A teaching portfolio is a collection of artifacts that provide evidence of a persons teaching accomplishments. It is a "judicious, critical, purposeful analysis of performance, evidence, and goals" that results from a process of deliberate and intentional reflection on teaching. A teaching portfolio can focus solely on the development of a single course or on teaching in general. It provides numerous benefits, including fostering self-assessment and reflection, analyzing teaching performance and outcomes of student learning, and providing an opportunity for guidance and feedback.

A teaching portfolio typically includes descriptions of teaching responsibilities, opportunities for reflection, and accountability of the achievement of learning outcomes. It can contain a variety of materials, such as student learning data, reflections of thinking, and professional development experiences. The process of selecting and organizing material for a portfolio can help one reflect on and improve ones teaching. A good teaching portfolio will have a balance of artifacts from self, from others, and from products of student learning.

Teaching portfolios are typically used for two purposes, which sometimes overlap: (1) as a developmental process for reflecting on and improving ones teaching; and (2) as an evaluative product for personnel decisions such as tenure, promotion, or a teaching award. Whatever function they serve, teaching portfolios have several major benefits, including providing different sources of evidence of teaching performance and placing the initiative for professional development on the teacher.

Portfolios are unique documents that can vary tremendously in length and style, and there is no one-size-fits-all design. They can take the form of anything from bound documents to electronic files with embedded documents and links. The priority is to provide multiple sources to demonstrate teaching effectiveness.