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Tips for Writing Teaching Philosophy Statements for Religious Institutions?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I have seen several religious SLACs ask for Teaching Philosophies rather than Teaching Statements. I don't think they are using philosophy and statement synonymously; it seems like they really want your philosophy of teaching and not just the standard fare statement where you list 1-2 pedagogical goals and give concrete examples of how you achieve them.

So, I'm wondering: how do you write an excellent Teaching *Philosophy,* especially for religious SLACs? 

Do any readers in the know have any helpful tips or other insights to share?

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4 responses to “Tips for Writing Teaching Philosophy Statements for Religious Institutions?”

  1. teacher

    I think you are reading too much into this. A teaching philosophy is a teaching statement. If you have serious doubts about this you have to contact the school directly – only they can answer the question.
    How do you write a good teaching statement/philosophy for a religious college? You just be honest. At some colleges these will be set aside pretty quickly – it might be something the College as a whole requires, but the department thinks is of little use/value.

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  2. Hope to help

    I partly/mostly agree with teacher, but I would add that a lot depends on the school under consideration. If possible, try to fit the university/college mission, vision, and/or tradition into the teaching philosophy/statement.
    When I applied to Catholic schools, for instance, I referenced JP2 in my materials. When I applied to non-Catholic Christian schools, I referenced Augustine. When I applied to non-religious schools, I deleted these references.
    Did this help me? Hard to know. However, having now read many job applications I will say that mission fit/alignment matters to small religious institutions.

    Reply
  3. Recent Religious SLAC Hire

    As a recent hire at a religious SLAC, I’d like to echo some of the advice offered above.
    I agree with @teacher that a teaching statement is the same as a teaching philosophy. Don’t read too much into the wording.
    I also agree with @hope to help regarding their advice to pay very close attention to the mission of the university when applying to religious SLACS. The mission is INCREDIBLY important to these institutions and guides much of their decision making. Often, they will ask for a statement of your commitment to the mission in a separate document or in the cover letter. Depending on the school, it may not be necessary to tailor your teaching statement/philosophy to the mission. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to incorporate some of the goals of the mission into your teaching philosophy. If you end up getting an interview, make sure to demonstrate how you will integrate the mission into your teaching, service, etc.

    Reply
  4. Religious SLAC Assoc. Prof.

    Totally agree with Recent Religious SLAC Hire–mission is indeed extremely important to these places, and if you’re onboard then it almost certainly should be reflected in your teaching statement/philosophy. At my institution, we recently chose to let a search fail (in a non-philosophy discipline) instead of taking what enough of us understood to be a risk on mission fit wrt our flyout candidates.

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