Professional Development: Writing a Teaching Statement for an Academic Job

Presenter: Dr. Laura Border, Director of the Graduate Teaching Program

What is the teaching statement--and how is it different from the philosophy of teaching statement? When applying for an academic job these are important questions to ask. You may have already prepared a cover letter and a teaching portfolio, but many academic hiring committees will ask for the additional teaching statement. In last week’s Friday Forum Dr. Laura Border, Director of the GTP, walked through ways to effectively tackle the teaching statement.

Frankly, there will be overlap between your cover letter, your portfolio, and your teaching statement. The trick is to take advantage of all three opportunities to convince the hiring committee that you are a great fit for the job. Dr. Border recommends thinking of the three documents as a power-packed package. They should work together to show how you are uniquely positioned and qualified for the job. It can be helpful to think about three documents in the following way:

• Cover letter. This is essentially the place to declare, “I can do this job, and why I can do it well.”
• Teaching portfolio. The portfolio allows you to outline your philosophical approach to teaching and learning. Emphasize your pedagogical beliefs and values; using your experience as evidence. Note: your philosophy comes out of your practice. It is valuable to take notes as you teach. This can help identify what you like to focus on and what resonates well with your students.
• Teaching statement. More focused than the teaching portfolio, this statement is an opportunity to highlight the work you have done and what you would like to do, after a job letter.

The purpose of a teaching statement can seem vague, but from the perspective of the hiring committee it serves a key function: filtering through applicants. Teaching statements are a way to assess a candidate’s fit and commitment to the institution in question. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate how you would work within, and complement, the institution. The teaching statement is also an opportunity to emphasize how your unique background, experience, methods, and interests make you an ideal candidate for the job.

Every teaching statements should include information about your teaching experience, your approach, your teaching future, and how research and service tie into your pedagogical approach. Keep in mind that the strongest statements are evidence based. Practically speaking, that means including information like your GTP certificate, specific teaching experience, and FCQ scores. To make sure your statement includes all the necessary information, Dr. Border suggests answering the following questions:

• Teaching experience and evidence. What have you taught? How much? How did you like it/what did you get out of it? How did that experience prepare you for THIS job
• Teaching approach. What is your approach? What are you using to build your learning environment? How does your approach relate to the environment the institution wants?
• Teaching future. What in the job notice can you do? What do you want to do? And can you do anything extra? Again, the emphasis here is how your unique background and interests influence your teaching.
• Research. Do you know the most up-to-date educational research in your discipline? How do your own research interests tie in?
• Service.  How will you fit in with the current faculty and departmental/institutional culture? Do you know anything about faculty committees? Do you have a particular interest that could be applied to service? For example, if you have experience working with budgets mention that in this section.

Other key considerations to keep in mind as you draft your statement include:

• Length. The teaching statement should be no more than a page and a half in length.
• Audience. Your audience is the hiring committee, which is often composed of individuals from multiple disciplines. Your statement needs to be comprehensible to all members of the committee. so avoid writing in a highly technical language.
• Voice. Your voice in the teaching statement should be confident and scholarly; like what you sound like when talking to students. Be honest about your accomplishments and goals, but avoid bragging.
• Style. Make sure that your style is concise and efficient. This will require you to do several rounds of editing.

Dr. Border also shared a few teaching statement do nots:

• Tone. Try to avoid being insipid, overly humble, saccharin, or emotional.
• Form. Avoid having your statement read like a boiler plate. While there are specific pieces of information you need to include, try to avoid a formulaic approach. Each statement should be extensively tailored to a specific job. Your organization will also be highly personal; there is no “right” way to structure your statement. In addition, do not let your statement be too long or too short.
• Evidence. Your statement needs to be connected to reality. Show evidence where you can. Avoid grand, sweeping generalizations about your abilities and experience.

Writing a teaching statement is not easy. Each statement needs to be specific to the job. Dr. Border strongly recommends that you apply to each job separately and avoid reusing a single statement. However, you can make it easier on yourself by practicing writing these kinds of statements now. Pull jobs ads from your field and actually write mock statements in response to them. Also, start working on your teaching portfolio early. This will help you become more articulate about your own experience and preferences. By practicing ahead of time you will develop a strong, confident voice.

Tagged under: academic job application, faculty forum, gtp, PD, professional development, teaching statement