Writing Your Own Teaching Philosophy

8/13/2019 Writing Your Own Teaching Philosophy

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Writing your own statement of teaching philosophy

FAQ

- How important is the Statement of teaching philosophy?

- What exactly is it? How philosophical does it have to e?

- How long sho!ld it e?

"he "eaching #hilosophy Statement is $%" a s!mmary of the

experiences on yo!r &'( nor is it an article on pedagogy) *t is a

concise( specific disc!ssion of the o+ectives and approaches yo!

c!rrently !se( have !sed in the past( and plan to !se in the f!t!re)

General advice:

Do...

- ,e honest and tr!thf!l ao!t yo!r teaching experience

- Show enth!siasm

- Write one-page( no more than one and a half)

- ,e specific tal. ao!t co!rses yo! have ta!ght and highlight

s!ccessf!l co!rses or strategies) Show what ma.es yo! an

effective teacher)- "al. ao!t co!rses yo! are prepared to teach

- /now the profile of the instit!tion to which yo! are applying and

mention co!rses that wo!ld fit into their c!rric!l!m 0is it a ig

state !niversity( a religio!s school( a lieral-arts college? 1ead

their mission and val!es on their wesite2

- 3ention how yo! !se technology as a complement to class

- 3ention any innovative ideas yo! have come !p with and p!t into

practice

- 3ention any teaching awards yo! have received( and any co!rses

yo! have developed yo!rself)- "ie yo!r essay to yo!r teaching eval!ations( highlighting or even

riefly 4!oting any comments that are especially positive)

- Avoid clich5s( e original) *t6s o. to e creative here7

- Avoid technical +argon)

- &hec. for spelling errors over and over)


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Dont...

- Write more than one page( maye one and a half 8serio!sly7

- &ritici9e yo!r c!rrent instit!tion or any colleag!es

- 3a.e negative comments ao!t yo!r st!dents

- 3a.e negative comments) #eriod7

- "ell yo!r life story 8it6s irrelevant

- &ome across as arrogant or inflexile

- ,e dogmatic ao!t teaching( ed!cation( etc)

- ,e too philosophical or ma.e vag!e generali9ations) :o e specific

ao!t how yo! wo!ld accomplish something

"If you say you work to encourage collaboration in the

classroom, then explain how you do that, or if you're a newteacher, how you would do that," she says. "It's easy to say, 'I

want to encourage collaboration in the classroom,' or 'I want toget students to think more critically' and leave it at that. But

who doesn't want to do that?"So!rce

http;;chronicle)com;article;How-to-Write-a-Statement-of;;

- :on@t forget that teaching is ao!t st!dents( not ao!t yo!

ew teachers often devote their statements to showing that theycan be innovative or that they can incorporate sophisticatedconcepts in a classroom, but they seldom mention how studentsreacted to those innovations and concepts, says !s. etrites of#hicago. "It's important to present a picture of yourself in aclassroom with students. $therwise readers may ask, '%as thisall about you or the students?'
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/


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:o yo! need inspiration? Here are some 4!estions that may help yo!

get started 0http;;chronicle)com;article;How-to-Write-a-Statement-

of;;2

& %hat do you believe about teaching?& %hat do you believe about learning? %hy?& ow is that played out in your classroom?& ow does student identity and background make a differencein how you teach?& %hat do you still struggle with in terms of teaching andstudent learning?

1ecommended readinghttp;;chronicle)com;article;How-to-Write-a-Statement-of;;

= Steps http;;chronicle)com;article;=-Steps-to-a-3emorale;>BB;

Here is a list of potential questions that may be motivating search

committees when they ask you to submit a statement of teaching

philosophy:

1. Will this candidate be able to handle the teaching responsibilities of

the job?

. !oes her approach to teaching suggest that she"he would be a

good #fit$ for our department and our students?

%. !oes this candidate want to teach? &f so' why?

(. &f & were to step into a classroom and observe this candidate

teaching' what would & see?

). How do this candidate*s research interests shape his"her teaching?

+. What will this candidate add to our department? What will our

students gain from his"her classes? What will our department gain in

terms of specific courses' new opportunities for students to develop

their skills and knowledge' and interesting pedagogical approaches?

,. How does this candidate respond to the perennial challenges ofteaching' such as motivating students to learn' evaluating student

work' maintaining high standards in the classroom' and juggling

teaching with other responsibilities we e-pect faculty to fulfill?

(source:http;;teachingcenter)w!stl)ed!;writing-teaching-philosophy-statement2
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/5-Steps-to-a-Memorable/124199/http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/writing-teaching-philosophy-statementhttp://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/http://chronicle.com/article/5-Steps-to-a-Memorable/124199/http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/writing-teaching-philosophy-statement


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Read carefully the provided teaching philosophy samples (see

handout) and discuss them with the class:

- :isc!ss their strengths and potential wea.nesses)

-What has attracted yo!r attention in each one of them?

-What aspects do they emphasi9e?

-What have yo! learned from them?

Documents

Writing Your Own Teaching Philosophy