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Portfolio requirements for EMI certificate

Certificate seekers are required to turn in the following portfolio materials.

1. a curriculum vitae (CV) [draft due at the small group workshop]
2. a sample course syllabus (for a hypothetical future class). [draft due at the small group worksho]
3. a conference proposal [draft due before the micro-teaching workshop]
4. one of the following: [a] a statement of purpose (SOP) to apply to a graduate school program, [b] a research statement, or [c] a teaching philosophy statement (TPS) to apply for a teaching job [draft due before the micro-teaching workshop]
5. an outline of your micro-teaching presentation [due before your micro-teaching by email]

The CV should be at least one page, but would likely be longer; there is no limit to how long it can be, as long as it is reasonable. The SOP or TPS should be 1-3 pages long (single spaced). The syllabus should be at least 3 pages long. For some of these materials, you can project yourself into the future. For example, you could write a future CV with possible future accomplishments, or a TPS that assumes you are done with your Ph.D. The conference proposal / abstract can be a real proposal that you have written, or a potential / hypothetical one for some of your research that you would like to present. When you send it, please let me know what kind of conference you have in mind. The length depends on your field and the particular conference, but 1-2 paragraphs is normal.

They can be emailed to me at:

The materials must be done satisfactorily in order to receive the certificate. You may be asked to revise them until they are suitable.

Micro-teaching

Before your session, you should email an outline of your presentation to Dr. Lee. You and 2-4 other graduate students from different departments will each give a 10-12 minute mini-lecture. You can choose any topic in your field. After the presentations, the facilitator (Dr. Lee) will provide feedback and comments.

Assignment guidelines and samples

The following are some guidelines, samples, and instructions on how to do these materials. These are also discussed in the 5th EAP workshop.

CVs (and résumés)

1. CV guide and CV sample
2. Résumé guide and Résumé sample
3. General guides for CVs and résumés (Purdue OWL website)
4. Simple checklist for a proper résumés
5. Rubric / criteria for proper résumés, CV, cover letter, SOP

Statement of purpose (SOP)

1. SOP guide and sample

Teaching philosophy statements (or teaching statement)

A teaching philosophy statement [TPS] can address a few or some (but not all) of the following topics.

• The teaching methods, approach, technique(s), or philosophy that you prefer, what it means to you, and how you would implement it. Discuss how you would implement it in your classroom
• What your actual classroom teaching would look like, and why
• Students' particular difficulties in the subject you would teach, and how you would address them
• How you might motivate students
• For any of the above: Provide specific examples of what you do or would do in the classroom.
• Try to be real and specific - avoid sounding like many typical TPSs that are fluffy and vague, and sound like commercials or self-promotions. Note that many TPS examples (like many of the examples online or in the manual below) can sound vague or overly promotional. Your TPS should sound authentic and sincere.

You can refer to the following for guidelines and ideas on what to write about. For the TPS manual, you can disregard section 3 on worldviews / paradigms (that is for professors in various fields). The manual has a few appropriate examples - yours need not be as long as many of these examples. You can project yourself a few years in the future and imagine that you are applying for a teaching job somewhere.

1. TPS manual (with examples)
2. TPS rubric - guidelines for a good TPS
3. TSP example: Educational psychology
4. TPS example: College language teacher Teaching statement
5. TPS: language education

Course syllabus

This would ideally be for the same type of course that your micro-teaching is based on. For the syllabus assignment, be sure to define the type of students this is for, and their background (in the actual syllabus, or on a separate cover sheet or intro section before the actual syllabus). This should be at least two pages. Make sure that the contents that you outline are reasonable and doable for one semester. You can use my syllabus as a template, but don't copy from it. Refer to the following handout and template:

• Handout on course, syllabus and lesson design
• Sample syllabus 1: English composition
• Sample syllabus 2: Language teaching methods course
• Syllabus: Poor example (pedantic style, poor format, wordy)

Research statement

These are used for applying for professorships and postdoctoral positions. They should explain the following.

• your past and present research interests (and future interests that you might pursue, and how these logically relate or have developed from past/present interests)
• your past research training and expertise
• past / current research accomplishments or findings, and their relevance or implications
• for a post-doctoral or researcher position: (a) specific project(s) that you would pursue at that institution, including research hypothesis, research design, expected results, and relevance / implications / benefits;
• for a professorship, spell out specific types of research and/or research projects that you would like to conduct at the department where you are applying (you may want to address the rationale, benefits, implications, and (expected) outcomes for at least some of your propsed studies).

See the following example.

• Sample research statement for postdoc application

Other forms of academic writing

This is not for the portfolio requirements or for the EMI program, but you may find this useful, as this relates to academic writing that is not covered in writing courses or typical forms of graduate student training.

Cover letters

Many cover letter samples can be found on the web; try searching for examples of cover letters for academic jobs. Here are a couple of samples.

1. Cover letters for academic job applications
2. Academic cover letter (for professorship)
3. Academic cover letter (language teaching job)
4. Application letter (non-tenure track)

Extra: Interviews

1. Typical job interview questions
2. Interview questions for teaching or academic jobs
3. Job interview mistakes to avoid

Grants & dissertation proposals

Before actually starting on a dissertation, you will need to craft a well developed, well thought proposal, often as part of a preliminary exam with the professors on your committee. You may also need to apply for research grants to fund your dissertation research, especially in the sciences and some social science fields, unless you happen to be rich. If you do research as a grad student, or later as a professor, that requires funding, then grant writing could become a regular habit for you. So here are some grant proposals and general research proposals that I used as a Ph.D. student.

1. Project Summary.pdf (for grants, or for preliminary exam / pre-dissertation process)
2. Grant proposal #1 (for a university grant, which was the only grant that I won)
3. Grant proposal #2 (for a university grant)
4. Grant proposal #3a and second part, #3b
5. Grant proposal #4 (National Science Foundation grant; and no, I didn't get it)
6. Biographical sketch for grant proposals (or other purposes)
7. Budget justification for grant proposal

Those seeking the EMI certificate should refer to the pages for the micro-teaching and portfolio assignments.