Teaching Statement

Teaching statements, sometimes called teaching philosophies, are a commonly requested application document for the academic job market. In a teaching statement, you are explaining to the search committee your belief-based approach to selecting materials, strategies to conveying course content, and classroom management. Essentially, this document (sometimes accompanied by a teaching portfolio) conveys how you would develop and teach courses to the institution’s students.

The Basics

While the content of the document is unique to the writer, in general, teaching statements:

• Are up to two pages in length
• Written as first-person narratives (e.g., "I approach teaching by. "; "My approach to teaching is . ")
• Illustrate the role of your expertise in curriculum and course development
• Address development and assessment of learning outcomes in courses
• Demonstrate teaching style
• Use specific examples from classroom experience as instructor of record, teaching assistantships, or other related facilitation roles
• Discuss teaching that is accessible and inclusive for a diverse set of students

Role of Reflection in Statements

An important element of your teaching statement is self-awareness or reflectiveness. As a starting point, consider:

• How do you adapt your classroom to respond to student population needs?
• How do you consider student needs and feedback in the development of your courses overall?
• How do you motivate and engage students?
• How do you know when your approach is successful?

You want this statement to demonstrate the following to a search committee:

• You have thought through a deliberate approach to course design, content selection, and material delivery (new and potential courses you have taught or are proposing)
• You will continue to develop, learn, and grow as a teacher
• You will consider and engage the needs of the student population at their institution.

The teaching statement should expand upon the information in your cover letter. While you may not need to write an individual teaching statement for every job posting, it is important to tailor the content. Consider how to adjust the statement depending on the institutional and departmental context.

Content Considerations

While there is not a formula to write a teaching statement, you’ll want to think about the following logic: Goals-Methods-Results.

GOALS

METHODS

RESULTS

Skills, content, approach to material

Classroom structure and activities

Assessments, opportunities for student feedback

What have they learned? Why did they learn this?

What approaches do you take in the classroom to teach these goals? How do you adjust your approach to your students?

How do you know your students learned the material? What can they do now that they could not do before?

How do these elements facilitate an inclusive learning environment?

Thinking through these questions and finding specific, concrete examples from your teaching experience will set you on the path to a solid teaching statement. You want to show the committee how you teach, not tell them.

As you brainstorm, draft, and revise your statement, keep the following in mind:

• Avoid tacking on a “diversity paragraph” to the end of your statement. Your writing will benefit from having considerations of inclusivity as an inherent part of your philosophy, weaved throughout your narrative.
• Make sure your statement is well written, proofread, and formatted. A search committee is looking at all of your statements when deciding to hire, and the teaching statement will also be evaluated for professionalism and writing prowess.

Campus Support

• For additional guidance on writing teaching statements, keep an eye on upcoming programming from Northwestern’s Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning.
• Postdocs can make appointments for individualized feedback with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.