MAT candidates who have accumulated 27 credits of coursework are encouraged to register for their last three credits to begin work on their capstone project, a teaching portfolio. Students with only 24 credits may register concurrently during the academic year or during the summer for the last course needed to acquire 27 credits as well as for the Teaching Portfolio Project.
Following are the general guidelines for the MAT portfolio procedure.
STEP 1: Selecting a Committee
Before registering for the Teaching Portfolio Project independent study, an MAT candidate should contact their departmental graduate director to discuss the following:
- the number of credits the candidate has acquired to date;
- the candidate's readiness to begin work on a teaching portfolio; and
- appropriate choices for the candidate's two-person portfolio committee.
A candidate is responsible for selecting a committee director, and then, in consultation with this director, choosing the other committee member. This committee may be composed of either:
a) one professor (who serves as the committee director) within the candidate’s language department with whom the candidate has taken graduate courses AND one of the following pedagogy experts:
Douglass Crouse (French, Italian, Spanish)
John Allen (French, Italian, Spanish)
OR
b) two professors (one of whom serves as the committee director) within the candidate’s language department with whom the candidate has taken graduate courses.
Once the two-member committee has been selected, the candidate should submit their names via the following link:
Portfolio Committee Member Information Submission Form
STEP 2: Registering for the Teaching Portfolio Project Course
Once the committee selection and name submission steps are completed, a candidate who is ready to work on their teaching portfolio during the academic year or during the summer should register for the following course:
16:617:599 TEACHING PORTFOLIO PROJECT
This course requires a special permission number, so
If additional time is needed to complete and present the portfolio, a candidate may, with committee approval, receive an extension.
STEP 3: Portfolio Development
Once committee selection and registration for the portfolio project have been completed, the candidate will be added to a Canvas site for the Project. Candidates should refer to the MAT Portfolio Development web page, which provides the essential instructions, forms, and other documents used to create a Portfolio. These resources will also be available in the Canvas site. All portfolio files must be uploaded to the Canvas site so that committee members can access, review, and provide feedback on the material to the candidate. No other cloud storage or file-sharing applications can be used for official Portfolio purposes.
During the Portfolio development process, candidates should remain in close contact with their committee members.
STEP 4: Presenting a Portfolio
Once a committee has approved the final version of a teaching portfolio, the candidate is required to officially present their project to the committee. This presentation usually lasts approximately one hour.
Candidates must coordinate with their committee to schedule the presentation, after which, the candidate should submit the presentation's date, time, and location via the following link: Portfolio Final Presentation Information Submission Form
The candidate should coordinate closely with their committee and their department's Administrative Assistant to be sure all required MAT forms are completed prior to the presentation of the portfolio, and that the necessary degree forms are available at the presentation for committee members to sign. The candidate should verify who is responsible for returning completed MAT forms to the language department so that they can be submitted in a timely manner to the School of Graduate Studies for processing.
STEP 5: After the Presentation
One of the Committee Members is responsible for submitting the MAT Teaching Portfolio Project Final Presentation Grade form, the link for which is located in the Canvas site. This final Teaching Portfolio Project grade will be submitted to the registrar by The Language Center so that it appears on the candidate's transcript. All required degree forms will be submitted by either the Committee Members or language department administrative staff.
