Developing Your Teaching Philosophy Statement for a Faculty Job Search Lucas Anderson lander23@illinois.edu

I take a block of marble and chop off whatever I don’t need – Auguste Rodin “San Francisco – Lincoln Park: California Palace of the Legion of Honor – The Thinker” by Wally Gobetz, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Cv Simon Zetterberg, sida 1” by Simon Zetterberg, CC BY-NC 2.0

“Lil Wayne No Lie Album Cover” by ZerJer97, CC BY-ND 3.0

By John Lewin [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I value critical thinking I believe in active learning strong fundamentals… …global citizens …student-centered

Your Teaching Philosophy Statement A statement of principles Examples of how you put those principles into practice Indication of how you assess student learning Evidence of your effectiveness (if possible) Anything they specifically asked you to include

Your teaching philosophy statement should indicate what drives you to teach the way you do

List several teaching practices you regularly engage in List several teaching practices you regularly engage in. (How do you deliver information? How do you grade? How do you interact with students?) Describe the teaching practices of a favorite teacher. (How did they deliver information? How did they grade? How did they interact with students?) Brainstorm metaphors for teaching. (Teaching is like… coaching? Swimming? Dancing?) Describe what a successful student in your course is like. (What have they learned? What have they done? How did they do it?)

List several teaching practices you regularly engage in List several teaching practices you regularly engage in. (How do you deliver information? How do you grade? How do you interact with students?) What do these practices say about your teaching philosophy? Why do you do these things? Describe the teaching practices of a favorite teacher. (How did they deliver information? How did they grade? How did they interact with students?) What do these practices say about your teacher’s teaching philosophy? What does that say about you? Brainstorm metaphors for teaching. (Teaching is like… coaching? Swimming? Dancing?) Which of these metaphors is most apt? What are the relevant similarities? What does that say about what you value about teaching? Describe what a successful student in your course is like. (What have they learned? What have they done? How did they do it?) What does this say about what you value about teaching?

EXPLAIN YOURSELF “San Francisco – Lincoln Park: California Palace of the Legion of Honor – The Thinker” by Wally Gobetz, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Your teaching philosophy statement should indicate what drives you to teach the way you do

Your teaching philosophy statement should include specific, concrete examples of how you teach

By Douglas P Perkins (Own work) [CC BY 3. 0 (http://creativecommons By Douglas P Perkins (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Your teaching philosophy statement should include specific, concrete examples of how you teach

EXPLAIN YOURSELF “San Francisco – Lincoln Park: California Palace of the Legion of Honor – The Thinker” by Wally Gobetz, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Your teaching philosophy statement should include specific, concrete examples of how you teach

Your teaching philosophy statement should, space permitting, indicate how you assess student learning

Your teaching philosophy statement should, if possible, demonstrate evidence of your teaching effectiveness

Your Teaching Philosophy Statement A statement of principles Examples of how you put those principles into practice Indication of how you assess student learning Evidence of your effectiveness (if possible) Anything they specifically asked you to include

“A junk drawer, inherited” by Eugene Meidinger, CC BY-NC 2.0

Developing Your Teaching Philosophy Statement for a Faculty Job Search Lucas Anderson lander23@illinois.edu Illinois.edu/blog/view/1499