writing a successful teaching statement (iracda fellows, fall 2014)

Peter Newbury

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

[email protected] @polarisdotca

ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd

Writing Your Teaching Statement

October 23, 2014

IRACDA Program

Where are you right now?

Writing Your Teaching Statement 2

A) postdoc with several years remaining at UC San Diego

B) postdoc leaving soon

C) other

Where are you right now?


A) Biological Sciences

B) Biomedical Sciences

C) Pharmaceutical / Pharmacology

D) Chemistry & Biochemistry

E) Neurosciences

Have you applied for academic jobs?


A) no, and I won’t until next year

B) no, but I will be applying soon

C) yes, for 1 job

D) yes, for 2-5 jobs

E) yes, for more than 5 jobs

End of postdoc = stress!


research statement teaching statement

job search

funding/grants CV

references

publications

moving

visa/immigration

teaching statement

Job announcements


Most job announcements require applicants to submit a

“Teaching Statement”

http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/aps/adeo/recruitment/j

obdetails.asp?PositionNumber=10-730

https://careers.unco.edu/applicants/Central?search=Fac

ulty

http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/aps/adeo/recruitment/jobdetails.asp?PositionNumber=10-730





https://careers.unco.edu/applicants/Central?search=Faculty



“A Teaching what?”


Teaching Portfolio

Purpose of a Teaching Portfolio


Collect in one place all your evidence of teaching

teaching philosophy

teaching statement

evaluations (like CAPE)

examples of your work: slide deck, assignments,

exams

Feedback from students, colleagues, bosses

start collecting NOW



Teaching Portfolio

Teaching Philosophy

Purpose of a Teaching Philosophy


Thesis statement for a broader teaching portfolio

Helps tie together and synthesize evidence

Demonstrate that you are reflective about

your teaching

Communicate your goals and actions

As you revise, it may shape how you teach

Help you set goals for professional growth

A list of all courses you’ve taught with dates,

enrollment, institution, etc.



Teaching Portfolio

Teaching

Statement

also known as…

• Statement of Teaching

• Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

Purpose of a Teaching Statement


Be hired in your desired position

Demonstrate that you are reflective about

your teaching

Communicate your goals and actions



Teaching Portfolio

Teaching

Statement

Teaching Philosophy

for YOU for THEM

A Teaching Statement gives…


Your conception of how learning occurs

A description of how your teaching facilitates learning

A reflection of why you teach the way you do

The goals you have for yourself and for your students

How your teaching enacts your beliefs and goals

What, for you, constitutes evidence of student learning

The ways in which you create an inclusive learning

environment

Your interests in new techniques, activities, types of learning

cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/

Vanderbilt CfT Teaching Statement in

wordle, with keywords only

Writing Your Teaching Statement 15 http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5884593/Teacing_Stat

ement_content_from_Vanderbilt_CfT_-_keywords_only

“learning”?

Isn’t it about

teaching?

Vanderbilt CfT Teaching Statement in

wordle, all words

Writing Your Teaching Statement 16 http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5884639/Teaching_Stat

ement_content_from_Vanderbilt_CfT_-_all_words


Count the

number of I,

me, my,…

How do I get all this…into that?


19 LEGO image: wrenfieldrambling.blogspot.com

Shuttle image: itsfullofstars.tumblr.com

Step 1


sit and think Step 1

sit and think

Just a thought by gintoxin78 on flickr (CC)

Sit and think…


Which of these do you feel is your primary role as an

educator?

A) Teaching students facts and principles of the subject

B) Helping students develop basic learning skills

C) Helping students develop higher-order thinking skills

D) Preparing students for jobs/careers

E) Being a role model for students


Teaching Goals Inventory (Excerpt) © 1993 Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross.

tinyurl.com/TeachingGoalsInventory

Please rate the importance of each of the […] goals listed below to the specific course you have selected. Assess each goal's importance to

what you deliberately aim to have your students accomplish, rather than the goal's general worthiness or overall importance to your

institution's mission. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers; only personally more or less accurate ones. Indicate whether each goal you

rate is:

(1) not applicable – a goal you never try to achieve

(2) unimportant – a goal you rarely try to achieve

(3) important – a goal you sometimes try to achieve

(4) very important – a goal you often try to achieve

(5) essential – a goal you always/nearly always try to achieve

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Goal

17. Improve mathematical skills

18. Learn terms and facts of this subject

19. Learn concepts and theories in this subject

20. Develop skill in using materials, tools, and/or technology central to this subject

21. Learn to understand perspectives and values of this subject

22. Prepare for transfer or graduate study

23. Learn techniques and methods used to gain new knowledge in this subject

24. Learn to evaluate methods and materials in this subject

25. Learn to appreciate important contributions to this subject

26. Develop an appreciation of the liberal arts and sciences

Center for Teaching Development, UCSD ctd.ucsd.edu

General Guidelines


Make your Teaching Statement brief and well

written, typically 1-2 pages in length.

Use narrative, first-person approach. This allows

the Teaching Statement to be both personal and

reflective.

Be sincere and unique. Avoid clichés, especially ones

about how much passion you have for teaching.

Avoid statements about what doesn’t work (because

someone on the search committee might have done

that this morning!)


General Guidelines


Make it specific rather than abstract. Ground your ideas in 1-2 concrete examples, whether experienced or anticipated. This will help the reader to better visualize you in the classroom.

Be discipline specific. Do not ignore your research. Explain how you advance your field through teaching.

Avoid jargon and technical terms, as they can be off-putting to some readers.


General Guidelines


Try not to simply repeat what is in your CV.

Teaching Statements are not exhaustive documents and

should be used to complement other materials for the

hiring or tenure processes.

Be humble. Mention students in an enthusiastic, not

condescending way, and illustrate your willingness to

learn from your students and colleagues.

Revise. Teaching is an evolving, reflective process, and

Teaching Statements can be adapted and changed as

necessary.



General Guidelines


Customize for the department you’re applying to:

“I would be excited to teach introductory courses

like your MATH 10A and MATH 20B.”

“With my research background, I would be able

to teach graduate-level courses in European

history like HIST 554.”

Remove UCSD-specific acronyms like UCSD,

CAPE, SIO, SE, MAE, HIEU, SSPPS,…

General Guidelines


Formatting: do everything you can to make it easy for

the hiring committee members to read your doc:

Add a header with your name, so that the reader

can easily associate your awesome words with your

name

full justification gives your doc a polished look

check your PDF very carefully for .docx to .pdf

conversion problems (esp. with bullet points)

Metadata: be sure to check your documents’

metadata (especially author)

KEY Guideline:


You need a kick a** opening paragraph!

What distinguishes you from everyone else applying?

Why will the hiring committee remember your teaching

statement? Give them something to remember you by!

Imagine the hiring committee only reads the 1st

paragraph carefully and skims the rest. Hit ‘em with

your best stuff right away – don’t save it for the

concluding paragraph.

It’s okay to spend extra (way too much) time on the

1st paragraph – it could get you (or cost you) the job

First paragraph rubric:

Write, rubric, revise, rubric, revise…


description of teaching experience

candidate stands out

format, layout, rhetoric, language

Strong Weak Acceptable

“Who’s this again?”

Try the first paragraph rubric


Work with your neighbor. Use the colored dots to evaluate

the sample teaching statement.

Five major components of a Teaching

Statement (Chism, 1998)


1. Conceptualization of learning

How do people learn?

2. Conceptualization of teaching

How do I facilitate that learning?

3. Goals for students

Content and skills

4. Implementation of philosophy

What do I do in the classroom? Does it work?

5. Professional growth plan

How have I grown, and how will I grow in the future?

www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts

www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts

Teaching Statement rubric:

Write, rubric, revise, rubric, revise…


Goals for student learning

Enactment of goals (teaching method)

Assessment of goals (measuring student learning)

Creating an inclusive learning environment

Structure, rhetoric and language

Excellent

Needs

Work Weak

You’ve drafted it. Now what?


1. Ask someone you trust IN YOUR DISCIPLINE to read it.

Their familiarity with the subject may catch errors

specific to your field (eg, field work in geophysics)

2. Ask someone you trust NOT in your discipline to read it.

When they ask you what something means, it forces you to

think carefully and concisely about the concept.

People beyond the hiring-Department may read it

(eg, Faculty Dean)

The Interview…


When you visit your potential employer for a 24–48 hour

interview, you’ll probably

have breakfast with the host

attend meeting after meeting after meeting

give a “research seminar” about your work

teach a demonstration class

meet with the “teaching committee” bring your

teaching portfolio!

Resources


Center for Research on Learning and Teaching University of Michigan www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts Teaching statement samples: www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpum

Center for Teaching Vanderbilt University cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/

McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning Princeton University www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/library/for-grad-students/teaching-statement

Center for the Advancement of Teaching Ohio State University ucat.osu.edu/teaching_portfolio/philosophy/philosophy2.html

Center for Teaching Development University of California, San Diego ctd.ucsd.edu

writing a successful teaching statement (iracda fellows, fall 2014)

Education

teaching statement http

teaching development

teaching portfolio purpose

broader teaching portfolio

research statement

thesis statement

types of learning cft

inclusive learning environment