Teaching Philosophy

Introduction:

A statement of teaching philosophy is a concise description of what and how you teach and will be requested as part of your application for a teaching position in higher education (even if you are teaching as part of a TAship). Whether you are in creative writing, literature, or rhetoric and composition, you will likely teach first-year composition. For that reason, you should have a teaching philosophy that speaks to the various issues—theoretical and practical—that teacher-scholars consider as part of their overall philosophy of teaching first-year composition. Your teaching philosophy should articulate your beliefs about the nature and purpose of writing, the student/writer, the teacher, and how writing is best taught in the classroom.

The difficultly in crafting a teaching philosophy are the overwhelming and often conflicting notions that we hold as teacher-scholars about the purpose of first-year composition and the role of the student-writer in our classrooms, our universities, and in our communities. You won’t be able to express everything you believe—part of your task is to articulate those elements of composition theory that are most meaningful to you and most influential in your teaching.

Background & Understandings:

Regardless of whether you consider yourself a specialist in creative writing, literature, or rhetoric & composition, you are a writer and a practicing teacher of writing. As such, you are a composition theorist whether you like it or not. Your teaching is informed by your own personal theories about composition and this assignment asks you to articulate those theories.

As a discipline, composition theory (and rhetoric and composition) is a broad field with contested boundaries, an interdisciplinary reach, and innumerable sites of inquiry. You must articulate your position both personally—as a writer and a teacher of writing—and in relation to central scholars and theories that have shaped the field.

While these issues do not need to be addressed in 6700 Teaching Philosophy statements, we acknowledge the various problems that are associated with writing and interpreting these statements, particularly on the job market:

• According to Daniel Pratt, problematic issues include four assumptions: that,
  1. there is agreement as to the form and substance of an acceptable philosophy of teaching statement

  2. all acceptable philosophies of teaching should be ‘learner-centered’

  3. the reviewers’ own philosophy of teaching will not prejudice them against other philosophies of teaching

  4. student evaluations of teaching will have fair regard for a plurality of acceptable philosophies of teaching.”^[1]
• Additionally, Richard Fulkerson suggests a somewhat Marxist notion—that the production of teacher-scholars only serves to reproduce the means of production. For composition theorists, “It is natural to imitate our literary colleagues and produce [degree] holders created in our own image(s).”^[2] This is not what I ask of you.
• Lastly, perhaps because it’s the issue we least like to speak of, a philosophy of teaching composition is difficult to write and to interpret because teaching writing is how we make our living. “Claims made in the genre [of ‘teaching philosophy’],” Spencer Schaffner offers, “erase the economics of teaching”^[3] and ignore the commodification of our profession.

Excellent (‘A’ grade) Teaching Philosophies for 6700 will:

• Clearly articulate your understanding of and beliefs about the purpose of writing AND the purpose of first-year composition. While your beliefs about the purposes of writing—in general and in first-year composition—may conflict, you must articulate your own negotiation of the two.
• Clearly articulate your understanding of and beliefs about the constitutive elements of the rhetorical situation—the writer, audience, text/language, and truth/knowledge. In other words, you must clearly state your beliefs about the role of each.
• Identify what you teach and describe how you teach (methods).
• Demonstrate your understanding of major theories and vocabulary (You do not need to reference specific scholars or works, but you should include references to major theories as these will be touchstones for likely readers. This does not mean that you must include references to all major theories.).
• Be focused and organized (avoid a rambling, manifesto-ish, ethereal rant, as philosophies of teaching writing are in near constant danger of becoming).

Resources:

• “Writing Your Teaching Philosophy: A Step-By-Step Approach” from the U, of Minnesota. Includes a description, brainstorming prompts, a worksheet, exercises and helpful advice.
• “Statements of Teaching Philosophy” by Gail E. Goodyear and Douglas Allchin at the U. of Texas at El Paso.
• “How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy” by Gabriela Montell from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
• “Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement” from Helen G. Grundman. Article references philosophies in mathematics, but the content is useful across disciplines.
• “Developing your Reflective Teaching Statement.” Includes useful “Questions to Consider.”
• “Writing Your Teaching Philosophy,” whitepaper by Allison Boye