Teaching Philosophies

The Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence at PSU recently held a Teaching Philosophy writing workshop. The workshop was an excellent opportunity to begin the process of reflecting upon and articulating what experiences I draw upon for my pedagogical practices. This one hour workshop was an open forum in which each participant had the opportunity to discuss what experiences have been successful and unsuccessful in their teaching and learning pasts.

The creation of a teaching philosophy is an excellent way to not only show possible employers the techniques that a teacher uses for effective teaching, but is an excellent way to contemplate, develop, and improve upon one’s personal goals, values, and beliefs as a teacher. In reflecting upon past learning and teaching experiences that were either successful or not, a teacher is able to further investigate what about those practices led to the given outcome. If applied appropriately, this practice has the potential to improve an educator’s effectiveness in the classroom.

This short (1-2 page) document should be very concise. A teaching philosophy should include concrete examples of successful teaching practices, avoiding generic terms and emotion based statements. These evidence based examples should portray effective implementation of stated values, beliefs, and goals. It is important to convince the reader of unique practices that the writer uses, in order to be distinct and memorable. Often times applicant reviewers will look through 50 or more documents. Every aspect of the document should be unique, creative, and full of examples as to why the teaching practices of the writer are worth the attention of the reader.

Teaching philosophies should be filled with confident language that is factual, not emotional. By exchanging terms such as ‘I hope to’, and ‘I am striving to’, with terms like ‘I utilize’, and ‘I implement’, the document becomes a better description of the writer’s actual practices and beliefs. An effectively written teaching philosophy is essential for convincing employers of your effectiveness as an educator. As students at PSU, we are fortunate to have the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence for guidance. By visiting the institute at 301 Rider Building or going tohttp://www.Schreyerinstitute.psu.edu , we can get help with editing and revising our teaching philosophy. You can also visithttp://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/career-development/put-your-qualifications-writing/teaching-philosophy-statement for more tips on writing an effective teaching philosophy.

The practice of creating a document that portrays ones philosophy on teaching is an important process that can show an employer that one strives to be the best educator they can. The process of creating this document also serves to help the writer hone in on the skills that can improve their effectiveness as a teacher. This document is always to be considered a working document and should be revisited and revised often as new techniques are learned and utilized. Doing this will ensure that we continue to strive towards excellence, being as effective as possible, allowing our students to reach their full potential.