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My Teaching Philosophy

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Published: Mar 25, 2024

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Teaching Philosophy: Fostering Lifelong Learning and Critical Thinking Skills

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Your teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. It's a one to two page narrative that conveys your core ideas about being an effective teacher in the context of your discipline. It develops these ideas with specific, concrete examples of what the teacher and learners will do to achieve those goals. Importantly, your teaching philosophy statement also explains why you choose these options.

+ Getting Started

Your reasons for writing a teaching philosophy may vary. You might be writing it as an exercise in concisely documenting your beliefs so that you can easily articulate them to your students, peers, or a search committee. It might serve as the introduction to your teaching portfolio. Or, it can serve as a means of professional growth as it requires you to give examples of how you enact your philosophy, thus requiring you to consider the degree to which your teaching is congruent with your beliefs.

Generating ideas

Teaching philosophies express your values and beliefs about teaching. They are personal statements that introduce you, as a teacher, to your reader. As such, they are written in the first person and convey a confident, professional tone. When writing a teaching philosophy, use specific examples to illustrate your points. You should also discuss how your values and beliefs about teaching fit into the context of your discipline.

Below are categories you might address with prompts to help you begin generating ideas. Work through each category, spending time thinking about the prompts and writing your ideas down. These notes will comprise the material you’ll use to write the first draft of your teaching philosophy statement. It will help if you include both general ideas (‘I endeavor to create lifelong learners’) as well as specifics about how you will enact those goals. A teaching philosophy template is also available to help you get started.

Questions to prompt your thinking

Your concept of learning.

What do you mean by learning? What happens in a successful learning situation? Note what constitutes "learning" or "mastery" in your discipline.

Your concept of teaching

What are your values, beliefs, and aspirations as a teacher? Do you wish to encourage mastery, competency, transformational learning, lifelong learning, general transference of skills, critical thinking? What does a perfect teaching situation look like to you and why? How are the values and beliefs realized in classroom activities? You may discuss course materials, lesson plans, activities, assignments, and assessment instruments.

Your goals for students

What skills should students obtain as a result of your teaching? Think about your ideal student and what the outcomes of your teaching would be in terms of this student's knowledge or behavior. Address the goals you have for specific classes or curricula and that rational behind them (i.e., critical thinking, writing, or problem solving).

Your teaching methods

What methods will you consider to reach these goals and objectives? What are your beliefs regarding learning theory and specific strategies you would use, such as case studies, group work, simulations, interactive lectures? You might also want to include any new ideas or strategies you want to try.

Your interaction with students

What are you attitudes towards advising and mentoring students? How would an observer see you interact with students? Why do you want to work with students?

Assessing learning

How will you assess student growth and learning? What are your beliefs about grading? Do you grade students on a percentage scale (criterion referenced) or on a curve (norm referenced)? What different types of assessment will you use (i.e. traditional tests, projects, portfolios,  presentations) and why?

Professional growth

How will you continue growing as a teacher? What goals do you have for yourself and how will you reach them? How have your attitudes towards teaching and learning changed over time? How will you use student evaluations to improve your teaching? How might you learn new skills? How do you know when you've taught effectively?

+ Creating a Draft

Two ways of organizing your draft.

Now that you've written down your values, attitudes, and beliefs about teaching and learning, it's time to organize those thoughts into a coherent form. Perhaps the easiest way of organizing this material would be to write a paragraph covering each of the seven prompts you answered in the Getting Started section. These would then become the seven major sections of your teaching philosophy.

Another way of knitting your reflections together—and one that is more personal—is to read through your notes and underscore ideas or observations that come up more than once. Think of these as "themes" that might point you toward an organizational structure for the essay. For example, you read through your notes and realize that you spend a good deal of time writing about your interest in mentoring students. This might become one of the three or four major foci of your teaching philosophy. You should then discuss what it says about your attitudes toward teaching, learning, and what's important in your discipline.

No matter which style you choose, make sure to keep your writing succinct. Aim for two double-spaced pages. And don't forget to start with a "hook." Your job is to make your readers want to read more; their level of engagement is highest when they read your opening line. Hook your readers by beginning with a question, a statement, or even an event from your past.

Using specific examples

Remember to provide concrete examples from your teaching practice to illustrate the general claims you make in your teaching philosophy. The following general statements about teaching are intended as prompts to help you come up with examples to illustrate your claims about teaching. For each statement, how would you describe what happens in your classroom? Is your description specific enough to bring the scene to life in a teaching philosophy?

"I value helping my students understand difficult information. I am an expert, and my role is to model for them complex ways of thinking so that they can develop the same habits of mind as professionals in the medical field."

"I enjoy lecturing, and I'm good at it. I always make an effort to engage and motivate my students when I lecture."

"It is crucial for students of geology to learn the techniques of field research. An important part of my job as a professor of geology is to provide these opportunities."

"I believe that beginning physics students should be introduced to the principles of hypothesis generation, experimentation, data collection, and analysis. By learning the scientific method, they develop critical thinking skills they can apply to other areas of their lives. Small group work is a crucial tool for teaching the scientific method."

"As a teacher of writing, I am committed to using peer review in my classes. By reading and commenting on other students' work in small cooperative groups, my students learn to find their voice, to understand the important connection between writer and audience, and to hone their editing skills. Small group work is indispensible in the writing classroom."

Go back to the notes you made when getting started and underline the general statements you’ve made about teaching and learning. As you start drafting, make sure to note the specific approaches, methods, or products you use to realize those goals.

+ Assessing Your Draft

Assessing your draft teaching philosophy.

According to a survey of search committee chairs by the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, there are five elements that are shared by strong teaching philosophy statements:

• They offer evidence of practice (specific examples)
• They are student-centered
• They demonstrate reflectiveness
• They demonstrate that the writer values teaching
• They are well written, clear, and readable

Now that you’ve completed an initial draft, ask whether your statement captures these elements and how well you articulate them.

You might find it useful to compare your draft to other teaching philosophies in your discipline. It can also be useful to have a colleague review your draft and offer recommendations for revision. Consider printing out a teaching philosophy rubric from our “Rubrics and Samples” tab to provide your reviewer with guidelines to assess your draft. These exercises will give you the critical distance necessary to see your teaching philosophy objectively and revise it accordingly.

+ Rubrics and Samples

Rubrics and sample teaching philosophies.

Here are links to three teaching philosophy rubrics to help you assess your statement. We have included four different rubrics for you to choose from. These rubrics cover similar elements, and one is not necessarily better than the other. Your choice of which to use should be guided by how comfortable you feel with the particular instrument and how usable you find it. 

• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 1   This rubric allows a reader to rate several elements of persuasiveness and format on a scale of 1 to 5.
• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 2   This rubric contains prompts for assessing purpose and audience, voice, beliefs and support, and conventions.
• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 3   This rubric contains prompts for assessing content, format, and writing quality.
• Rubric for Statements of Teaching Philosophy  This rubric was developed by Kaplan et. al. from the University of Michigan.
• Marisol Brito – philosophy 
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4 Teaching Philosophy Statement Examples

Develop Your Own Teaching Philosophy

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An educational philosophy statement or teaching philosophy statement is a brief essay that all nearly prospective teachers are required to write. Vanderbilt University explains:

"A teaching (philosophy) statement is a purposeful and reflective essay about the author’s teaching beliefs and practices. It is an individual narrative that includes not only one’s beliefs about the teaching and learning process but also concrete examples of the ways in which he or she enacts these beliefs in the classroom."

A well-crafted teaching statement gives a clear and unique portrait of the author as a teacher. Ohio State University's Center for the Advancement of Teaching further explains that a teaching philosophy statement is important because a clear philosophy of teaching can lead to a change in teaching behavior and foster professional and personal growth.

Examples of Teaching Philosophy Statements

This passage is an example of a strong statement of teaching philosophy because it puts students where they belong in education: at the front and center of a teacher's focus. An author who writes such as a statement is likely to continuously examine and verify this philosophy by always ensuring that student needs are the primary focus of all lessons and schoolwork.

"My philosophy of education is that all children are unique and must have a stimulating educational environment where they can grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It is my desire to create this type of atmosphere where students can meet their full potential. I will provide a safe environment where students are invited to share their ideas and take risks.

"I believe that there are five essential elements that are conducive to learning. (1) The teacher's role is to act as a guide. (2) Students must have access to hands-on activities. (3) Students should be able to have choices and let their curiosity direct their learning. (4) Students need the opportunity to practice skills in a safe environment. (5) Technology must be incorporated into the school day."

The following statement is a good example of a teaching philosophy because the author emphasizes that all classrooms, and indeed all students, are unique and have specific learning needs and styles. A teacher with such a philosophy is likely to ensure that she spends time helping each student achieve her highest potential.

"I believe that all children are unique and have something special that they can bring to their own education. I will assist my students to express themselves and accept themselves for who they are, as well embrace the differences of others.

"Every classroom has its own unique community; my role as the teacher will be to assist each child in developing their own potential and learning styles. I will present a curriculum that will incorporate each different learning style, as well as make the content relevant to the students' lives. I will incorporate hands-on learning, cooperative learning, projects, themes, and individual work that engage and activate students learning." 

This statement provides a solid example because the author emphasizes the moral objective of teaching: that she will hold each student to the highest expectations and ensure that each one is diligent in her studies. Implied in this statement is that the teacher will not give up on even a single recalcitrant student.

"I believe that a teacher is morally obligated to enter the classroom with only the highest of expectations for each and every one of her students. Thus, the teacher maximizes the positive benefits that naturally come along with any self-fulfilling prophecy. With dedication, perseverance, and hard work, her students will rise to the occasion."

"I aim to bring an open mind, a positive attitude, and high expectations to the classroom each day. I believe that I owe it to my students, as well as the community, to bring consistency, diligence, and warmth to my job in the hope that I can ultimately inspire and encourage such traits in the children as well."

The following statement takes a slightly different tack: Classrooms should be warm and caring communities. Unlike the previous statements, this one minimizes the individuality of students and emphasizes that, essentially, it take a village to foster truly community-based learning. All teaching strategies then, such as morning meetings and community problem solving, follow this philosophy.

"I believe that a classroom should be a safe, caring community where children are free to speak their mind and blossom and grow. I will use strategies to ensure our classroom community will flourish, like the morning meeting, positive vs. negative discipline, classroom jobs, and problem-solving skills.

"Teaching is a process of learning from your students, colleagues, parents, and the community. This is a lifelong process where you learn new strategies, new ideas, and new philosophies. Over time, my educational philosophy may change, and that's okay. That just means that I have grown and learned new things."

Components of a Teaching Philosophy Statement

A teaching philosophy statement should include an introduction, body, and conclusion—just as you would expect of your students if they were writing a paper. But there are specific components that you need to include in any such statement:

Introduction: This should be your thesis statement where you discuss your general belief about education (such as: "I believe all students have a right to learn") as well as your ideals in relation to teaching. You should "begin with the end," says James M. Lang in an Aug. 29, 2010, article titled, " 4 Steps to a Memorable Teaching Philosophy " published in "The Chronicle of Higher Education." Lang says you should consider what the students will have learned once they depart your class, after having been guided by your teaching philosophy and strategies.

Body: ​In this part of the statement, discuss what you see as the ideal classroom environment and how it makes you a better teacher, addresses student needs, and facilitates parent/child interactions. Discuss how you would facilitate age-appropriate learning , and how you involve students in the assessment process . Explain how you would put your educational ​​ideals into practice.

Lang says that you should clearly state your goals and objectives for students. Layout specifically what you hope your teaching will help students to accomplish. Be specific by telling a story or offering "a detailed description of an innovative or interesting teaching strategy you have used," says Lang. Doing so, helps your reader understand how your teaching philosophy would play out in the classroom.

Conclusion : In this section, talk about your goals as a teacher, how you have been able to meet them in the past, and how you can build on these to meet future challenges. Focus on your personal approach to pedagogy and classroom management, as well as what makes you unique as an educator, and how you wish to advance your career to further support education.

Lang notes that, while you don't need to use official citation style, you should cite your sources. Explain where your teaching philosophy originated—for example, from your experiences as an undergraduate, from a faculty mentor you worked with during your teacher-training program, or perhaps from books or articles on teaching that had a particular influence on you.

Formatting Your Statement

In addition to considering the type of teaching philosophy to write, Ohio State University offers some general formatting suggestions. The Ohio State University Center for the Advancement of Teaching states:

Statement Format

"There is no required content or set format. There is no right or wrong way to write a philosophy statement, which is why it is so challenging for most people to write one. You may decide to write in prose, use famous quotes, create visuals, use a question/answer format, etc."

There are, however, some general rules to follow when writing a teaching philosophy statement, says the university's teacher-training department:

Keep it brief. The statement should be no more than one to two pages, according to the Ohio State University Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Use present tense , and write the statement in the first person, as the previous examples illustrate.

Avoid jargon. Use common, everyday language, not "technical terms," the university advises.

Create a "vivid portrait" that includes "strategies and methods ... (to help) your reader take a mental 'peek' into your classroom," adds the Ohio State University Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Additionally, make sure you talk about " your  experiences and  your  beliefs" and ensure your statement is original and truly describes the methods and philosophy you would employ in teaching, the university adds.

• How to Write a Philosophy of Education for Elementary Teachers
• 10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Design Your Educational Philosophy
• Educational Philosophy Basics
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• Strategies for Teachers: The Power of Preparation and Planning
• 5 Keys to Being a Successful Teacher
• The Inclusive Classroom as the Best Placement
• 4 Tips for Effective Classroom Management
• Sample Weak Supplemental Essay for Duke University
• The ABCs of Teaching: Affirmations for Teachers
• Topics for a Lesson Plan Template
• How to Set up Your Classroom for the First Day of School
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• How Does Montessori Compare With Waldorf?

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• Documenting Your Teaching

Writing a Teaching Philosophy or a Teaching Statement

Strictly speaking, your teaching philosophy is a written description of your values, goals, and beliefs regarding both teaching and learning. By contrast, your teaching statement develops from your teaching philosophy and uses evidence from your teaching to make the case that you have excelled as a teacher. (In practice, of course, these terms are often used interchangeably.) As a general expression of your beliefs and practices, your teaching philosophy can shape your syllabi or  introduce your course website. As an argument for excellence, your teaching statement is more appropriate for your dossier or a job application. Regardless of whether you are on the market or preparing your dossier for promotion, or whether you simply want to help your students better understand who you are as a teacher, the following resources will help get you started on the process of articulating your beliefs about and goals for teaching. Consult our companion bibliography Resources for Teaching Portfolios for additional readings.

Identify what is important to you as an instructor

Before you begin writing, or even if you are in the process of editing, it is a good idea to find out what you value and believe as an educator and how you demonstrate those values and beliefs while you teach. Utilize the following tools to help you accomplish this admittedly daunting task.

• Complete the Teaching Perspectives Inventory . This tools will help you identify your ideas about learning and about teaching.
• Complete the Teaching Goals Inventory . This tool will help you identify the goals you have for your students.
• Answer these Questions to Consider . Your responses will ultimately form the basis of your teaching statement.

Write a general teaching philosophy

Review what you have learned about yourself using the above tools and write an explanation of your beliefs as an instructor. Do not worry about length at this point. The purpose here is to articulate your ideas about teaching and learning and to describe how these ideas inform your actual teaching. Focus on your beliefs, and avoid writing a narrative about how or why you became a college instructor. The multiple resources listed below or in the sidebar will help you with this stage of the process.

Adapt your general philosophy to the intended purpose and audience (i.e., create a teaching statement)

Much like your curriculum vitae, teaching philosophies are designed to be adapted and developed for various purposes, including but not limited to promotion and tenure dossiers, job applications, and your course website. Study the sample teaching statements in the links provided in the sidebar to generate ideas and help refine your own text.

• Statements for promotion and tenure dossiers often have to follow a particular format, so it is wise to review institutional guidelines and published sample dossiers. You can find examples from IUPUI faculty at the Office of Academic Affairs website.
• Statements for job applications may not only be limited in terms of word count or page number, but should be tailored according to the job description. For example, if you are applying for a job that involves working with a specific student population, be sure to address your experience with that sort of population in your statement. Similarly, if you will be expected to teach a certain course or set of courses, your statement should reflect your beliefs regarding learning in those courses or types of courses.
• Your teaching philosophy itself is appropriate for course websites; however, it should not only be tailored to the course in question, but also to the audience--i.e., the prospective and current students for that course. The philosophy should convey not only your general beliefs and practices, but your personality as well. Consider creating a bullet-list of the most important aspects of your philosophy and what your beliefs mean for students (i.e., what should students expect from you as a result of your beliefs?). You may even want to record a video of yourself explaining your philosophy.

Evaluate your statement

Ask colleagues, both inside and outside of your discipline, to review your statement. If you are using the statement for a job application, be sure to provide your colleague a copy of the job description. You can also utilize one of the following rubrics to evaluate what you have written. Note that depending on the purposes of your statement, some of these items may not apply.

• Rubric for scoring statements of teaching philosophy
• Rubric for composing and evaluating a statement of teaching philosophy  

A Word about Structure

Following a clear rhetorical structure can make the task of composing and revising your teaching statement much less difficult. Consider using, for instance, Nancy Chism's Key Components model to organize your thoughts on a macro level and then create a topic sentence outline as you revise to focus your ideas on the paragraph level. The Chism model, the topic sentence outline, and some other helpful tips are explained below.

The Key Components Model

Developed by Nancy Chism, this model structures a teaching philosophy or teaching statement around five key component areas. These component areas consist of the answers to a number of important questions related to learning, teaching, goals, assessment, and professional development. The component areas and the questions related to them are all listed below. For more information, you can also read Dr. Chism's paper on the Key Components model . For another, different model for teaching philosophies and teaching statements, see Goodyear & Allchin (1998).

• How does learning take place?
• Based on my observation and experience, what do I think happens during a learning episode
• How do I facilitate learning?
• What are my assumptions about teaching?
• Why do I teach the way I do?
• How do I motivate, challenge, or support students?
• How do I deal with students who struggle?
• How do I vary my approach?
• As a result of learning, what do I expect my students to know, do, or value (in their careers and future lives)? Why?
• What does my teaching philosophy mean for my students?
• How are my conceptions of teaching and learning transformed into instructional strategies?
• What are the consequences of my instructional strategies?
• How do I know my teaching is effective?
• What data do I use to gauge my effectiveness?
• What goals have I set for myself as teacher?
• How will I accomplish these goals?
• What are some present challenges to overcome in order to achieve my goals?
• How have I developed?
• What evidence do I have that can demonstrate my development?
• What has changed over time in my assumptions and actions?
• How have I met goals that I set in the past?

The Topic Sentence Outline

After you have drafted your philosophy or statement, use the following steps to sharpen the focus of your paragraphs, which in turn will improve the coherence (i.e., flow) of your entire document. This approach can work for any sort of scholarly writing, and you can read more about it in this article by George Gopen and Judith Swan . For other writing and revision techniques, see Tara Gray's book, Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar (2005).

• Cut and paste your thesis statement and the first sentence of each paragraph (i.e., your topic or key sentences) into a new document. Read through the outline you've created.
• The outline should convey your main point and highlight your subordinate points in a logical, if brief, manner. Ideally the outline should also hint at your evidence and highlight your concluding thought.
• If your outline does not clearly convey your main point, or if the flow of your subordinate points seems too disjointed, then revisit and revise your paragraphs. Begin by trying to locate the sentences that do contain each paragraph's central message (i.e., your subordinate points). As you then revise your paragraphs, move those sentences to the top of each paragraph (i.e., the topic sentence position). Next, make a new outline to see if the flow of your subordinate points has become clearer or more cogent.

Irrespective of the model you use, the following general tips can improve the focus, clarity, and coherence of your teaching philosophy or statement:

• Know your audiences and their needs or interests.
• Use specific, personal examples.
• Avoid buzzwords and jargon.
• Avoid statements of absolute fact, e.g., “Small group activities are the only way to build community in a freshman class.”
• Write in the first-person and the active voice, e.g., “I engage students with active learning techniques.” NOT “Students are engaged with active learning techniques.”
• Write more than you need and revise down. Be concise!

Resources and References

• Angelo, T. A. & Cross, K. P. (1993). The teaching goals inventory. Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers . (2 nd Ed.). (pp. 13-24). San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. 
• Chism, N.V.N. (1997-98). Developing a philosophy of teaching statement. Essays on teaching excellence: Toward the best in the academy 9 (3). 
• Faculty Focus. (2009). Philosophy of teaching statements: Examples and tips on how to write a teaching philosophy statement.  
• Goodyear, G. E. & Allchin, D. (1998) Statement of teaching philosophy. To Improve the Academy 17 , 103-22. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.
• Gopen, G. and J. Swan. (1990). The science of scientific writing. American scientist  78, 550-558. 
• Gray, Tara. (2005). Publish & flourish: Become a prolific scholar . Las Cruces, NM: Teaching Academy.
• Kearns, K. D., Subino Sullivan, C., O'Loughlin, V. D., & Braun, M. (2010). A scoring rubric for teaching statements: a tool for inquiry into graduate student writing about teaching and learning. Journal for Excellence in College Teaching, 21, 73-96. 
• O’Neal, C., Meizlish, D., & Kaplan, M. (2007). Writing a statement of teaching philosophy for the academic job search . CRLT Occasional Papers No. 23.  
• Pratt, D. D. & Collins, J. B. (2001). Teaching Perspectives Inventory . 
• The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. (n.d.). Statement of teaching philosophy: Questions to consider.  

Video: Workshop on Teaching Philosophy

Watch this recorded workshop  video by Dr. Brian Coppola on effective strategies to formulate and write your teaching philosophy. Dr. Coppola is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan.

Workshop Abstract: A statement of teaching philosophy is a discipline-centered argument about one’s instructional practices. As with any other professional argumentation, the essay ought to have a thesis (or claim), and a coherent text that focuses on providing evidence that warrants the claim. In this workshop, participants will prepare an outline for their personal teaching statement. In preparation, participants should think about one sentence: a global statement about student learning that represents your most significant instructional goal.

Resources and Samples from Other Universities 

• Information on teaching portfolios and sample teaching portfolios (Vanderbilt University)
• Teaching philosophy and statement resources (University of Michigan)
• Process of writing a teaching philosophy and samples (University of Minnesota)

Philosophy of Teaching Articles from Faculty Focus 

Your concept of teaching, including a description of how you teach and the justifications for your strategies, constitute your personal philosophy of teaching. Faculty Focus is a free newsletter that publishes articles on effective teaching strategies for the online and college classroom. Articles published in the section of Philosophy of Teaching focus broadly on teaching philosophy in higher education and can provide new information that could help expand and enhance your philosophy of teaching. Some useful examples include:

Nine Characteristics of a Great Teacher

Strategies for Writing Better Teaching Philosophy Statements

Helping Students with Disabilities Reach Their Educational Goals: Reflections and Lessons Learned

Enhancing Out-of-Class Communication: Students’ Top 10 Suggestions

What Students Want: Characteristics of Effective Teachers from the Students’ Perspective

Revised by Anusha S. Rao (April 2020) Revised by James Gregory (November, 2016) Revised by James Gregory (October, 2015) Authored by Sarah Lang (April, 2012)

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Developing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Table of contents.

Your statement of teaching philosophy is a short document that should function both as a stand-alone essay that describes your personal approach to teaching, and as a central component of the teaching dossier.

Your statement should not simply describe your experiences and initiatives in teaching. It should provide “a systematic and critical rationale that focuses on the important components defining effective teaching and learning in a particular discipline and/or institutional context” (Schönwetter et al. (2002), p. 84). It is personal and reflective, drawing on your own experiences as a teacher.

Your statement of teaching philosophy can:

• Clarify what you believe good teaching to be
• Explain what you hope to achieve in teaching
• Contextualize your teaching strategies and other evidence of teaching effectiveness
• Provide an opportunity for reflection on and the development of your own teaching

A statement of teaching philosophy can be constructed in a number of ways. For example:

• include descriptions of an instructor’s specific teaching strategies (e.g. a description of a particular assignment or class activity), alongside the instructor’s teaching beliefs
• integrate these strategies into the philosophy statement
• describe them in a separate document (a “Statement of Teaching Practice”)

Other common components of a statement of teaching philosophy include:

• A brief description of your teaching context, including the elements of your field that most shape your approach to teaching. This might also include a description of your students, and their most important learning goals and challenges.
• Your definition of good teaching, with an explanation of why you have developed or adopted this particular definition.
• A discussion of your teaching methods: how do you implement your definition of good teaching?
• A discussion of your evaluation and assessment methods and a description of how they support your definition of good teaching.
• A description of your teaching goals: with what content, skills, or values should students leave your classroom?
• What are your goals for improving your own teaching?
• As concise as possible: 2-5 pages single spaced is common as a minimum length, but there is no set length for the statement. The document may be longer, for example, if it includes information on specific teaching strategies.
• Include generous white spaces between paragraphs to allow for ease of reading.
• Written in a personal, relatively informal tone, usually in the first person. Sometimes mentioning the names of scholars who have been particularly influential to your teaching can be valuable, but the statement should generally not include a substantial review of relevant research.

Steps to Completion

Consider how the following elements shape your teaching:

• Content: What do you teach?
• Methods: How do you teach? What are some of the common teaching approaches in your discipline?
• Learners: Whom do you teach?
• Context: When do you teach?
• Instructor: What is your role?
• Ideals: What guides your teaching? Why do you teach?

Write some notes in response to one or more of the following guiding questions:

• What do I consider unique about myself as a teacher?
• What is my greatest challenge when it comes to teaching?
• What is challenging about teaching in my discipline?
• When I am a student, what conditions are necessary for me to really learn?
• Who is my model of a really effective teacher and what made them a good teacher?
• What is challenging about learning in my discipline?

Using your notes in response to one of the guiding questions, formulate a claim about your teaching approach or beliefs. You might use or modify one of the following prompts:

• “I believe the role of a university instructor to be…”
• “My goal as an instructor of graduate students is to…”
• “I can identify three main challenges for undergraduate students in my field:…”
• Use metaphor if appropriate: “I see my role as that of a guide…”

What are some teaching strategies/activities that you’ve used as an instructor or experienced as a student that support the kind of learning or teaching described in your teaching claim?

How do you know this teaching method supports the kind of learning or teaching described in your teaching claim? This evidence can be anecdotal, derived from evaluations of your teaching, or located in your supporting materials.

Try to identify at least 3 or 4 core teaching beliefs, write corresponding teaching statements, and identify relevant teaching methods and evidence.

How are these ideas connected? What kind of instructor do they describe? These connections can help you come up with a “thesis” about who you are as an instructor that can form the introduction to your statement and provide an overall narrative and structure for your dossier.

Do these statements accurately capture who you are, or want to be, as an instructor? Is any thing missing? Are these teaching claims appropriate to the types of teaching contexts where you will be teaching?

This might be a colleague or mentor in your field, in another discipline, or someone from CTSI.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Some common complaints from people who evaluate teaching philosophy statements include:

• Too general : A statement that does not reflect the particular beliefs, experiences, and circumstance of the author.
• A statement that is not reflective : it simply lists teaching techniques or experiences, but does not describe how these techniques or experiences have contributed to the author’s beliefs about what constitutes effective teaching.
• A statement that dwells too much on negative experiences or circumstances.
• Too clichéd : A statement that expresses a belief in a popular contemporary approach to teaching without establishing how that approach has been integrated into the author’s teaching.
• Too oblique : A statement that references a philosophy or belief but never describes it outright.
• Too few examples : A statement that does not include information about how the author knows his or her teaching to be effective.
• Too much jargon : A statement that includes too much jargon (e.g., relating to pedagogical or disciplinary research) may be less accessible to your readers.

Additional Resources on Developing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Pool, Gregory. (2011). The deep end: Self-reflection: Easier said than done .

Pratt, D.D. & Collins, J.B. (2011). Teaching perspectives inventory .

University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Ohio State University. (2017). Philosophy of Teaching Statement .

Chism, N. V. N. (1998). Developing a philosophy of teaching statement. Essays on Teaching Excellence, 9(3), 1-2. Nederland, CO: Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.

Schönwetter, D., Sokal, L., Friesen, M. & Taylor, L. (2002). Teaching philosophies reconsidered: A conceptual model for the development and evaluation of teaching philosophy statements. International Journal for Academic Development, 7(1), 83-97.

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Enroll in the SoTL Hub  to access resources, share ideas and engage with your U of T community.

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What Am I ‘Really’ Doing While Teaching Philosophy

In my first year of teaching, a thought-provoking story prompted me to reflect on the profound meaning and value of my work as a philosophy professor:

A person meets three workers at a quarry and asks, “What are you doing?” The first, hopeless, replies, “I’m hammering at stones.” The second, bored, responds, “I’m making money.” The third, fulfilling, says, “I’m shaping stones for building a school where students will learn.” Perceiving the work as merely a repetitive physical activity makes the first unhappy while working. Viewing work just as a source of income makes the second happy only on paydays, not while working. Envisioning work as a social, relational activity enables the third to feel happy while working, as she contemplates how she can produce something that better serves others’ needs.

The book of the story offers further philosophical insights into the meaning of work. We are not merely transforming external objects into products of our labor while working. We are also transforming ourselves, connecting with others, and striving to better the world through our labor, and we can thereby fulfill ourselves.

The story made me ask, “What am I really doing while working as a philosophy teacher?” Some students may attend my class merely to get good grades. I may want to reduce my role as a teacher to merely passing on information and making so many dollars an hour. Then, we might feel like the first or the second quarry workers in the story.

With the realization that it does not have to be this way, I began a quest to build my awareness of the meaning of fulfilling work into my teaching.

The question “What am I doing while teaching?” is inevitably followed by another question, “What should I teach to better serve the needs of students?” My teaching goal has been shaped by what I yearned to learn as a student.

During my college years, the most profound learning experience came from discovering that beliefs I had accepted as unquestionably true were actually unexamined assumptions, biases, or dogmas, absorbed from conventional thinking. For instance, I was taken aback to encounter that “women are not born but made,” so some feminine traits, which I once believed were innate, might be imposed through pervasive social constructs or gender ideologies.

Such realizations caused me an uneasy feeling that if I were to continue living an unexamined life, I would be like the very prisoners in Plato’s allegory of the cave. My unease grew upon realizing that some of my unexamined prejudices might endorse unjust policies and inadvertently contribute to the suffering of others. I couldn’t stand the thought of living like an intellectual prisoner or as an implicit contributor to unjust systems. My existential discomfort drove my passion to learn “to do philosophy” and to challenge and scrutinize my unexamined beliefs. Thus, I came to view learning as an endless journey to free myself from my personal and societal ‘caves.’

This process led to another insight into learning. Firstly, emancipatory learning can be achieved by cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which enable me to distinguish between what is reasonable and unreasonable. Just as the prisoners in Plato’s cave need to break their chains to turn away from caves, I too should turn away from my unexamined beliefs. Secondly, this type of learning contributes to transforming ourselves. If I had never been confronted with the idea that women are made, not born, I might have never chosen to become a philosophy teacher because I would have been discouraged by the prevailing societal biases at the time that women were not suited for philosophical pursuits.

As a teacher, it’s exciting to see the same spark of curiosity and eagerness in my students. This shared curiosity inspired me to pursue my teaching goal: offering students a transformative learning experience by equipping them with philosophical thinking skills that empower them to critically examine their own beliefs and step out of their own intellectual caves.

To achieve my teaching goals, I’ve embraced a student-centered approach, guided by “ the learning pyramid .” This approach, which fosters active student engagement, enhances the cultivation and transfer of critical thinking skills:

Lectures and demonstrations yield only a 30–50 % skill attainment, with a 5–10% transfer rate. However, integrating discussions, practice exercises, and feedback can increase skill attainment and transfer to 80–90%. When students teach each other, these rates can reach 90–100%.

Guided by this insight, I focus on fostering student-centered classrooms in the following ways.

Firstly, I see myself as a midwife in teaching, as outlined in my syllabus:

• Critical thinking skills cannot be simply transferred from teachers to students. Those skills, already conceived within you, can be birthed and nurtured through your own practice and efforts. My role is that of a midwife, assisting you in birthing and cultivating such skills through guidance and support. Therefore, your active engagement and participation are crucial in this journey.
• Keep in mind that without the pains of labor, we cannot experience the joy of giving birth. Throughout this semester, I look forward to sharing with you the joy of achieving intellectual growth that comes through the challenges.

Secondly, I incorporate various student-centered activities into teaching. Examples include:

• Weekly responses and reflections on reading materials and class activities
• Problem-solving argumentative essays
• Philosopher role-play debates
• Group video project on “marginalized” voices in our non-ideal world

These activities allow students to do philosophy , to offer and receive peer feedback, to examine their own and others’ beliefs, to teach and learn from each other, and to be a midwife to each other.

Lastly, I make special efforts to foster an inclusive classroom environment for several reasons:

• Empowering underrepresented voices: Voices underrepresented in our society often go unheard and silenced in classrooms, as well. When students feel included and respected, they are more likely to share their unique thoughts and perspectives.
• Challenging implicit biases: Discussions dominated by only mainstream voices can perpetuate unexamined biases. Exposure to diverse viewpoints encourages students to challenge their stereotypes and confront prejudices.
• Ensuring equal learning opportunities: Inclusivity is essential for all students to develop their philosophical skills, especially for those who might feel marginalized.

To support students facing personal or social barriers, I aim to establish a classroom where every student feels secure and valued, able to freely express their opinions.

Student feedback reveals their transformative learning journeys during my teaching. Seeing students examine their beliefs and empower themselves from silent observers to active participants is gratifying. They are learning like fulfilling third quarry workers. This sentiment is amplified by hearing from former students who, years after leaving college, nurture what they birthed in my class. It helps me realize that their journey doesn’t end with my semester, but my teachings can stay with them. Recognizing that a student’s successful learning experience can be a teacher’s successful teaching experience, I joyfully return to the reflection of the values of my work as a teacher.

Teaching in college, I am humbled by my immense responsibility of engaging with highly open and receptive minds. I am not working on inanimate objects. I am interacting with dynamic subjects who are feeling, understanding, reflecting, and continuously growing. When my time with students ends, their philosophical lives begin, as they continue to examine their beliefs in their future lives. I envision my students as philosophical parents who will better nurture their children with philosophical wisdom, as philosophical citizens who will vote for ­more democratic and just policies, and as philosophical professionals—whether as teachers, farmers, policemen, chefs, and lawyers—who will better serve other people through their philosophically mediated professional work.

What am I really doing while teaching philosophy? I will continue to do my best to assist students in cultivating the critical thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for them to lead their reflective lives. I feel fulfilled that I contribute to shaping the world for the better through my students’ lifelong examined beliefs and future work by helping them have productive learning experiences in my class.

At times, I feel frustrated when I have to overwork and feel that my work is underpaid relative to the efforts and values I contribute. It’s also disappointing when my teaching is underappreciated, or when things don’t proceed as planned. It leads me to recognize that unfavorable working conditions could be impediments to the realization of meaningful work, so it’s important to advocate for institutional changes to better shape and support our work, while also continuing pedagogical growth as a teacher.

Still, despite occasional frustrations and systematic challenges, reflecting on the meaning and values of my work as a teacher rekindles my passion. It reaffirms that teaching is something I want to do with my life and can pursue with enthusiasm and passion, while remaining conscious that our shared passion for teaching should be more effectively realized with structural improvements in our working conditions.

An early, lengthier version of these reflections on teaching has previously been published in Korean as “My Teaching Philosophy” in PhilCulture .

The Professor Reflection Series of the APA Blog is designed to center attention on how professors engage in teaching and learning. Professors are asked to reflect on how to improve teaching and learning in higher education. We would love for you to be a part of this project. Please contact Series Editor, Dr. Samuel Taylor at staylor@tuskegee.edu.

Hye-ryoung Kang

• Editor: Nathan Eckstrand
• emancipatory learning
• Hye-Ryoung Kang
• learning pyramid
• Samuel Taylor
• student-centered pedagogy

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