Overview
What’s To Come?
Welcome to Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement!
This online module is designed to prepare you to craft your teaching philosophy statement —a statement that articulates your beliefs about teaching, your instructional methods, the impact of your approach, and your goals as an educator. You will have opportunities to reflect on each of these core components, and will also be introduced to the What? So what? Now what? model of reflection—an insightful framework that can support your ongoing growth as an educator.
Whether you are a seasoned instructor or just beginning your teaching journey as an instructor or other educator (e.g., Teaching Assistant), developing a clear and thoughtful teaching philosophy statement can strengthen your professional identity and empower you to make intentional, informed decisions in your practice. By doing so, you contribute not only to your own growth, but to the quality of your students’ learning experience.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop you should be able to:
- Describe the core components of a teaching philosophy statement
- Identify some benefits of crafting and maintaining a teaching philosophy statement
- Describe the “What? So what? Now what?” model of reflection for reflecting on your teaching long-term
- Reflect in writing on your current authentic teaching beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals
A teaching philosophy statement may be requested and presented as a stand-alone document, or it may also be included as part of a broader teaching portfolio; the teaching philosophy is a foundational element in a teaching portfolio (Chism, 1998; Schonwetter, Sokal, Friesen, & Taylor, 2002). This online module will focus only on the teaching philosophy statement.
Note: Some content in this module (e.g., the Employing Active Learning tab) was written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence.
Teaching Philosophy Statement Defined
A teaching philosophy statement is a reflective, personal statement one writes about their teaching. It is a narrative written from the first-person perspective (e.g., “I”, “me” and “my”) and is generally expected to be one to two pages in length, single-spaced (Chism, 1998), though one page is typically preferred.
While there are many things that one may consider including in a teaching philosophy statement, as a starting point it is good to consider four core components: teaching beliefs (what you think), methods (what you do), impacts (the effect you have on learners, self, and colleagues), and goals (how you will improve) (Kenny et al., 2021). When writing a teaching philosophy statement, authenticity is key. In a well-constructed, authentic teaching philosophy statement, there should be consistency in what a person says they believe, the teaching methods they use to enact those beliefs, how they measure the impact of their teaching (including what they choose to measure), and the teaching-related goals that they set for themselves. Misalignment amongst the components may not only be confusing, but a source of concern for those who review the teaching philosophy statement.
Reflecting On Your Teaching and Learning
Writing a teaching philosophy statement is a deeply reflective process. It involves critically examining your values, experiences, methods, and aspirations as an educator to articulate a clear and coherent approach to teaching and learning. Reflection is a crucial tool in continuously evolving your educational practice, fostering a deeper understanding of what you do and why, and how you can go about enhancing your teaching. As highlighted in McMaster’s Preparing a Teaching Portfolio Guidebook (MacPherson Institute, 2024), meaningful reflection should be “honest, introspective, and critical, acknowledging both successes and areas for improvement.” This module will guide you through a structured worksheet designed to help you reflect on your teaching beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals.
Benefits of Crafting and Maintaining a Teaching Philosophy Statement
Crafting and maintaining a teaching philosophy statement allows you to become a more reflective practitioner, challenge assumptions, and assess what is and isn’t working to enhance both your teaching effectiveness, and the student learning experience. A clear and well-constructed teaching philosophy can guide you in making thoughtful decisions in the classroom and help maintain alignment with your teaching-related goals.
Another benefit of crafting and maintaining a teaching philosophy statement is that your statement may be required for job applications in educational settings, making it an essential application tool should you be seeking such a position. A good teaching philosophy statement demonstrates to hiring committees that you have the ability to critically engage with your teaching and continually improve your approach. Hiring committees frequently request a teaching philosophy statement to assess how applicants approach teaching and to see whether their views align with institutional values (Levander, Forsberg, & Elmgren, 2019). A well-articulated teaching philosophy statement demonstrates a candidate’s engagement with teaching, showing their understanding of pedagogical principles and practices (Levander et al., 2019). Research indicates that teaching philosophy statements are valued by hiring committees, making them a critical document in the academic hiring process (Walsh et al., 2022).
Finally, a teaching philosophy statement may also be used by faculty for tenure and promotion reviews, and they are often required when educators apply for teaching awards! A well-articulated teaching philosophy statement is highly important to educators making the case for their candidacy for those awards.
References
Chism, N. (1998). Developing a philosophy of teaching statement. Essays on teaching excellence: Toward the best in the academy, 9, 1-3.
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.
Levander, S., Forsberg, E., & Elmgren, M. (2019). The meaning-making of educational proficiency in academic hiring: a blind spot in the black box. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(5), 541–559.
MacPherson Institute (2024). Preparing a Teaching Portfolio Guidebook. Retrieved from https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/teachingportfolioguide/.
Schönwetter, D. J., Sokal, L., Friesen, M., & Taylor, K. 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.
Walsh, K. P., Pottmeyer, L. O., Meizlish, D., & Hershock, C. (2022). How search committees assess teaching: Lessons for CTLs. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 41(2).
Teaching Beliefs
Although it may be at an unconscious level, what one does as an instructor is impacted by their identity and the foundational ideas they hold about what makes for quality teaching and learning (Kenny et al., 2021). Different instructors hold different beliefs, and they enact those beliefs in different ways. To facilitate your reflection on the conscious or unconscious ways you teach and your foundational beliefs about teaching and learning, here are a few things you may wish to ponder (Kenny et al., 2021):
- Whether there was someone who stood out to you as being an exceptional educator when you were a learner, and why
- What the most effective learning experience was that you have had as a learner, and why
- Whether your positionality influences your beliefs about teaching, and if so, how
- The teaching beliefs you hold as a result of your experience as a student
- The teaching beliefs you hold as a result of your experience as an educator
- The teaching beliefs you hold as a result of your exposure to scholarship/research on teaching and learning
- What you think it means to be a good educator
- How you think a good educator behaves
- How you communicate expectations
- How you show respect for students’ identities, needs, interests, and values
- How you engage students
- How you assess students
- How you provide quality feedback on student work
- How you work to continue to improve as an educator
- What you think good teaching looks like in your discipline
- What you think it means to be a good learner in your discipline
- Whether you value having a teaching and learning community you can tap into
Pause for Reflection
We recognize that this is a long list, and it can thus be overwhelming. To help you focus your thinking, please complete the Teaching Beliefs section of the Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement: Worksheet. The questions are not easily answered, nor are there right or wrong responses. Simply write what comes to mind (Kenny et al., 2021).
Tips for the Future
It is hoped that having provided answers to the questions listed on the worksheet will ease writing the first draft of your teaching philosophy statement. Ideally, completing the reflective exercise linked above has allowed you to identify a few (~2-5) core teaching beliefs that will form the foundation of your teaching philosophy statement.
When describing your teaching beliefs in your written teaching philosophy statement on your own in the future, don’t forget to ground them in personal experience and teaching and learning scholarship, where appropriate. Moreover, do consider briefly illustrating your beliefs with a few select examples of your teaching practice. If you do not yet have any teaching experience, share how you would or plan to put your teaching beliefs into practice as opposed to how you have put those beliefs into practice (Kenny et al., 2021). You will learn more about how to describe your teaching practices in the Teaching Methods tab that follows.
References
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.
Teaching Methods
The second teaching philosophy statement component we will examine is that of teaching methods (also often referred to as teaching strategies or teaching practices). A method is simply an action that you do or an approach that you use. Your teaching methods should align with the beliefs about teaching that you articulated earlier. For example, if one of your beliefs is that teaching should be hands-on and students should learn by doing, there would be a big disconnect if the only teaching method you discuss using is lecturing. The biggest takeaway from this is that whatever your teaching beliefs may be, they should be reflected in your actions.
Again, if you do not yet have any teaching experience, you can share how you would or plan to put your teaching beliefs into practice as opposed to how you have put those beliefs into practice (Kenny et al., 2021).
In a broader teaching portfolio, there is usually a Teaching Methods (or Teaching Practices) section that follows the Teaching Philosophy Statement section. For this reason, the teaching philosophy statement tends to focus more on the teaching beliefs component, with only a few select examples provided of teaching methods. Those examples should demonstrate how the core teaching beliefs are realized in practice.
Examples of Teaching Methods
There are so many different methods out there that we couldn’t possibly cover them all. Instead, we will kickstart your thinking and reflecting by reviewing some of the more common teaching methods that span planning for teaching, and engaging in teaching (whether in-person, blended, or online).
Constructive alignment refers to an “outcomes-based approach to teaching in which the learning outcomes that students are intended to achieve are defined before teaching takes place. Teaching and assessment methods are then designed to best achieve those [intended] outcomes and to assess the standard at which they have been achieved” (Biggs, 2014, p. 5).
In other words, intended learning outcomes state what students should know, be able to do, or value by the end of the learning experience, and ideally, these outcomes are clearly defined prior to the start of the learning experience. In constructive alignment, intended learning outcomes directly inform which learning materials are selected and how practice activities and assessments are designed so they directly support students in achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Intended learning outcomes are most helpful when they are action-oriented (i.e., they begin with a verb that identifies the depth of learning expected), specific (i.e., they specify the learning to be demonstrated), and measurable (i.e., they link to the learning activities and assessments).
Universal design for learning (UDL), a framework developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology, known as CAST, is intended to enhance teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how people learn. “The guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities” (CAST, 2025).
As per the UDL Guidelines, three principles can be incorporated into all aspects of education to improve accessibility and ensure the widest range of people can engage: 1) multiple means of engagement (i.e., engaging students in learning in multiple ways), 2) multiple means of representation (i.e., presenting information in multiple ways), and 3) multiple means of expression (i.e., letting students demonstrate learning in multiple ways).
Even when applying the UDL guidelines and trying your best to ensure that all students can engage in a learning experience, some barriers to engagement may still be present. Academic accommodations help to circumvent those barriers and enable engagement by all.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are key to fostering a safe, positive learning experience wherein all students can succeed and differences are valued. Some examples of EDI being incorporated into teaching are:
- Including diverse ways of knowing, diverse content, and diverse examples in the curriculum
- Working to create a learning environment where students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings
- Respecting diversity in student identity, both within (i.e., intersectionality) and across students
- Using inclusive language (e.g., using the gender pronouns that students identify with)
- Addressing biases, stereotypes, and discrimination right away when they arise
- Encouraging interactions amongst diverse students
As an educator, there are various ways in which you might integrate technology into your teaching to create engaging, effective student learning experiences. Regardless of the format of the learning experience (i.e., in-person, blended, or online), one educational technology used by many educators due to the structure it affords is a web-based learning management system (e.g., D2L’s Brightspace). Learning management systems typically include the following features: communications (e.g., announcements, email), content (i.e., you can post course materials), discussion boards, quizzes, electronic dropboxes, and an automated gradebook where you can build a rubric and/or provide written feedback on students’ work along with their grades.
In blended and online courses, Microsoft Teams or Zoom are often employed for synchronous learning experiences, each with several tools built in that allow for student engagement (e.g., chat, screen share, polling, a virtual whiteboard, and breakout rooms for small group discussions). Like a Learning management system, Teams also allows for things like file storage/sharing (with organization) and communications (e.g., posts).
Some additional educational technologies you might choose to leverage in your teaching include Echo 360, H5P, Mentimeter, and Top Hat, to name a few.
When choosing whether to use a technology in your teaching, do consider what the technology is being used for. Is it being used to substitute, augment, modify, or redefine (Hamilton, Rosenberg, & Akcaoglu, 2016)?
- Substitution: You are replacing a traditional tool with a digital equivalent, with no significant functional change
- Augmentation: You are enhancing an existing tool with added features or functionality through technology
- Modification: You are changing the process or task significantly through technology, allowing for new approaches to learning
- Redefinition: You are creating an entirely new learning experience that would not be possible without technology
Moreover, when choosing a technology also consider compatibility with existing infrastructure in your teaching context, technical support (e.g., whether it is an institutionally supported tool), accessibility, equitable access, cost, and data privacy concerns.
Active learning refers to a group of teaching strategies whereby students learn by completing activities that combine action and reflection. Bonwell and Eison (1991, as cited in Millis, 2012, p. 1) describe active learning as “involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing.” Ideally, active learning exercises provide students with an opportunity to practice the skills/abilities at the heart of the intended learning outcomes.
When people hear the term active learning, most seem to think of exercises like Concept Mapping, Think-Pair-Share, Gallery Walk, Jigsaw, Forced Debate, Muddiest Point, and One-Minute Paper (you can learn about these and 295 other active learning exercises in Yee’s Interactive Techniques for F2F Classes). Griffith University (Queensland, Australia) has a fantastic searchable database of active learning exercises, as well. Their Active Learning Design Tool allows you to filter by class size, activity group size, preparation time, duration, learning space, year level, phase of session, learning outcome, learning focus, and assessment strategy type (i.e., formative or summative).
Some larger subsets of active learning that you may hear referenced as specific teaching methodologies include: Case-Based Learning, Inquiry-Based Learning, and Problem-Based Learning.
- Case-Based Learning (CBL): Case-Based Learning is a teaching methodology wherein students learn by analyzing real-world scenarios (or scenarios that resemble the real world) presented as “cases,” often focusing on applying knowledge to solve complex problems within a specific context. This methodology emphasises critical thinking and collaborative discussion in reaching conclusions.
- Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL): Inquiry-Based Learning is a teaching methodology wherein students actively explore a topic by asking their own questions, conducting research, and constructing knowledge through investigation, prioritizing the process of discovery and developing inquiry skills over finding a single definitive answer. Most Inquiry-based learning models have instructors guide students through the following 5 steps: orientation, conceptualization, investigation, conclusion, and discussion (Pedaste et al., 2015).
- Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Problem-Based Learning is a teaching methodology wherein students are presented with a real-world problem and must work collaboratively to identify the key issues, gather relevant information, analyze data, and develop solutions, focusing on deep understanding and application of knowledge to solve practical problems. Thus, the focus is not solely on providing a solution, but examining the approach utilized, and how information was applied and analyzed.
While there is some overlap between the IBL and PBL approaches, it is usually the case that “PBL focuses on questions to which answers already exist while IBL often requires primary research to determine possible answers – and PBL has a shorter timescale (one class to a few weeks), while IBL can be for a sustained period” (Spronken-Smith, Angelo, Matthews, O’Steen, & Robertson, 2007, p. 3).
Whereas active learning exercises provide students with an opportunity to practice the skills/abilities at the heart of the intended learning outcomes, assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their learning for evaluation – to showcase whether they have achieved the intended learning outcomes.
Some assessment-related questions to ponder in reflecting on your own teaching methods are:
- Do you align each assessment with one or more intended learning outcomes for the learning experience?
- Do you ensure that your assessments are accessible and inclusive?
- Are your assessments “authentic” (while there is no one agreed upon definition, it is generally understood that with such assessments, students are involved in doing, the assessments are realistic/they simulate testing in the workplace or in civic life, and they assess students’ abilities to use knowledge and skills to negotiate a complex task)?
- Do you employ assessments that are due in one stage, or process-based assessments where various pieces are due at different points?
- What assessment types do you typically use (e.g., group projects, multiple choice and short answer exams)?
- Do you weight your assessments in a manner that matches the amount of time and effort they require of students?
- Do you permit students to use generative artificial intelligence in completing all, or part of, their assessments?
- Do you use the practice of ungrading (ungrading as a term can be a bit misleading, as the ungrading movement includes a range of alternative grading strategies, not necessarily foregoing grades altogether)?
- Do you use rubrics, and if so, are they analytic (i.e., they have two dimensions, criteria and achievement / performance levels), holistic (i.e., they consider all of the criteria at once when assigning a level), or single-point (i.e., they have a single criterion with two levels: achieved and not achieved)?
- Do you provide timely feedback on student work?
- Is the feedback that you offer on student work balanced, noting what was done well as well as recommendations for improvement?
Pause for Reflection
A lot of teaching methods were covered in this tab: constructively aligning learning experience; ensuring all students can engage in learning experiences; designing and teaching with equity, diversity, and inclusion in mind; leveraging appropriate educational technologies; engaging students in active learning; and assessing student learning. You may use all of these methods, some of them, none of them, or even a variety of other methods not mentioned here. Which teaching methods do you use? Moreover, why do you use those particular methods as opposed to others? What makes your teaching unique/what sets you apart from other educators? Answer these questions (Kenny et al., 2021), and more, in the Teaching Methods section of the Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement: Worksheet.
Tip for the Future
When describing your teaching methods in your teaching philosophy statement, don’t forget to include one or two poignant examples to help showcase the alignment between your teaching beliefs and your teaching methods.
References
Biggs, J (2014). Constructive alignment in university teaching. HERDSA News, 36(3), 5-22.
CAST (2025). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0. Retrieved from https://udlguidelines.cast.org.
Griffith University (2025). The Active Learning Design Tool. Retrieved from https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/active-learning/.
Hamilton, E. R., Rosenberg, J. M., & Akcaoglu, M. (2016). The substitution augmentation modification redefinition (SAMR) model: A critical review and suggestions for its use. Tech Trends, 60(5), 433-441.
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.
Millis, B. J. (2012). Active learning strategies in face-to-face courses. Idea Paper, 53, 1-8.
Pedaste, M., Maeots, M., Siiman, L., de Jong, T., van Riesen, S. A. N., Kamp, E. T., … & Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle. Educational Research Review, 14, 47-61.
Spronken-Smith, R., Angelo, T., Matthews, H., O’Steen, B., & Robertson, J. (2007, April). How Effective is Inquiry-Based Learning in Linking Teaching and Research? In An international colloquium on international policies and practices for academic enquiry (Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 1-7).
Yee, K. (2024). Interactive Techniques for F2F Classes. Retrieved from https://fctl.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/02/interactive_techniques.pdf.
Teaching Impacts
Teaching impact is the third teaching philosophy statement component that we are going to examine. To demonstrate your impact as an educator, you generally need some form of data, or evidence. In your teaching philosophy statement, you should refer to existing sources of evidence of your effectiveness or briefly articulate how you’re going to go about collecting evidence of the impact of your teaching and learning. It’s good practice to also describe how you have/will use that evidence to make decisions regarding how to improve your teaching practice.
Evidencing Your Impact
There are many ways in which you might collect evidence regarding your teaching and learning impact on yourself, your students, and your colleagues. Some examples include written critical reflections, student feedback on your teaching, peer observations of your teaching, and teaching awards. As noted above, you can refer to sources of evidence in your teaching philosophy statement, and they may be appropriate to attach as appendices to a broader portfolio (beyond the scope of this module). Read on to learn more about these types of evidence.
You may find it helpful to regularly reflect in writing on the different teaching methods you employ, noting the particulars of what you tried, how it appeared to be received by students, and how well you felt it worked in terms of students achieving the intended learning outcomes you set out to teach them. If the method did not execute as well as planned, you may also find it helpful to also document why you feel that may have been the case and what you might do differently in the future. While reflection may be accomplished in many ways, the important thing is that you choose an approach that works well for you. Here, we will provide an overview of one approach that is frequently used by educators: the What? So What? Now What? model.
The What? So What? Now What? model, developed by Driscoll (1994) based on Borton’s (1970) work, encourages you to first describe the experience (What?), analyze its meaning (So What?), and finally create an action plan for improvement (Now What?).
In the “What?” stage, you describe the experience, focusing on the facts and your emotions. In the “So What?” stage, you analyze the experience’s significance, reflecting on how it connects to your existing knowledge and what insights can be drawn. Finally, in the “Now What?” stage, you plan for the future, setting actionable goals and identifying steps to improve based on the reflections from the previous stages.
Student feedback on a learning experience may be collected midway through the experience (that is, as formative feedback), or at the end of the experience (that is, as summative feedback), or both. For courses, it is recommended that you collect both formative and summative feedback and that the feedback be collected anonymously.
An anonymous formative feedback measure may include specific questions, or broad questions. For example, you may ask “What has been your least favorite lesson thus far, and why?”, or you may choose to administer a broader exercise like Stop-Start-Continue where students are asked to comment on what they think you should stop, start, and continue doing in your teaching. Formative feedback is valuable in that it provides you with insight as to what you should do to improve the course, and your teaching, for the current cohort of students. Once formative feedback has been collected, it is important that you act on it or address it in some way so that students know that you are in fact listening to their concerns and being attentive to their needs.
If you a Teaching Assistant as opposed to a course instructor, do get permission from the course instructor before implementing any formative feedback measures.
When a course comes to an end, typically an institutionally-mandated course evaluation or student course experience survey is implemented by the home department. This instrument usually includes questions about the overall quality of the learning experience. Course instructors may also independently (as a separate evaluation) ask for anonymous feedback about particular elements of the course experience. For example, they might ask: “If you could make one recommendation to improve the course, what would it be, and why?”. The questions would provide the instructor with information that they could use to improve the course for future offerings.
If you are a Teaching Assistant as opposed to a course instructor, you must get permission from the instructor before implementing any summative feedback measures.
It is a valuable exercise for educators to get peer feedback on their teaching from time to time. To that end, you may wish to invite a peer into your classroom so they can observe and give you feedback on your teaching and their experience of being one of your students. Having a conversation in advance as to what you would like the observer to attend to can help to reduce ambiguity and make for a more valuable observation. Most often, instructors will have a few specific issues they’d like feedback on, as well as general feedback regarding what seems to be working well and what some recommendations might be for improvement. In debriefing the experience with your peer observer, don’t forget to inquire whether there is anything that they learned from the observation that will have an impact on how they will approach their own teaching (i.e., don’t forget to ask about your impact on them as a colleague!).
Institutions typically establish various awards – at the Teaching Assistant and instructor levels – to promote and reward teaching excellence. If you are a nominee or recipient of one of those awards, then that, too, can be cited as evidence of your teaching and learning impact in your teaching philosophy statement.
Pause for Reflection
Written critical reflections, student feedback on your teaching, peer observations of your teaching, and teaching awards are only some of the many ways in which you might go about collecting evidence of your teaching impact on yourself, students and colleagues. What methods do you use to evaluate your teaching impact? What has been the impact of your teaching on yourself, your students, and your colleagues? Answer these questions (Kenny et al., 2021) now in the Teaching Impacts section of the Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement: Worksheet.
Tip for the Future
If you are planning to craft a full teaching portfolio in the future (beyond the scope of this module), plan ahead. Now would be a good time for you to consider the evidence you already have that you can assemble, as well as any new evidence you may wish or need to collect.
References
Borton. T. (1970). Reach Touch and Teach: Student Concerns and Process Education. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Driscoll J. (1994). Reflective practice for practise. Senior Nurse, 13, 47-50.
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.
Teaching Goals
Teaching goals are the fourth and final teaching philosophy statement component that we will be examining. An important follow-up after you articulate how you go about collecting evidence of the impact of your teaching is sharing how you have used or will use that evidence to refine your philosophy for future teaching goals. For example, if your summative student feedback for a course suggests that you did not incorporate enough variety in terms of the types of assessments you used, one goal you might want to set for yourself would be to include a few different types of assessments in the course the next time its offered.
Another way in which you might get ideas for which goals you’d like to set for yourself can be through comparing your teaching beliefs and teaching methods. Perhaps you indicate that you highly value the case study methodology, but you rarely use it in the lessons you develop. One goal for yourself could be to include more case studies in your lessons in the future.
The goals you set for yourself can be short term, as in the example about case studies, intermediate term, as in the example about assessments, or long term. An example of a long-term goal may be securing full time employment as a tenured track professor.
The goals you set should demonstrate that you approach your teaching with a growth mindset – that you are eager to continue to grow and develop as an instructor. In this vein, you may wish to be specific about how you plan to do this. For example, will you:
- Join a particular community of practice, working group, or society?
- Attend a specific conference?
- Read specific scholarship on teaching and learning?
- Take a particular online module, workshop, course, or program?
- Earn a specific micorcredential, certificate, diploma, or degree?
As in the case with writing a teaching philosophy statement, establishing teaching goals is an iterative process. You should continuously revisit the goals that you set so you can evaluate your progress, revise, and set new goals accordingly.
Pause for Reflection
What is one short-term goal/aspiration you have as an educator? What is one long-term goal/aspiration you have as an educator? Answer these questions, and more (Kenny et al., 2021), in the Teaching Goals section of the Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement: Worksheet.
References
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.
Module Summary
What You Have Achieved Thus Far
Congratulations! You have now completed this online module on crafting a teaching philosophy statement and thus should be able to:
- Describe the core components of a teaching philosophy statement
- Identify some benefits of crafting and maintaining a teaching philosophy statement
- Describe the “What? So what? Now what?” model of reflection for reflecting on your teaching long-term
- Reflect in writing on your current authentic teaching beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals
The Next Step
As you navigate the next, most challenging step – actually writing your teaching philosophy statement, here are a few tips you may want to keep in mind.
1) Remember that a teaching philosophy statement is a reflective, personal statement you write about your teaching. It is written from the first-person perspective (e.g., “I”, “me” and “my”) and is generally expected to be one to two pages in length, single-spaced (Chism, 1998), though one page is typically preferred. While there are many things that you may consider including in your teaching philosophy statement, as a starting point it is good to consider four core components: teaching beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals.
2) Be sure to inject your own style and personality into your teaching philosophy statement. In reflecting on and writing about your beliefs, methods, impacts and goals, there are various ways in which you might structure your statement.
Some people like a linear essay format where they discuss each component in turn. Others like to structure their statement around key pillars (often presented and then expanded upon in paragraphs labeled with headings), with each pillar connecting beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals.
Using a metaphor to explain your statement and tie it all together is another option that you may wish to consider. Some examples of metaphors, adapted from Apps (1991), include:
- Lamplighters: Illuminate the minds of their learners
- Gardeners: Cultivate the mind by nourishing, enhancing the climate, removing impediments, and then standing back and allowing growth to occur
- Muscle Builders: Exercise and strengthen flabby minds so learners can face the heavyweight learning tasks of the future
- Challengers: Question learners’ assumptions, helping them see subject matter in fresh ways and develop critical thinking skills
- Travel Guides: Assist people along the path of learning
- Factory Supervisors: Make certain that sufficient inputs are present and that the outputs are consistent with the inputs
- Applied Scientists: Apply research findings to teaching problems and see scientific research as the basis for teaching
- Craftspeople: Use various teaching skills and are able to analyze teaching situations, apply scientific findings when applicable, and incorporate an artistic dimension into teaching
Finally, as noted in McMaster’s Preparing a Teaching Portfolio Guidebook (MacPherson Institute, 2024), some prefer to use narrative as “a way to blend [their] teaching experiences, achievements, and beliefs into a cohesive and compelling story. By investing time and effort into crafting a compelling narrative, [they] can elevate [their] portfolio from a mere collection of documents to a powerful tool for professional advancement and growth.” This approach comes with benefits for both the author (e.g., narrative can weave together anecdotes, reflections, and insights with evaluations and numbers), and reviewer (e.g., reading a personalized narrative is more engaging than a list of accomplishments or records alone).
The most important thing is that you choose a style for your teaching philosophy statement that best exemplifies you, while at the same time providing some structure (and introduction – ideally with an attention-grabbing opening statement, body, and conclusion).
3) Explicitly incorporate your discipline into your teaching philosophy statement. This might mean describing the specific strategies you use to support student learning in your discipline, recognizing and outlining how you overcome common disciplinary-specific learning hurdles, and so on.
4) If you want to take you teaching philosophy statement to the next level, ground it in teaching and learning scholarship by adding a few in-text citations for quality, peer-reviewed sources. After reflecting on your beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals (during which time teaching and learning scholarship may have already come into play), take a look at the research that has been done that either supports or refutes what you have said in your statement. You will learn from the literature and based on the knowledge gained, be able to make decisions regarding whether and how you might revise your statement. By grounding your statement in scholarship, you’re not just saying “here’s what I believe and how I demonstrate it”. Rather, you’re saying, “here’s what I believe and how I demonstrate it, and here is the research showing that the methods that I employ have been found to be effective.”
5) Perhaps most importantly, remember to check your statement for alignment. There should be consistency in what you say you believe, the teaching methods you use to enact those beliefs, how you measure the impact of your teaching, and your teaching related goals. Although this seems straightforward in theory, it can be kind of tricky in practice.
6) Make sure you get one or two trusted people to read your statement, screening it for grammar and spelling errors, checking for consistency, and making recommendations for enhancement. As a teaching philosophy statement is a very personal document at its core, it’s normal to feel a little anxious about what others may think when reading your statement.
Since teaching philosophy statements are so personal, we don’t recommend looking at other people’s statements while you’re in the process of writing your own as it’s very easy to start writing in someone else’s style and voice. By completing the process on your own first, it will allow for your own personal style and ideas to shine through, making for a more authentic, stronger statement.
7) It is for similar reasons to those noted above that we don’t recommend you use generative artificial intelligence to craft your teaching philosophy statement. Write your first draft yourself, and then, if you really want to leverage generative artificial intelligence to make your statement even better, you might consider using a prompt that will have generative AI suggest some simple grammar and spelling/copyediting recommendations. If you do use generative artificial intelligence, do follow your institution’s norms and expectations regarding how you should cite its usage.
8) Finally, remember that writing a teaching philosophy statement is an iterative process and that your statement should be updated as you grow and mature as an instructor. As you develop, so too will your beliefs, methods, impacts, and goals.
Acknowledgments
- Primary Designers: Erin Allard and Ayesha Nomaan (with prior contributions by Celeste Suart)
- Review and Testing: Rebecca Taylor
- Production Editor: Katrina Espanol-Miller
- Web Developer: Biljana Njegovan