I am an Education Adviser in QMUL's Centre for Academic and Professional Development. I teach primarily on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, a core module for both PGCAP and CILT. I also teach standalone workshops on themes including portfolios, interactive teaching and international students. 

I went into the observation process aiming to get a sense of where my strengths and weaknesses lie in different teaching contexts. I had two very different types of teaching observed so that I could gauge both the areas in which I am strongest, and the areas in which I need to improve. I also wanted to have an outside observer watch my classroom management and see the dynamics between me and my students, and among the students themselves. It can be difficult to really observe what's going on in a classroom when one is caught up in the throes of teaching, so I appreciated the chance to get an outside perspective. 

I also wanted the opportunity to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, so that I could think about plans for future development. So often we get caught up in short-term corrections that we forget to plan future training and instead focus on correcting immediate issues. I wanted to take a look at the observations and draw out some themes which could guide me on my path to professional development. 

This portfolio will be structured into four main pages. Three of those pages focus on the three observations I received this year: the first where I observed a peer, then I was observed by a peer, and then the observation of my teaching by a tutor. The final main page will focus on two themes that really stood out for me and which I feel are important to my practice: student support and international students, and especially the ways in which they combine.