Sample Teaching Statements
Reading someone else’s teaching statement can inspire ideas for your own, show you how context shapes content and structure, and help you identify more and less effective ways to communicate your teaching philosophy.
The length, style, and content of reflective teaching statements will vary depending on contextual factors such as the author’s amount and types of teaching experience, disciplinary conventions, the intended audiences, and the purposes of the document. Graduate students most commonly write reflective teaching statements as a component of job applications. Faculty are most likely to write teaching statements when compiling dossiers for contract renewal and promotion. Both groups also write statements for personal reflection and professional development.