Applying for Status as an Excellent Teaching Practitioner at NMBU

Are you planning to apply for recognition? If so, it is essential that you familiarize yourself with the formal requirements for both the applicant and the application.

Application and Educational Portfolio

The applicant must use an educational portfolio to provide an overview of how they have systematically developed their teaching over time, based on knowledge of learning, to enhance student learning. This portfolio serves as documentation of the applicant’s fulfillment of the four criteria.

Formal Requirements for Applicants

The following requirements must be met to apply for recognition as an Excellent Teaching Practitioner:

• The applicant must hold a permanent position as a professor, associate professor, assistant professor, university lecturer, docent, senior lecturer, or clinical veterinarian.
• The applicant must have a minimum of five years of teaching experience in higher education and be able to demonstrate pedagogical development at NMBU.

Formal Requirements for the Application

The application must be submitted as an educational portfolio and must include:

1. Reflective Statement
2. Teaching CV
3. Statement from the Head of Department
4. Any additional attachments supporting the application.

• The reflective statement must be structured according to the four criteria areas and begin with a summary.
• The reflective statement must not exceed 7,000 words, with a font size of 11. The word count must be specified in the application. Attachments are not included in the word limit.
• Applications can be written in Norwegian or English.
• You may include up to 10 attachments with your application, of which 2 are mandatory (Teaching CV and Statement from the Head of Department).
• The application must be submitted as a single PDF document.
• The applicant is responsible for ensuring that links in the application are accessible and can be opened.
• The application must be submitted digitally by the deadline. More information about digital submission will be provided.

Applications that do not meet the formal requirements will be rejected.

About the Reflective Statement

The reflective statement must document the applicant’s qualifications in relation to the four criteria areas. It should include the educator’s reflections on learning and teaching, based on their own experiences, knowledge, and relevant research on learning. The reflection must be grounded in concrete and relevant examples from the applicant’s teaching practice, with a justified selection of examples.

The examples form the core of the reflective statement, as they clearly illustrate how the criteria areas are met. The reflection must be focused, explicitly linked to the four criteria, grounded in the SoTL approach, and supported by relevant documentation. The applicant’s personal teaching philosophy should be clearly expressed.

The statement should provide insight into:

• Reflection on the pedagogical and subject-specific didactic foundation of the applicant’s teaching and supervision practices.
• An explanation of how the applicant understands the relationship between learning and teaching in their practice.
• An explanation of how the applicant has evaluated their own teaching and supervision practices, and how this evaluation has influenced the development of their teaching. The applicant must clearly describe the substantial qualitative improvements in their teaching (cf. criteria area 2) and is encouraged to include reflections on failures and challenges that have led to learning and further development.
• Reflection on how the applicant’s views on learning and teaching have evolved over time, as well as a plan for how they will further develop their teaching in the future. This should include the identification of relevant areas for development and goals for future pedagogical improvement.

About the Teaching CV

The CV should focus on your teaching practice and competencies as an educator to support your application. In the CV, you should include what you consider relevant to highlight regarding your teaching expertise and experience in higher education.

A template for the Teaching CV is available for use.

About the Statement from the Head of Department

The statement from the Head of Department must include a concrete plan for how the faculty intends to utilize the applicant’s competence upon recognition. This ensures that the application is anchored in the faculty’s activities. The statement is written by the applicant’s direct supervisor with personnel responsibility.

A template for the Head of Department’s statement is available for use.

About Additional Attachments

The attachments must be structured in a way that allows them to serve as a basis for the evaluation. It must therefore be clearly stated how the content of the attachments is relevant to the application. Examples of possible attachments include:

• Sources that support the content of the reflective statement and the examples from the applicant’s own teaching.
• Documentation obtained from established quality assurance systems at NMBU.
• Feedback from others on planning, implementation, and evaluation of teaching and supervision (peer reviews, student evaluations from the last 3 years/other evaluations, etc.).