Speaker 1: Hello everyone, this is your favorite doctoral expert, Dr. Chanel T. Smith, and today I want to talk about teaching philosophies or teaching statements. I just had a great session with one of my private clients who is applying for different postdocs as well as going on the job market. One of the main things that I want you to know about your teaching statements or philosophies is that it is based off of a reflective process. I've served on so many different selection committees for fellowships and scholarships and faculty positions, even the president of my latest school that I worked at. But the main thing that we want you to know is that mostly everyone who applies is qualified, right? You either already have your doctorate or you're almost done. So it's not really based off of your education, although the field that you are studying also needs to be based on or a good fit for the institution to which you are applying. But the main thing we want to know is what are you most passionate about? How are you in the classroom? What are you going to do to not only teach the concepts based off of the courses or the research that we need for you to teach our students, but how are you going to bring it to life? How are you when you walk into the classroom, right? How are you in terms of your evaluations? How are you in terms of creating a space where open and honest dialogue can occur? What do you do when there is a hot moment in the classroom? Yes, we want to know about, you know, the courses that you've taught. Yes, we want to know about your expertise, but we also want to make sure that you are going to be there for the students. We also want to know what type of experiences you've had as a student that has made you an even better teacher. What did you learn not to do? When you begin writing your teaching philosophy or teaching statement, you always want to begin with how was it when you were a student? What are your experiences? What was your experience as an, you know, at a divinity school? What was your experience at a university? And then to what university are you or type of school setting are you applying? You always want to make sure that there is some kind of congruence between your experience and where you're going. You don't want to talk about or brag about or be so excited or spend a lot of time on your experience working in the chapel if you're not highlighting what you've learned that you are taking to a university setting. Why? That's not a seminary. That's not the chapel. You want to make sure that everything you say has a point, not just a point, but a purpose, right? So if you are applying to a seminary, you don't want to just say general statements about what a seminary is. Well, we know that. But what about you? What about you makes you a good fit to teach at a seminary to which you are applying? How are you a good teacher? What are the methods that you use or what are the assignments that you assign? What are the tools that you are teaching that are going to take our students to the next level? That's what we want to know. We want to know about your love, your passion, your commitment, and how that is played out in the classroom. But we also want evidence. What happened in the classroom that you've taught, TA or maybe even the instructor of record, right? What experiences did you have that turned into like an aha moment for you or something that was a defining moment in your teaching experience that you feel it's important to share, that they need to know, that you will be bringing to the institution? These are just some of the things. If you go on Google, you're going to find so many different ways that you can write and talk about your teaching philosophy. But those are the main things. These are the things that are going to set you apart from other applicants. Those who are just talking about the courses that they can teach or the courses that they have taught and the assignments that they've done, no passion, no love, no evidence that they are going to teach the entire student, the entire person, and not just like teach them concepts like a fire hose, right? With no type of activities or anything to make them hold on to it by making, you know, probably even making them bringing it to life by relating it to contemporary experience. Yeah, it took a long time to say that, but you get my drift, right? So that is my impromptu spiel on teaching philosophy statements. And I hope you enjoy. Blessings to many of you or all of you who are in the application process, who are going on the job market, who are applying for fellowships, grants, postdocs, whatever it is. You got this. Take care. Oh, and if you need help, you know how to reach me. I also help students not only who are applying to doctoral programs, who are in doctoral programs, but also those who are going on the academic job market. Have a good day.