Writing a Good Teaching Statement

I was asked by the department if I would be willing to be part of a panel addressing the issue of "Finding Jobs in Academia." In particular, since I got a teaching job they are interested in me giving my perspective (as limited as it may be) on getting a teaching job. I'll have about 10 minutes to talk openly about my experience (same with the other panel members), then the floor will be open for questions. In preparation for the questions, I'm going to spend some time thinking about various parts of the application/interview process and try to make my thoughts more concise.

I've decided to start with the teaching statement because this is probably the most distinctive part of the application. All of the other pieces (CV, research statement, cover letter, transcripts, ...) have a very standard form and do not allow much freedom for unique expression. The freedom you have in writing your teaching statement gives you a chance to stand out from everyone else. However, this same freedom means you don't have boundaries to let you know when you've gotten off track.

Before I even talk about the teaching statement itself, I should point out some of the guiding principles I used when forming my teaching statement:

1. Be yourself - I find that I don't express myself as well when I try to write in a very formal manner. It is both more comfortable and more effective for me to write as if I were speaking. This causes some sentences to run a little too long sometimes, or perhaps the word choice may be somewhat awkward, but those things will get sorted out during the proof-reading process.
2. Balance specific details with pedagogical positions - I think part of a good teaching statement is telling a good story about how you teach. I think it's helpful to talk about specific interactions with students students, topics, or incidents because it highlights something unique to you. However, experiences alone are not sufficient. You should also spend some time to discuss why the story matters. For example, a story that demonstrates good rapport with students is helpful because it shows that the students a more comfortable environment to ask questions. Or alternatively, even though the students were disappointed that you didn't show all the details, you wanted to emphasize the main ideas and deemphasize the algebra.
3. Be honest - I think it's relatively easy to see through people who aren't being honest about themselves. If you are applying for a teaching position and there's something about your teaching statement seems off, you're not likely to get an interview.
   

I was thinking about my teaching statement during the Spring quarter before I applied for jobs (most applications are due in November). Part of this was due to my participation as a Summer Graduate Teaching Fellow, and part of it was due to the fact that I like to think about teaching math more than I like to think about math itself. However, none of my thoughts were written down until sometime during the summer.

As part of preparing to write a teaching statement, I searched the web for advice. There are lots of pages that offer such advice, but some of it is contradictory. For example,

• Do not read any other teaching statements before you write your own. This will prevent you from expressing yourself in a unique way.
• Read lots of other teaching statements for inspiration.

In the end, I started off by jotting down a whole bunch of notes on things that I could potentially talk about and different ways to present myself, then read other teaching statements to see if there were any other good thoughts that I missed. This way, I used both pieces of advice. Do whatever makes you happy. I don't think it matters much either way.

The process of formulating thoughts for your teaching statement begins by asking questions. In fact, it's probably fair to say that a teaching statement answers the question,"What does 'teaching' mean to you?" Of course, such a vague question doesn't offer much guidance, so here are some other questions to prompt your thinking:

• What does it mean for students to "think mathematically"? How do you encourage students to "think mathematically"?
• What is your view on the student-TA relationship? (How should you think of your students/how should they think of you?) What do you do to develop this type of relationship?
• What is your biggest teaching mistake? What did you learn from this mistake?
• What is your biggest pedagogical complaint about being a TA at UCSD? (This could be about the course content or a professor's teaching style... just don't name names.) What pedagogical principles did it break?
  

Notice that these questions come in pairs. One is designed to get you to think about teaching as an abstract process and the other is designed to reflect some real-life experience (again, balancing specific situations with the underlying philosophy). If you only answer one, it's an incomplete thought with respect to your teaching statement.

You can also find questions on webpages that offer advice (see below) and formulate your own by reading comments on your teaching evaluations.

You're not going to fit all of your thoughts on teaching into your teaching statement. So after you've written up a few different responses to these questions (or other ones that you find), read them through carefully and try to determine which one is most representative of your thoughts towards teaching and which one presents you in the strongest light (whatever that means -- this is a personal interpretation). Feel free to give drafts to a few people who know you to see if they think it accurately reflects who you are. Remember that this is the only chance in your application that you have to let your personality show.

Once you figure out what works best with you, the hard work is done. Now it's time for the tedious part: refining your statement. This is where your too-long sentences get hacked up and your word choice is scrutinized for clarity. Ask some friends to proofread your statement. Consider their comments carefully, make some adjustments, and then ask some more friends to proofread it. Do this until you get sick of it. Do it once more, then you're done.

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There are lots of links for more advice on writing teaching statements. Here are a few:

• http://www.ams.org/notices/200609/fea-lewis.pdf
• http://www.ams.org/employment/academic-job-search.html
• http://www.math.lsu.edu/gradfiles/TeachingStatement_Oxley.pdf
• http://galois.math.ucdavis.edu/UsefulGradInfo/HelpfulAdvice/ProfDev/Coppolla_TeachingStatement.pdf

I also want to recommend reading the book "What the Best College Teachers Do" by Ken Bain. There are lots of ideas that you can incorporate into your teaching, which will translate into ideas you can incorporate into your teaching statement. (Don't put the cart before the horse!)