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8.6.07
Teaching Philosophy
Purpose
As
a teacher you will be presented with experiences in which you will need
to explain and justify your pedagogical practices. A teaching philosophy
gives you the opportunity to articulate your practices and their rationale
both to yourself and others. This part of the teaching portfolio will
help you to establish what your goals for the language arts classroom
are, how to accomplish these goals, and how you support these goals. In
short, a teaching philosophy displays what you do in the classroom and
the pedagogical theories that inform these practices.
Teaching
philosophies are helpful texts to use for hiring and promotion, as well
as having an explanation of your pedagogy when it is questioned or challenged.
Instructions
While there are some generic expectations for a teaching philosophy, it tends to be a self-styled document. Teaching philosophies tend to include...
goals and outcomes–this is what you want the students to learn by the end of the term. As you think about this part, you will want to negotiate administrative standards, social expectations, pedagogical theories, and personal beliefs. Also, you will want to address different literacies that you will help the students develop by explaining goals and outcomes that apply to both academic contexts and social contexts. Finally, you may want to explain how you will know if the students have achieved these outcomes.
teaching practices–this is what you will specifically do in the classroom to accomplish the goals and outcomes that you have outlined. This does not have to be a long explanation of an assignment or activity. Instead you want to use broad brushstrokes to describe an assignment or activity that clearly illustrates how you achieve a stated goal and outcome.
pedagogical theories–your goals, outcomes, and practices should be based upon your own observations and experiences or the observations and experiences of others (e.g., from pedagogical readings). You will want to weave these theories into your teaching philosophy as you justify your goals, outcomes, and practices. Again this should not be a long explanation. Nor should you use this opportunity to drop names .
Use these as guidelines, not as a rule for composing your own philosophy. Since many of you are still pre-service, you will want to write this teaching philosophy as if you are describing the classroom that you want to teach and manage.
Writing Resources
The following resources may help you develop a better sense of what a teaching philosophy entails.
Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence (CMU)
CHE' articles by Gabriela Montell
Criteria
Logistic:
- between 500-750 words long.
- initial submission is due on September 26, 2007
- 50 points
For the portfolio, reconsider your original position in light the new things that you have learned this semester, as well as the feedback you received from the instructor. The final revised draft of your Teaching Philosophy is due with the portfolio on December 10, 2007.
In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the instructor will be looking for evidence of...
- a sense of audience–specifically an administrative audience
- a discussion of relevant teaching issues
- an informed knowledge of the field
- cohesion between goals/outcomes, practices, and theory
- who you are as a teacher
- a confident tone