Center for Teaching Development (UCSD) Weekly Workshop: Writing a Successful Teaching Statement March 7, 2013 ctd.ucsd.edu

1. slides and resources: http://tinyurl.com/CTDTeachingStatements
CTD WEEKLY
WORKSHOPS:
WRITING A SUCCESSFUL
TEACHING STATEMENT
Peter Newbury
Center for Teaching Development,
University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu
@polarisdotca
ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd
Thursday, March 7, 2013
12:30 – 1:30 pm Center Hall, Room 316

2. End of grad school = stress
2
visa/immigration publish thesis in journ
thesis job search
moving
defense funding/grants
Research Statement CV
Teaching Statement references
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

3. Job announcements
3
Most job announcements require applicants to
submit a “Teaching Statement”
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

4. “A Teaching what ?”
4
Teaching Portfolio
Teaching Philosophy
• Teaching Statement
Teaching
• Statement of Teaching
Stateme
• Statement of Teaching
nt
Philosophy
• and more…
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

5. Purpose of a Teaching Portfolio
5
 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 ASAP
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

6. Purpose of a Teaching
6
Philosophy
 Thesis statement for a broader teaching
portfolio
 Helps tie together and synthesize evidences
 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
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

7. Purpose of a Teaching
7
Statement
 Be hired in your desired position
 Demonstrate that you are reflective about
your teaching
 Communicate your goals and actions
 Thesis statement for a broader teaching
portfolio, if one will be included in your
application
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

8. A Teaching Statement gives…
8 cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/
 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
Writing a Successful Teaching environment
learning Statement

9. Vanderbilt CfT Teaching Statement
9
in wordle, with keywords only
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5884593/Teacing_Statement_content_from_Va
Writingnderbilt_CfT_-_keywords_only
a Successful Teaching Statement

10. Vanderbilt CfT Teaching Statement
10
in wordle, all words
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5884639/Teaching_Statement_content_from_V
anderbilt_CfT_-_all_words
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

11. Count the
number of
Example - Mathematics I, me,
my,…
11 www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpum
During my years of tutoring and teaching, I‟ve learned
that there is no such thing as “obvious” in mathematics. Each
student learns in his or her own unique way, and it takes a
patient, creative instructor to motivate and educate an entire
class, whether it is populated by budding mathematicians or
students trying to satisfy a general education requirement. In the
classroom, I try to illustrate key points using
geometric, algebraic, and quantitative reasoning, and my
lecturing is broken up by applied problems and projects that
students work on in a small group environment. I view an
instructor‟s role outside of class to be just as important as his or
her role in class. I hold as many as ten office hours a week in
order to fill in students‟ gaps in both current material and course
prerequisites, and I also encourage students to come to my
office to discuss challenge problems.
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

12. Count the
number of
Example – Women‟s Studies I, me,
my,…
12 www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpum
My teaching philosophy is reflective of my overall
commitment to social justice and change through
education. As a facilitator in the learning process, I pay
attention to classroom dynamics and seek to create a
supportive environment for students, within which they feel
safe taking risks and making mistakes. Similarly, I see my
own role not as infallible expert, but as someone engaged
in reciprocal learning and dialogue with students. Within
the classroom, I actively involve students in experiential
application of sociological concepts and theories.
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

13. How do I get all this…into that?
13
LEGO image: wrenfieldrambling.blogspot.com
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement Shuttle image: itsfullofstars.tumblr.com

14. Step 1
14
sit and think Step 1
sit and think
Just a thought by gintoxin78
Writinga Successful Teaching Statement on flickr

15. 15
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
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

16. 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
16      25. Learn to appreciate important contributions to this subject
Writing a   Teaching Statement
Successful  
26. Develop an appreciation of the liberal arts and sciences

17. General Guidelines
17 cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/
 Make your Teaching Statement brief and well
written. While Teaching Statements are
probably longer at the tenure level (i.e. 3-5
pages or more), for hiring purposes they are
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.
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

18. General Guidelines
18 cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/
 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.
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

19. General Guidelines
19 cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-statements/
 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
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

20. General Guidelines
20
 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, CSE,…
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

21. General Guidelines
21
 Formatting: do everything you can to make it
easy for the hiring committee members to read
your doc:
 Put a header on each page 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
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

22. KEY Guideline:
22
 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)
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

23. Five major components (Chism,
23
1998) www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts
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?
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

24. Write, rubric, revise, rubric,
24
revise… www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts
Needs
Excellent Work Weak
Goals for student learning
Enactment of goals (teaching method)
Assessment of goals (measuring student learning)
Creating an inclusive learning environment
Structure, rhetoric and language
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

25. You‟ve drafted it. Now what?
25
1. Get 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. Get 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 (eg, Faculty
Dean) may read it
Writing a Successful Teaching Statement

26. Resources
26
 Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
University of Michigan
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tstpts
 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