MAT candidates who have accumulated 27 credits of course work are encouraged to register for their last three credits, which is an independent study, to begin work on their capstone project, a teaching portfolio. Students with only 24 credits may register concurrently during the academic year or during the summer for the last WLI course needed to acquire 27 credits as well as for the independent study.

Following are some general guidelines for the MAT portfolio procedure, but candidates should be aware that each language department might have slightly different requirements. For detailed information on the content of the Teaching Portfolio Project, please click here.

STEP 1:  Selecting a Committee

Before registering for the independent study, MAT candidates should confer with the departmental graduate director to inform him/her about their number of credits acquired to date and to indicate their readiness to begin work on a teaching portfolio. At that time, candidates should discuss with the graduate director some appropriate choices for a two-person portfolio committee. Candidates are responsible for selecting a committee director, and then in consultation with this director, choosing the other committee member. This committee may be composed of either:

a) one professor (who will serve as the committee director) within the candidate’s language department with whom the candidate has taken WLI courses AND one of the following pedagogy experts listed below:

Lucrecia D. Chivukula (French, Italian, Spanish) 732-763-1951 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mary E. Curran (Spanish) 732-932-7496 x8101 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lucy Lee (Chinese) 973-219-7514 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Karen Sánchez (French, German, Italian, Spanish) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Martin Smith (French, Spanish) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

OR

b) two professors (one of whom will serve as the committee director) within the candidate’s language department with whom the candidate has taken WLI courses

Once the two-member committee has been selected, the candidate should send their names to the WLI via the following link:
Portfolio Committee Member Information Submission Form

STEP 2: Registering for the Independent Study Course

Once the committee selection and name submission steps are completed, the candidate may then register for the independent study. Those registered will be required to attend either individual and/or group orientation sessions on the composition and development of a teaching portfolio. Group orientation sessions are usually scheduled for either the late afternoon or early evening, but the exact time will be determined based on candidate availability.

MAT candidates from all language departments who are ready to work on their teaching portfolio during the academic year or during the summer should register for the independent study course listed below:

16:617:599 TEACHING PORTFOLIO PROJECT
This course requires a special permission number, so contact the WLI office (732-932-7373) for assistance with registration.

Candidates may, with committee approval, extend their independent study into the following semester if additional time is needed to complete and present their portfolio.

STEP 3: Selecting a Method of Communication with a Committee

Once committee selection and registration for the independent study have been completed, the candidate should discuss with his/her committee members how they will communicate and exchange portfolio files. The use of a wiki to promote more efficient interaction between a candidate and his/her committee is recommended. Committee members can direct their candidates to the WLI MAT informational wiki site, which provides instructions on how candidates can create their own wikis.

STEP 4: Presenting a Portfolio - Pre and Post Procedures

After the two-person committee has approved the final version of the teaching portfolio, the candidate will be required to make a presentation of this project, which usually lasts approximately one hour.

The candidate should coordinate closely with his/her committee and his/her department´s Administrative Assistant to be sure all required MAT forms are completed prior to the presentation of a portfolio, and that the necessary forms are available at the presentation for committee members to sign.  The candidate should verify who is responsible for returning completed MAT paperwork to the language department so that it can be submitted in a timely manner to the Graduate School for processing.

Once the presentation has been scheduled with the committee members, the candidate should inform the WLI of the presentation´s date, time and location via the following link:
Portfolio Final Presentation Information Submission Form