What is a Teaching Philosophy Statement?
The Teaching Philosophy Statement (TPS) is a document that articulates who you are as a teacher-scholar-leader and the values, beliefs, and goals that underpin your approach to facilitating and assessing learning and your continuous development. Watch this short video about the Teaching Philosophy Statement for an overview.
Why make a Teaching Philosophy Statement?
To articulate your values, beliefs, goals, and methods as a teacher.
To have a guiding document to stand firm and advocate for good teaching practice.
To share with students and others as part of an inclusive and transparent teaching process so they understand your perspectives and practices.
To have a document that you can modify as needed for specific applications and promotions.
To reflect on your values, beliefs, goals, and approach to teaching and learning, so you can express yourself effectively and succinctly in responding to interview questions.
What does a Teaching Philosophy Statement look like?
A 1-2 page single-spaced essay. It is written in the first person as a reflective document and is a way to express your position on teaching and learning. This is supported with examples from practice and explanations or commentary on your practice.
What Should be Included in a Teaching Philosophy Statement?
Use this TPS Checklist to refine and structure your ideas.
Need More Resources about the Teaching Philosophy Statement?
Find more information and resources explaining what a teaching philosophy is, ways to articulate your values and approach to teaching, and provide guidance on the writing process by accessing the Teaching Philosophy Workbook .
This workbook can help you:
Review, reflect, and gather ideas for your teaching philosophy statement.
Engage in planning and writing practice.
Develop a metaphor to accompany your teaching philosophy.
Organize and begin composing a draft.
Review and revise your draft.
Need to talk to someone about crafting your Teaching Philosophy Statement?
Make an appointment with a PFF team member to brainstorm ideas, review your reflections to shape your TPS, and get feedback on your TPS drafts.
Our Diversity Statement Workbook contains an overview of what constitutes a Diversity Statement, thinking questions to guide your development and writing of a Diversity Statement, and suggestions for how to include one more visually in your teacher-scholar website. It also contains the Inclusive Teaching Audit checklist so that you can ensure that your course design and facilitation also address the inclusion of diverse identities, abilities, and interests. Watch a short video about the Diversity Statement for a brief overview.
What is a Diversity Statement?
The Diversity Statement (DVS) is a document that articulates your experiences with and commitment to working for justice, diversity, inclusion, and equity for all students; to demonstrate your awareness of the importance of embracing diversity and working for inclusivity and equity in education as part of the larger global need for connected and inclusive communities.
It has a broader scope than your Teaching Philosophy (TPS) in that it is grounded in your own complex identities and past experiences of privilege and barriers in your educational journey, and it includes activities beyond the classroom.
Why make a Diversity Statement?
To articulate your values, beliefs, goals, and methods as a teacher.
To have a guiding document to stand firm and advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
To share with students and others as part of an inclusive and equitable teaching approach.
To have a document that you can modify as needed for specific applications and promotions.
To reflect on your values, beliefs, goals, and approach to teaching and learning, so you can express yourself effectively and succinctly in responding to interview questions.
What does a Diversity Statement look like?
A 1-2 page single-spaced essay that presents a coherent narrative of your perspectives on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion is supported with examples and commentary from experience and practice.
What Should be Included in a Diversity Statement?
Use this DVS Checklist to refine and structure your ideas.
Need More Resources about the Diversity Statement?
Find more information and resources explaining what a diversity statement is, ways to articulate your values and approach to teaching, and provide guidance on the writing process by accessing the Diversity Statement Workbook
This workbook can help you:
Review, reflect, and gather ideas for your diversity statement.
Engage in planning and writing practice.
Organize and begin composing a draft.
Review and revise your draft.
Need to talk to someone about crafting your Diversity Statement?
Make an appointment with a PFF team member to brainstorm ideas, review your reflections to shape your DVS, and get feedback on your DVS drafts.
- Ungrading: A Bibliography: Jesse Stommel’s suggested reading list for understanding and implementing ungrading.
- Online Exams and Assessments: Suggestions on the ways one might ensure academic honesty where assessment is concerned. Some of these strategies detailed throughout the guide, include self-check quizzes, sharing learning outcomes, and turning in a paper in stages to guarantee progress and timely development.
- Online Formative Assessment Strategies: This document includes a highly detailed list of assignment designs for online classrooms and checks for understanding while teaching.
- Principles for Effective Online Discussions: Here you’ll find a list of helpful details concerning fruitful online discussion that effectively creates an engaging learning environment. Some of the topics discussed here include setting discussion protocols and dividing the overall discussion into smaller subjects or areas. This document also contains a list of active links to resources that may help with discussion planning and the sharing of information online
- Online Discussion Derailers: A breakdown of how class discussions online might go awry and how this might be avoided.
Syllabus SLO Workbook: This workbook walks you through developing student learning outcomes as part of your course design process. Based on Wiggins and McTighe’s (1998) work with backward design, the workbook begins the process of course design by facilitating your thinking about your teaching goals, and especially about the learning outcomes you set for your students.
Syllabus Design: This handout provides an overview of the functions of a syllabus, and key design and content selection considerations in designing a syllabus.
Syllabus Inclusivity Checklist: Double-check your syllabus for inclusivity and important information.
Syllabus Storyboarding: In creative syllabus design, storyboarding helps us think about learning as a coherent process of development from start to finish.
Rice Center for Teaching Excellence: Workload Estimator: Estimate how many hours per week your course assignments should take students to complete.
AACU Value Rubrics: The AAC&U developed a set of excellent rubrics as part of their LEAP (Liberal Education and America’s Promise) project. The VALUE initiative (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) was a comprehensive and broad-ranging effort to improve learning assessment in higher education. The VALUE initiative, from 2007 to 2009, engaged faculty and other educational professionals from more than 100 institutions to develop, test, and refine a set of rubrics for capacities that all educators should strive to help their students develop. The rubrics include Inquiry and analysis, Critical thinking. Creative thinking. Written communication, Oral communication, Reading, Quantitative literacy. Information literacy, Teamwork, Problem-solving, Personal and social responsibility. Civic engagement – local and global, Intercultural knowledge and competence, Ethical reasoning, Lifelong learning, Global Learning, and Integrative learning. Read more and download the rubrics.
iRubric: iRubric is a free online tool that offers a database of rubrics that you can download for your own use. With a free account, you can search the extensive database for a rubric for your course, then duplicate it to edit the criteria to suit your course and level of teaching.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statements for Syllabi: Here are some examples and ideas to think about when writing diversity, inclusivity, and equity statement(s) in syllabi. These examples are a great starting point, but I would caution you that they should be tailored to your own style and personality. It will seem inauthentic if students see the same text in multiple classes or it does not match the rest of your syllabi’s style.
Grading Calculator: This link leads you to a grading calculator that automatically calculates the grade for a course based on the percentages and scores you input. There are multiple calculators at this link for standard grades and final grades.
Albright College: This link will automatically download a pdf with multiple examples of DEI statements for syllabi that all have slightly different styles, foci, and wording.
University of Wyoming: This link automatically downloads a pdf of example DEI syllabi statements from the University of Wyoming, as well as a set of general tips on how to create a unique DEI statement for yourself.
Carnegie Mellon University: You will be directed to a specific Carnegie Mellon University page concerning DEI statements for syllabi that offers prompts and multiple samples.
Brown University: You will be directed to a Brown University page that offers insight into what a DEI statement for syllabi is, along with helpful questions, samples, and other syllabi instructions including how to write a curricular statement.
These are websites and articles that clarify our role as teacher-scholars today. College teaching can be likened to the last point of contact with education for many young people before they step into the world of work and the rest of their lives. What can we do as educators to help them flourish in their futures? How is the landscape of higher education changing and why? How does this affect how we must approach learning and teaching?
The Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) was launched in 2005. It researches, advocates, and acts to support and promote educational values and outcomes critical for success in the 21st century. The initiative advocates for liberal education as a powerful source of the skills and capacities this nation needs to survive and flourish as a democracy in the creative, knowledge economy.
Teaching Techniques Video Library at the K. Patricia Cross Academy. Short videos explaining techniques to engage and assess your students.
ABLConnect: An online database of active learning efforts in post-secondary classrooms. ABLConnect is curated by the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University. 1. ABLConnect lets educators easily search the ideas of others in a structured way, reducing the costs of developing content and bringing active learning to their classrooms. 2. ABLConnect collects resources and information about specific activities, creating a common resource repository. 3. ABLConnect helps collect data on college-level teaching practices across academic disciplines.
Learning Theories Index: An index of learning theories. Each theory is described briefly, with key principles and terms explained. Good references for follow-up reading. The site also has short descriptions of the main paradigms of behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism.
‘Learning Theory’, The Encyclopedia of Informal Education: Good overview and explanations of different learning theories. Smith keeps this pretty well updated. Part of Infed – the Encyclopedia of Informal Education.
Instructional Design: If you want to really get into different learning and motivation theories this website is great. It’s got all the main theories and then some – from Algo-Heuristic theory and adult learning theory to Modes of Learning, Multiple Intelligences, and Social Learning Theory and Transformational theory. Each theory is briefly presented, with applications, examples, principles, and further links and readings.
Learning Knowledge Index: This is a very useful site with good information on learning, learning theories, and links to other learning theories sites. I found this personal motivation for this site intriguing:
“When I was going to school I often asked myself; what is it all for? Now that I am 62 years old I ask myself again; what was it all for? It is not an easy question to answer, for most of what I had so called ‘learned’, I had no use for in my life, and have forgotten. At school I was one of the students who enjoyed learning school work. So now I can not help but wonder, if I who enjoyed school work, have lost and not retained so much, what of the experience of those who disliked school work? I seem to remember they were the vast majority, and us nerds were the minority. The answers I believe are determined by the answer to a single question. Did they retain it and was it useful and influential in their lives? For most of them, the answer is most assuredly no. So again what was it all for?”
Explore your own perspectives as a teacher. Take the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). If you have not done any teaching, respond to this inventory by keeping in mind the subject matter and level of students you hope to teach. There is an excellent guide to interpreting the results on the website.
What is the TPI? The Teaching Perspectives Inventory was developed by Daniel Pratt. The inventory builds a teaching profile based on 5 different perspectives on what teaching means. The 5 perspectives are Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, Nurturing, and Social Reform. The inventory gives us an understanding of teaching as a pluralistic process – your profile ranges across these 5 perspectives – so that we see teaching as multi-faceted and dynamic rather than as one-dimensional. The instrument’s validity and reliability are based on 10 years of research with over 100,000 respondents spanning over 100 countries. Therefore, the instrument also considers cultural and social variations in perspectives on teaching. The TPI has undergone psychometric testing that was reported by Collins and Pratt (2011).
The University of Chicago has a lot of great resources on its page “Engaging All Students: Help improve student learning by removing barriers to inclusion“
Responding to Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias by the National Equity Project discusses some considerations and suggestions for responses to microaggressions and unconscious bias.
How to Respond to Racial Microaggressions When They Occur – Frank Harris III, J. Luke Wood, and cmaadmin (EDU) developed “the R.A.V.E.N – a framework that is particularly useful when responding to microaggressions that occur in public (physical and online) spaces. The R.A.V.E.N. is a five-step approach that entails 1) Redirecting the conversation or interaction, 2) Asking probing questions, 3) Values clarification, 4) Emphasizing your own thoughts, and 5) offering concrete Next steps. Each step of the R.A.V.E.N. is further explained…” in the link.
Examining and Mitigating Implicit Bias with Teresa Nance, Kevin Gannon, Marlo Goldstein Hode, and Darvelle Hutchins. Moderated by Association of College and University Educator Kevin Kelly. Panelists share practices they have found helpful to effectively set expectations for valuing diverse viewpoints, facilitating respectful conversations, and engaging students in inclusive active learning exercises. The teaching practices discussed in this webinar can be utilized in various disciplines and course sizes to promote equity and inclusion.
Recordings of SPARC’s Knowledge Equity Discussion Series: “…a discussion series to provide an introduction to broad concepts and considerations of epistemic injustice and knowledge equity in the areas of academic libraries and archives. These discussions will examine how universities, and thus academic libraries, are rooted in oppressive systems like white supremacy, racism, and settler colonialism, and how that is connected to our current work in libraries.”
Also, see our Anti-Racist Resources page.
Visit MyPronouns.org to learn why pronouns are important for inclusion and how to use them correctly. You can practice using different pronouns with PracticewithPronouns.com.
How To Write a Course Proposal for a Job/Postdoc App: an article from The Professor is In by Karen Kelsky. Gives tips on wording, focus, and more.
Empowering Students through Your Personal Narrative: an article from Faculty Focus. Written by Dr. Nathan Pritts, this article discusses how to keep your students not only engaged but also uplifted with actionable advice.
15 Ways to Engage Your Students In-person, Online, and in Zoom: an article on Faculty Focus by Dr. Marti Snyder.
Creating your Instructor Website and Getting Started with Content: This comprehensive guide will walk you through the content necessary to get your website started.
Pratt, D.D. (1998). Five perspectives of teaching in adult and higher education. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing.
Collins, J., & Pratt, D. (2011). The teaching perspectives inventory at 10 years and 100,000 respondents: Reliability and validity of a teacher self-Report inventory. Adult Education Quarterly, 61(4), 358-375.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU): AAC&U was founded in 1915 and currently counts over 1300 institutions in its membership, including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive universities. Its mission is to champion “the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career.” AACU has 4 main goals:
LEAP: Liberal Education as a Global Necessity
Quality: 21st Century Markers for the Value of US Degrees
Equity: Innovation, Inclusive Excellence, and Student Success
Social Responsibility: Integrative Liberal Learning for the Global Commons
AACU, together with the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), developed and launched PFF programs around the country between 1993 and 2003.
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS): If you are involved in graduate education of any sort, you might be interested in looking at the work done at CGS, the “only national organization in the United States that is dedicated solely to the advancement of graduate education and research.” CGS, together with AAC&U, was a pivotal player in the development of PFF programs between 1993 and 2003.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle of Higher Education is a key source of news, articles, discussion forums, databases, and career information (online CV management, salary databases, etc.) for higher education. It is published every weekday online. It’s really worth your time checking our and bookmarking their different sections that interest you. Some key sections are relevant to teaching.
Profhacker: Teaching, technology, and productivity.
Teaching: News and articles on teaching and learning in higher education. They also have a Teaching Newsletter you can subscribe to for free that is delivered to your inbox weekly.
Inside Higher Ed: Blog U: A collection of different blogs such as Gradhacker, Conversations on Diversity, Teaching and Technology, Confessions of a Community College Dean… You get a good sense of current issues and trends in the world of higher education teaching and learning, and inspiration for possibly a blog of your own.
Educause: Educause is a higher education technology association, and the largest community of IT leaders, companies, and education professionals that focuses on advancing and transforming higher education through the integration of information technology. You will find research and reports, professional development opportunities, and useful information and articles on teaching and learning in connection with digital technology.
Teachers of Tomorrow Top 50 Teacher Websites List: Teachers of Tomorrow has compiled a list of 50 websites that work as resources or references for teachers and educators of all types. Some of these sites include teaching blogs, software resources, collections of classroom/ course management tips, news sites focused on pedagogy, and more.
Indigenous Pedagogy. An overview and Guide. University of British Columbia: This Curriculum Developers Guide was developed by the University of British Columbia as part of their Indigenization Project, a collaboration between the university, and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training. and a steering committee of Indigenous education leaders in the universities, colleges, and institutes in British Columbia, the First Nations Education Steering Committee, the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association, and Métis Nation BC. These guides are intended to support the systemic change occurring across post-secondary institutions through Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation. A guiding principle from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada process states why this change is happening: “Reconciliation requires constructive action on addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism that have had destructive impacts on Aboriginal peoples’ education, cultures and languages, health, child welfare, the administration of justice, and economic opportunities and prosperity. (2015, p. 3)” Please note that this guide is based on indigenous locations and knowledge of specific indigenous nations and is highly context-specific. In your own locations, understand who the indigenous people are and engage them in your practice. We offer this resource as a place to begin exploring the major principles that offer insights into inclusion, equity, and anti-racist thought and action.
California Community Colleges Accessible Content Guide: The California Community Colleges Virtual Online Network of Educators has a collection of resources that together make up a complete guide to creating accessible content. These resources include webinars on topics such as making content accessible on Canvas, rubric creation, and the use of Ally. Other resources include micro-lectures, articles on accessibility, and various guides.
PFF has a variety of books on teaching and learning in higher education available for CGU students and alumni to pursue and to check out and return later. At this time our library is closed. However, please check back later for an update. You can search our list of books by topic or see all our titles.