Statement of Teaching Philosophy

General guidelines/components Even though you are writing about yourself, maintain a professional and objective tone o Present your points in an expository way, using a logical order o Be concise and avoid repetition Tell us exactly what your classroom looks like—leave no ambiguity o What does a typical day in your classroom look like? o Why do you do what you do and in what way do you do it? Credentials o Teaching experience (names of classes taught) o Pedagogical training and research Demonstrate knowledge of pedagogical theory and practice o Concrete evidence of how theory is put into practice in your classes o Provide an example for most key points Address how you teach lower-division language and upper-division culture/literature or linguistics courses o Awareness that different teaching styles are required for each o How you organize your courses as a whole (syllabi) and individual classes

Outcomes: How do you know that your teaching strategies have worked? o How do you evaluate students’ work? An Inclusive Environment o How do you create an inclusive environment in the classroom? How do you make students of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and political orientation feel at home? What about students with disabilities? Awareness and use of instructional technology o Technology is not a silver bullet o Be very specific o Broad variety of uses (not just online textbook website) o Do you do anything innovative with technology? o If you discuss online teaching, discuss its weaknesses and how you address them Evaluations/teaching awards o What have students said about your teaching? Best comment: “Challenging, but I learned a lot” o What have your supervisors said about your teaching? Have they complemented you? o Have you received any teaching awards or recognition?

Other tips: Keep it short and to the point (1-2 pages—around 5 paragraphs) Strong introduction and conclusion Know your audience—look at the faculty, classes, and textbook selection. Always use a confident tone—you are an expert, you have experience doing this How have your personal identity and experiences influenced in your teaching? Show that you are “student-centered” in your teaching Be reflective (show you think about what you do) Avoid repeating “I,” vocabulary, and topics too many times Refine your statement, rewriting it several times Make sure their are no spelling or grammatical errors Consider actually citing some pedagogical theory (include list of works cited) or at least say “Several studies have shown….” Think about uploading a video of you teaching and linking to it (could be on dropbox or google drive). The teaching philosophy statement is important, but it will not decide whether or not you get the job

Quotes from sample statements “Pedagogy should empower students to create, to question, and to continue learning outside of the classroom.” Great start. Strong declaration. Focus is on students and learning.

“My love of teaching is largely driven by my own passion in French language and culture. I truly enjoy sharing my enthusiasm with students.” Good to be enthusiastic, but let a student evaluation communicate it—or, even better, find studies on role of charisma in teaching, then show how student evaluations say you have it.

“One of my objectives as a Spanish instructor is to motivate my students toward a level of independence fostering a desire to learn and think for themselves. To reach this end I create student­centered classrooms: that is, learning communities where cooperative and collaborative group work is the norm. In my elementary and intermediate Spanish classes, I create this atmosphere by keeping traditional lecturing to a bare minimum, while engaging students in active group work, discussion, debate, role­play and critical and reflective writing tasks. In upper­level courses, I strive to foster students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills while maintaining a learner­centered atmosphere through the involvement of students in the planning and presentation of lessons.”

“In my quest to develop independent thinkers, I also strive to promote cross­cultural awareness and appreciation. A native of Mexico, I bring as much of my culture into the classroom as possible. For example, students are introduced to Día de los muertos shadow boxes while they describe to a partner what they see in this and other forms of Mexican Day of the Dead art. Students are then encouraged to make connections between the authentic cultural artifact presented and its socio­cultural and historical contexts as well as the students’ own position within culture. However, since I represent only one person from my country, I turn to technology to allow students to experience other aspects of my culture for themselves. In my elementary, intermediate and advance Spanish classes I implement an activity where grouped students become responsible for their own education as they interact via a Skype interview with Mexican nationals as well as Latino immigrants to the United States.”

Creating syllabi Key components: o Course title and location o Professor’s name, office hours and location o Description and objectives of course o Course materials o Evaluation of students (grades) o Description of assignments o Grading scale o Attendance policy o Late work policy o Plagiarism policy o Disability Accommodations o Other considerations Use of language in classroom Participation o Course Schedule o Final Exam Date

How to organize literature and culture classes Several ways: Chronologically o Cultural history Key political events o Literary history Main movements, etc. By topic o Units around different genres, literary movements, or cultural topics (race, gender, social relations, etc.) By writer Mixed approach o First half chronological, second half topical o Chronological, but expanded units on certain topics

Online resources for teaching portfolio pages/teaching-portfolios/ pages/teaching-portfolios/ pages/teaching-statements/ ce_files/CRLT_no23.pdf ce_files/CRLT_no23.pdf pages/course-design/