Writing a Teaching Statement UCET Careers Workshop Sept. 9, 2016 Writing a Teaching Statement Deborah Marr, Department of Biology Gwynn Mettetal, UCET Director

Reasons for writing Teaching Statement Promotion, Tenure, Reappointment (PTR) Usually longer statement (~5 pages) Includes teaching philosophy, background on courses you teach, reflective narrative, highlights teaching accomplishments Teaching awards Trustees Teaching Award (TTA) Teaching philosophy, reflective narrative, highlights teaching accomplishments Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET) Teaching philosophy Learning episode and reflective narrative Teacher of the Universe awards Teaching philosophy and reflective narrative

Outline Main goal of any teaching statement: Document the Quality of your Teaching Process Brainstorm/ Organization stage Teaching statement similar to syllabus in that you need to think about ultimate/end goals for your courses What knowledge and skills do your students need to master? How are you going to provide window in your courses? Write draft Feedback from colleagues Revise

Brainstorm What are the goals/themes/skills you emphasize throughout your classes? Content mastery Engaged citizens Critical thinking Problem solving Communication skills Inclusiveness Individual fulfillment Discovery and knowledge generation Teamwork Self-directed learning Experiential learning

Brainstorm Organize your teaching accomplishments and types of evidence Internal measures of teaching effectiveness How does course design fit learning objectives? (syllabus, sample course materials, narrative) How well do students meet course objectives? document opportunities students have to work through material proportion of class showing change over course of semester other assessment What do students think of course and instruction? How do you guide student thinking and behavior?

Brainstorm Organize your teaching accomplishments and types of evidence External measures of teaching effectiveness Peer review of class instruction or course materials Conference/Workshop presentations, Publications Curriculum grants Teaching awards or recognition from other sources noting Instructor’s ability to engage students Feedback from alumni or employers on student learning (usually rare to have this)

Use ideas from brainstorming to address these questions Write draft Use ideas from brainstorming to address these questions What do you believe about teaching? What is most important in your courses or in the types of students you work with? How does your approach to teaching facilitate student learning?

Write draft to Question 1: What do you believe about teaching/student learning? Provide context: What are the needs of your students, department, discipline? How does student identity and background make a difference in how you teach? What do you still struggle with in terms of teaching and student learning? Include examples that illustrate key points: Identify good examples of what you do and why your approach is effective Commitment to teaching and professional growth as a teacher

Provide specific examples (take the reader into your classroom) Example 1: “One of my main teaching objectives is to engage and motivate my students. In lectures, I do this by ….. ” Example 2: "It is crucial for students of biology to learn techniques for sampling organisms, organizing large data sets, and analyzing data. Three examples of labs that I have developed illustrate how students master these skills over the course of the semester...” Example 3: "As a teacher of writing, I am committed to using peer review in my classes. By reading and commenting on other students' work in small cooperative groups, my students learn to find their voice, to understand the important connection between writer and audience, and to hone their editing skills." Describe what happens in your classroom? Is your description specific enough to bring the scene to life?

Develop specific examples and support with Write draft to Question 2: How does your approach to teaching facilitate student learning? Develop specific examples and support with Course materials Student work Pre-test/post-test Reflection on what is working and why Only include course materials that connect to specific points being made in narrative

Common weaknesses Lack of reflection or enough detail to understand why this teaching approach is effective. Example: In keeping with the objective of having an interactive classroom, I encourage student creativity. Students have engaged in such diverse activities as playing games and analyzing the symbolism in an episode of M*A*S*H.

Better example of reflection … a suggestion was made to, “Work a participation grade into the grading structure. Perhaps add some more formal classroom assessment techniques.” I have since added participation points to … and attendance has improved. This is important because the correlation in my courses between attendance and final grade has been as high as 0.65. Often, participation is tied to “minute papers” in which students … I call these “got it / didn’t get it” papers, and I have been … They actually state things like, “I probably need to go back and review X,” or … These assignments not only allow me to see what I need to review more thoroughly in class, but also give students a chance for self-reflection on their studies.

Throughout Teaching statement: Reflect on what works and why (but don’t make it too mysterious) Good teachers dwell in the mystery of good teaching until it dwells in them. As they explore it alone and with others, the insight and energy of mystery begins to inform and animate their work. They discover and develop methods of teaching that emerge from their own integrity-but they never reduce their teaching to technique. Palmer PJ (1990) Good teaching: A matter of living the mystery. Change, 22, pp. 11-16.

Think about ways to document student learning Lack of evidence of student learning Student evaluation data ≠ student learning 95% of my students report that I am knowledgeable Better Evidence Student should be able to …… Skill or concept assessed on each exam On exam 1: 25% of students succeeded On exam 2: 57% of students succeeded On exam 3: 86% of students succeeded Performance on pre- and post-tests Improvement in writing assignments (compare assignments early in the semester to those later in the semester)

Common pitfalls in teaching statements Avoid abstract philosophy Overly emotional language Empty statements Lacks examples that pull reader into the classroom and “see” rationale for your approach

Strive to highlight your creativity and interest in teaching Develop argument supported with specific examples Make your teaching statement stand out Teaching statement as self-portrait of your classroom

For PTR Teaching Statement Include Teaching Accomplishments Evidence for student-learning outcomes Teaching-related publications and/or presentations Teaching awards Teaching grants (curriculum, technology, online, other?) Course development Teaching innovations/curriculum design Teaching-related service Professional development relevant to teaching Discuss trends in student evaluations (or key items you want the committee to notice) Any additional information related teaching Example: Evidence of student mentoring Undergraduate Research? Undergraduate Student Advising? Clinical Placements? Relevant community service?

Have faculty outside your field read your statement Provide enough description so that someone outside of your field can understand the breadth of what you have done and your contributions

Microbial art competition Final thoughts Shape your teaching statement so that it Highlights your creativity and interest in teaching Includes reflection on your growth as a teacher Documents student learning outcomes Includes specific examples Course development Mentoring of students and colleagues Professional growth Scholarship Microbial art competition

Resources UCET Resources – IU South Bend Journal Articles Online: One Stop Resources site > Teaching Library: Look at teaching statements written by faculty in other disciplines Journal Articles Chronicle of Higher Education (2015) How to write a teaching statement that sings. Retrieved from: http://gateway.iupui.edu/Uploads/HowToWriteATeachingStatementThatSIngs.pdf Berk RA (2014) Should student outcomes be used to evaluate teaching? [Editorial]. Journal of Faculty Development, 28, pp. 87-96. Conrad CF, Johnson J, Gupta DM (2007) Teaching-for-Learning (TFL): A model for faculty to advance student learning. Innovation in Higher Education, 32, pp. 153-165. Wieman C (2015) A better way to evaluate Undergraduate Teaching. Change: Magazine of Higher Learning, January-February 2015 issues, Retrieved from: http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2015/January-February%202015/better-way-full.html