How to Write a Teaching Philosophy
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Presenter: Niall Hegarty, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, Management
This session will focus on developing clear, beneficial, and impactful teaching philosophy statements. A faculty member’s teaching philosophy statement is what connects them to the content and learning in their discipline and to the academy at large. It is a values statement. Some philosophy statements are condensed while others are multiple pages—each with an indelible imprint of what the faculty member believes about teaching and learning. The session examines how to document one’s philosophy of improving student learning, along with other items that the faculty member considers relevant. As we will see, the statement is a fluid document that will change several times over the course of a faculty member’s academic career. The session will briefly examine the items found in teaching philosophy statements and allow an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts of what they value and document in their statements. For any faculty member seeking personnel action or undergoing a post-tenure review, this can be a very useful session.