Reflective Statement The essential ingredient that makes any teaching portfolio more than just a collection of old syllabi and test questions is the reflective statement written by the instructor. The reflective statement may contain three distinct parts: 1.A discussion of the instructor's core beliefs about learning and teaching. This would include what the instructor wishes students to learn in the discipline (e.g., abilities, attitudes, approaches to inquiry, problem solving methods) and how best those goals can be reached. A chemistry professor, for example, might wish to have students experience hands-on laboratory inquiry in addition to understanding abstract concepts. Similarly, an instructor in a drama class might wish to discuss the relative importance of having students perform certain plays as opposed to reading and critiquing them. 2.A statement about the specific goals of each course taught by the instructor. For example, what are the major themes to be developed in a course? Does the instructor of a course in macroeconomic theory want to teach students about the major theoretical systems of Keynes or Marx, or organize the course around the role played in economic activity by trade or government? If the course is taught with specific outcomes in mind, such as developing particular skills in students, what are those outcomes? An introductory course in soil science may be intended to give students a knowledge of soil types and the ability to recognize them in the field, as a prerequisite to other departmental offerings. Similarly, an introductory language course might be the first step in a sequence of such courses that are intended to make students fluent speakers and readers of that language. 3.The match between overall philosophy and specific goals. Relevant here may be consideration of how an instructor's specific goals can best be achieved in different teaching situations: lectures; directed small-group discussions; independent student work, either individually or in teams; laboratories, and so on.