I added more each time I went back to it
  • Start early, don't wait until the last week, really take time to reflect on why you do what you do - what are the common themes in your teaching and why?
Documentation
  • Keep good records
  • Begin documenting now
  • Start collecting information into relevant folders from the "get go"
  • Start finding all the documents to support quality of teaching and start the process early
  • Start early and save all documents
  • Keep all evaluations in one file - request evaluations.
  • Collect all evaluation and keep them and keep them. Request review letters proactively
  • Keep the related supporting materials in one place so it is easy to find
  • File EVERY letter/peer review/evaluation form/correspondence related to EDUCATIONAL achievement. Ask peers for written feedback right away after lectures, etc.
  • Save all the personal letters students send you - there is a tendency to toss these, but they may be the best source of support
  • Save lecture lists and student feedback
Resources
  • Look at previous portfolios that were successful. How successful and why so
  • Look at other faculty mini-portfolios. Looking at Dr. Wilkins's helped me a lot
  • Just follow the instructions in the web page and submit the portfolio
CV
  • Get CV up to date.
  • Keep CV up to date

Question / Comments
4. What were the most difficult aspects for you in preparing your mini-portfolio? Why? / Finding Time
  • Carving out the time to do it in the middle of resident match, accreditation visit, patient crises, etc.!!!
  • Making the time
  • Compiling all the hours spent with graduate students. I had never thought so much about this
Gathering Documentation
  • Procuring identifying documentation
  • Obtaining evaluations from the departments. The departments do not do a good job of keeping past evaluations or having them available
  • Gathering assessment material on lectures, etc.
  • Figuring out how to provide supporting documentation of teaching during research electives
  • Trying to get evaluations from others - the ones not routinely collected
  • Gathering evaluations. Less were available than I supposed
  • 1. Finding the supporting data. 2. Feeling as though I were "tooting my own horn." (Yet, I realize no one else had my personal information.)
Writing the Personal Statement
  • Personal statement
  • Creating personal statement and pulling together evidence (it was not organized)
  • Writing good things about myself
  • The personal statement seemed like unnecessary self-promotion on top of all the documents
Organization
  • I prepared my portfolio like I was preparing a grant - I had two points (EBM and Communication) to make about myself and all of my major decisions (what to include, where to include it, how to set it up) were made keeping in mind the review panel and having them understand my points
  • Setting up the final format. I spent an enormous amount of time doing this and never really felt clear that all my efforts were required to make the minimum level or if I was going far overboard on stuff that wasn't required or needed
  • Organize into various sections (time consuming) and Baylor CV update
  • Organization of material - "compartmentalizing" information
  • Figuring out what it should consist of. Vide supra
  • Review this year's successful applications

5. Did you use a particular “strategy,” in preparing your portfolio? If yes, please briefly describe. / Systematic Approach
  • Worked from groups of learners to types of teaching to qualify data
  • Yes - started with lecture list, then analyzed my interests, finally wrote personal statement
  • Went through my files collecting data/feedback, organized by learner level, type of teaching and type of feedback (ie. Grant/qual.), looked for gaps and need to look for supporting documents for each area. The main key was having kept a file x10 yeas with "everything" in it. Next time, I'll keep individual folders for courses, etc., but at least it was all in one place
  • Keeping the “grand scheme” in mind of what one wants to achieve as teacher
  • I tried to present the data in a meaningful and organized fashion (as though I were the reviewer).
  • I worked on it as if it were a grant proposal
  • To make it well organized, easy to read and overwhelmingly convincing
  • Wrote out my thoughts on quality and its assessment
  • Yes, to develop a product that reflected my individual style and one that would clearly stand out, artistically, from the rest
Tools and Resources
  • Yes, I used the online template
  • I simply followed the guidelines on the web page - they were very useful
  • Looked at the one Dr. Taber wrote!
Good Advice
  • Categorically file EVERY document of educational achievement (correspondence, forms, letters) and do not discard ANY such documentation
Other
  • Not really
  • Not really
  • No
  • No
  • No
  • No, I was lucky to have maintained a file system proactively

W:\awards\distinguished\f&j survey results revised for web site.doc