Creating Spaces for Voices: the Portfolio as a Framework to Support Inquiry Into Third Level Learning and Teaching

<p>This paper will discuss qualitative research that was conducted in our professional practice in supporting academic staff in third level learning and teaching in a higher education institution in the Republic of Ireland. The goal was to understand more fully the process of compiling a teaching portfolio through supporting the academic staff in their development of an authentic voice. A further concern of the study was to examine the extent to which the portfolio process promoted the development of skills such as reflection and self-evaluation and provided a structure for documenting and reflecting on learning and teaching for academic staff in higher education. Klenowski (2002) contends that in the promotion of the portfolio for assessment and learning purposes there is the possibility that too much will be promised and that in practice a lot less will be achieved. Our concern was to understand what in practice was being achieved by the teachers developing the portfolio.</p>