The Statement of Teaching
Philosophy
This page is
organized according to the following questions
about the statement of teaching philosophy:
Exercises included in this page (downloadable
Microsoft Word 
documents):
The
Four Paragraph Model
The
Critical Moments Exercise
The
Self-Reflective Interview Exercise
The Teaching
Cube
Teaching
Philosophy Matrix
There are also several sample
Teaching Philosophies.
What
is a Statement of Teaching Philosophy ?
The Statement of Teaching Philosophy is a brief
(1-2 page) narrative explicating your values
and beliefs about teaching and learning. It
is usually written in the first person, but
the style and tone will vary from person to
person and according to one's discipline.
Recent research* described six
dimensions commonly found in faculty teaching
philosophies:
-
The purpose
of teaching and learning
-
The role of the teacher
-
The role of the student
-
The methods
used to foster teaching and learning
-
The assessment
of teaching and learning
-
The use of a "framing
device," such as a metaphor
or a critical incident about
teaching to provide context for the above.
*From Schönwetter D.J.;
Sokal L.; Friesen M.; Taylor K.L (2002). Teaching
philosophies reconsidered: A conceptual model
for the development and evaluation of teaching
philosophy statements. The International
Journal for Academic Development, 7(1),
pp. 83-97. Contact CTE
for a copy of this article.
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Why
write a statement of teaching philosophy?
It is becoming an increasingly common practice
for faculty search committees to request a statement
of teaching philosophy from applicants. It can
also be a requirement for teaching award submissions.
However, even if you are not ready to go on
the market, articulating your teaching philosophy
can help you to get to know your own goals and
values as a teacher. Knowing these can help
you to better prepare your classes and assignments,
and to work on those aspects of your teaching
that may be less developed.
Your teaching philosophy should
be dynamic and open
to revision. As you change and grow
as a teacher so will this document.
Keep your audience in mind as
you write the statement of teaching philosophy.
A statement written for a community college
will likely differ from one for a research institution.
The Carnegie
Classification system describes these different
types of institutions. If you are submitting
your philosophy to different types of settings,
you may want to create different versions highlighting
the aspects of your teaching that are valued
by those institutions. At the same time, don't
be deceitful or mislead the reader about your
teaching practices.
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How
do I begin writing it?
The best way is to just start! The statement
will likely need to go through many revisions.
Remember, the teaching philosophy is not a comprehensive
description of everything you believe
about teaching and learning. Rather it should
present the essence of who you are as a teacher.
Some ways to begin the process of articulating
this are:
Exercises
on Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy
-
The Four Paragraph Model
This exercise is direct and concise. It asks
you to write four paragraphs, each focusing
on one aspect of your philosophy. Helpful
for those who need help organizing their thoughts
in writing.
-
The Critical Moments Exercise
This exercise draws from your
concrete memories about teaching in order
to help make more explicit those values that
are implicit in your practice. Helpful
for those who know that there are reasons
behind what they do in the classroom, but
who may not have ever articulated those underlying
beliefs about teaching and learning.
-
The Self-Reflective Interview Exercise
This exercise offers questions
to answer in an interview format about your
teaching. Helpful for those who can speak
about their teaching more easily than they
can write about it. Have a friend or colleague
ask you the questions and take notes or tape-record
your answers.
-
The Teaching Cube
This exercise helps to break
down your teaching philosophy into six related
components. Helpful for those who like to
focus in on details before connecting those
aspects into a "big picture."
-
Teaching Philosophy Matrix
This exercise is in the form
of a chart, and it asks you to plot your beliefs,
practices, and goals about teaching. Helpful
to make connections between the concrete and
the abstract.
NOTE: These exercise
are meant to spark your thinking process.
No statement can or should include all
of these aspects. This process will help you
decide on what topics are the most important
to you as a teacher.
Note: these samples are in Adobe
.pdf form. Click on this icon to go to the Adobe
website and download a free version of Adobe Reader.
Finally, here are some suggestions
of what NOT to do when writing
a statement of teaching philosophy:
- Don't try to describe everything
you do in the classroom. The teaching philosophy
statement is meant to represent your general
philosophy about teaching and learning.
As such, it serves to present the argument or
thesis of your teaching
portfolio, which will then provide the evidence
to back up your statement.
- Be wary of metaphors. Used well, they can
hold the philosophy together nicely, but often
they can be overused or trite. Some metaphors
do not cross disciplines well.
- Avoid wordiness and jargon. Educational or
disciplinary jargon can be off-putting to some
readers. Write for a cross-disciplinary audience.
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Where
can I find other resources?
- Stop by the Center for Teaching Excellence
office in 312 Administration building to peruse
our print handout file on the Statement of Teaching
Philosophy.
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Further CTE resources for Landing an Academic
Job
Understanding the
process | Finding
openings | Cover
letters | Curriculum vitae
| Teaching portfolio
| Interviewing
Return to Landing
an Academic Job Home.
|
