Constructing a Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophies

Writing a clear and coherent teaching philosophy is not an easy task. It requires intense self-examination and reflection focused on your most sincere beliefs and values about teaching and learning. That process takes time and a lot of effort.

As you know by now, there are a number of helpful documents, and I have shared a few with you that can help you get started. You can find copies of these materials on the course’s Blackboard site and on the CETaL website at http://cetalweb.utep.edu/home under resources.

I developed my teaching philosophy a number of years ago, and to be honest, I haven’t looked at it in a while. That means that the old version is likely hopelessly out of date…or it may surprise me. So I looked for it and here is the most recent version from 2006. It was part of my professional statement as a department chair.

“As a teacher it is my duty and responsibility to help students gain the skills and knowledge necessary to become independent learners, who can successfully navigate an increasingly complex society, and take leadership responsibilities for their personal lives, their family, as well in larger contexts. Through the application of collaborative teaching strategies in my classes, I have been able to more actively engage students and help them gain confidence in their abilities to learn independently and socially (i.e. in small groups). The learning and study strategies I weave into my course reportedly have helped them perform better in courses they took afterwards. I have found students to be more engaged and interested in their own learning when they are given personal responsibility and are held accountable for their actions. They become less dependent on the instructor and participate more in the course activities. I am convinced that active, cooperative learning strategies in the classroom should no longer be an option. These are strategies all instructors need to employ in their classrooms. The evidence is clear: cooperative learning effectively employed is far superior to any other teaching strategy. As a department chair, I encouraged faculty to open their classrooms to peer visits and mentoring to enhance their personal teaching strategies and incorporate models of cooperative and active learning. Teaching and learning are the reasons why universities exist, and preparing future leaders through education is our primary purpose and legacy. In order to serve our students best towards that goal, we should adopt the most effective strategies, even if this requires continuing education and additional effort”.

Based on the documents and criteria I shared with you, I need to take some time and revise this version. Many of the ones you wrote are much better than my version. I promise I will do so, but I don’t know when that will happen.