7 Why Narrative?

Narrative is a way to blend your teaching experiences, achievements, and beliefs into a cohesive and compelling story. By investing time and effort into crafting a compelling narrative, you can elevate your portfolio from a mere collection of documents to a powerful tool for professional advancement and growth. Benefits of narrative for both you and your portfolio’s reviewers are articulated in the table below.

Benefits for the Author Benefits for the Reviewer(s)
Narrative is a writing strategy to construct a personal argument (with a range of evidence) about your teaching. Reading a personalized narrative is more engaging than a list of accomplishments or records alone.
Narrative can weave together anecdotes, reflections, and insights with evaluations and numbers. Narrative facilitates comprehensive understanding of your teaching journey, such as motivations, challenges, and successes.
Narrative enhances your teaching practice by fostering self-awareness and reflection. Narrative communicates your experiences, challenges, and growth areas that make your teaching unique.

Consider narrative as the cohesive backbone to your teaching portfolio. Each narrative element serves a specific purpose and contributes to strengthening your overall story. Importantly, these components should align, creating a comprehensive, persuasive, and insightful overview of your teaching for a range of audiences (committees, colleagues, and other readers).

 

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Preparing a Teaching Portfolio Guidebook Copyright © 2024 by Paul R MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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