Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Teaching Philosophy?

Right now I am applying for a job that requires me to submit a statement of my teaching philosophy. Since I have never taught I am having trouble with this. What else is there to say other than I will lecture, assign readings and assign papers? I do not think I can make that stretch for 1000 words. In the very unlikely event that somebody reading this knows any websites or books that might have useful hints or examples could you please either e-mail me or leave a comment below? It would be most appreciated.

3 comments:

Susan Barnes said...

I read a really interesting book about teaching philosophy as in applies to the home, school and the work place. It is called, "Punished by Rewards : the trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise and other Bribes" by Alfie Kohn.

I'll quote a little from the blurb: "Our basic strategy for raising children, teaching students and managing workers can be summed up in six words: Do this and you'll get that. We dangle goodies in front of people the same way that we train the family pet ... The final chapters offer practical stratgies for parents, teachers, and managers that move beyond the use of carrots or sticks ..."

Kohn teaching philosophy would be that it is ineffective to use incentives to encourage learning and that there are better ways to encourage students to do well academically. (Unfortuately it has been a while since I read the book and can't remember exactly what they were. I think working in groups may have been one and helping students discover some things for themselves, as opposed to telling them everything they need to know.)

Nathanael said...

On the practical side, would this help?

J. Otto Pohl said...

Thanks for the comments people. Nathanael's link is the type of thing I am looking for. Also I am not sure if it makes a difference, but the job is in a non-Western country.