1. Developing Your Teaching Narrative: An Introduction
Melissa McDaniels Assistant Dean, The Graduate School & Postdoctoral Office Michigan State University
Next Several Days, add other names
Please Cite As:
McDaniels, M. (2017). Developing Your Teaching (Philosophy) Statement: An Introduction. Workshop presented on October 18, 2017.

2. Pedagogical Support for Postdocs
What types of workshops or opportunities would you like available to you?
Massive Open Online Course

3. Look for updates when this will be offered in Spring 2018 (free)
stemteachingcourse.org
Look for updates when this will be offered in Spring (free)
8-week MOOC!
The course is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No

4.
Set up an account and get involved in this online learning community.

5. FRAMEWORK (NOT RECIPE)
MAKE INFORMATION
RELEVANT TO YOU
(reflection & writing time, conversation, questions & feedback)
ONGOING CONVERSATION & RESOURCES @insideteaching (Twitter)
Blog:
Documentation

6. By the end of today …
Describe the uses and importance of a teaching narrative.
Identify possible aspects of your work to discuss in your teaching narrative
Utilize strategies to develop and refine the teaching narrative
Commitment to a series of personal “next steps” towards completing your narrative.

7. The rapidly changing environment of postsecondary education, combined with the increasing complexity of faculty work, makes it imperative that you are able to efficiently and clearly articulate your professional accomplishments and contributions.
The era of describing activities and uncritically handing in Evidence of your faculty work are over.

8. Think of a a teaching narrative as just one portion of your overall academic portfolio.

9. It is important to have a curated space from which you can draw as you need to promote different aspects of your work as an intellectual.

10. What is a teaching narrative?

11. Teaching Narrative: Uses

12. Teaching Narrative: Uses
Statement of teaching interests in job application
Centerpiece of teaching award application
Content for a pedagogy talk or grant proposal
Annual review or RPT process
Self-reflection
Model for others

13. Types of Teaching to Discuss in NarrativeMU
Research
Interdisciplinary
Land grant
UMKC
Community engagement
Urban
Student success & access
MST
Experiential learning
UMSL

14. Types of Teaching to Discuss in Narrative
Face-to-face classroom
Laboratory (‘bench’ or field)
Synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid online
Research mentoring
Clinical teaching (nursing, medicine, law, clergy, other)
Athletic or musical instruction
Many other types MU
Research
Interdisciplinary
Land grant
UMKC
Community engagement
Urban
Student success & access
MST
Experiential learning
UMSL

15. You are trying to demonstrate …
Your “teacher knowledge”!

16. Mishra & Koehler (2006)

17. Narrative Writing vs. Class Planning
Identify the Message
Identify Learning Outcomes
Determine Acceptable Evidence
Identify “Teaching Moments”
Plan Learning Experiences
Write Narrative
Are the components ALIGNED?
Are the components ALIGNED ?
Did you clearly communicate your contributions in teaching?
Did the students achieve desired learning outcomes?

18. Identify “Teaching Moments”
audience
audience
Identify the Message
Identify “Teaching Moments”
Write Narrative
audience
audience

19. Narrative – Preparing to Write

20. PREPARATION (Question #4): Download Your Teaching Experience
Tool: Preparing to Communicate Your Teaching Philosophy
You need to be able to rely upon all aspects of your teaching experience to develop ideas for your teaching narrative. Tools like this will help you remember different aspects of your teaching you might discount or forget. You want all to draw on all of your teaching history and knowledge when you generate content for your narrative.

21. PREPARATION (Question #4): Download Your Teaching Experience
What and where you have taught?
Students (levels/subgroups)
Teaching strategies & approaches
Teaching – connections to other roles?
Beliefs about & student learning
How do important “others” assess high quality teaching?
Please take 5 minutes to review the tool and complete at least Section 1 (contexts of teaching experience).
“Data” for Teaching Component

22. Narrative will showcase:
Your beliefs about teaching
Your accomplishments in teaching

23. Narrative will showcase:
Your beliefs about teaching
Your accomplishments in teaching

24. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Beliefs About Teaching
Think about a ‘critical moment’ in your teaching history – one that either opened up or shut down your learning or your students’ learning.
This moment could be something you remember as a teaching success, a teaching challenge, or a perplexing event.
How did you respond in those moments – for better or for worse? If you didn’t respond as you had hoped, what might you do differently next time?
Through engagement in this exercise, assumptions underlying your teaching philosophy may emerge.

25. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Beliefs About Teaching
Example Moments:
Your class finally understands a complex concept
A student asks you a question you cannot answer.
You successfully (for the first time) facilitate a discussion among students that involves vigorous disagreement.
The first time you catch a student plagiarizing
A ‘light bulb’ moment you have about how to teach a challenging concept in your field.

26. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Beliefs About Teaching
Describe the moment
How did you respond (or not respond)?
If you didn’t respond as you had hoped, what might you do next time?

27. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Beliefs About Teaching
Describe the moment
How did you respond (or not respond)?
If you didn’t respond as you had hoped, what might you do next time?
What beliefs about teaching emerge from these stories?

28. Other Questions What is the role of the student?
What is the role of the teacher?
Why do I teach the way I do?
What does learning look like when it happens in my classroom?
What is my approach to assessment?

29. Narrative will showcase:
Your beliefs about teaching
Your accomplishments in teaching

30. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Accomplishments in Teaching
Curricular innovations
Reflection on feedback you received about teaching
Leadership in teaching
Scholarship of teaching activity
Other

31. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Articulate Accomplishments
Write a series of strong statements asserting your core accomplishments (deductive approach)
Utilize action verbs as you would in writing learning objectives for your students
Consider Evidence to support your assertion

32. GENERATE PIECES OF NARRATIVE: Articulate Accomplishments
Think about your approach to writing concrete and measurable learning objectives for students.
Action verbs (Blooms Taxonomy)

33. Thank You!
Melissa McDaniels, Ph.D. Assistant Dean The Graduate School Michigan State University