Teaching Materials

Developing a Teaching Philosophy Statement

Increasingly, applicants for faculty positions are being asked to write a statement about their teaching philosophy as part of the hiring process.

This statement should reflect your own thoughts about the importance and values of teaching and of education.  It may contain some or all of the following:

• Your ideas about what constitutes effective teaching, in general, and your specific objectives for the course(s) you teach (or will teach).
• A description of the ways in which you make decisions about course content and teaching methodologies.
• A description of the kinds of assessment tools you have used (or will use) in the classroom, and a justification for using those tools.
• A statement that demonstrates your knowledge about how students learn in your discipline.
• Your plans for developing yourself as a teacher.

As far as format:

• Do not write more than a page or two.
• Assume people outside your field will read your statement, so be careful of jargon.
• Take a narrative, first person approach.