USE OF THE EDUCATORS-PORTFOLIO TO STIMULATE REFLECTIVE PRACTICE AMONGMEDICAL EDUCATORS

Background: Preparing a teaching portfolio to document educational exp ertise should be useful for both promotion and to stimulate faculty de velopment. Description: This article describes a study of the effectiv eness of the Educator's Portfolio (EP) as a stimulus faculty's reflect ion about educational practice. Methods: Structured interviews of 10 f aculty who prepared EPs for promotion were conducted, and a qualitativ e content analysis of the resulting protocols was conducted to determi ne if the EP development process had promoted their reflection on educ ation and, if so, how. Result: All 10 faculty indicated that reflectio n about education had occurred. Four categories of reflection emerged: (a) surfacing of dilemmas in practice, (b) seeking supports, (c) refo rmulating educational practice, and (d) transformation of educational practice. Conclusions: These findings indicate that EP preparation cre ates a forum for reflection on educational practice, which promotes fa culty development.