Tips for Revising a Teaching Philosophy: Lower Order and Higher Order Concerns

In case you're writing your Teaching Philosophy at the last minute and you can't make time for a Writing Center appointment, here are some questions to ask yourself while revising!

Higher Order Concerns (stuff you should worry about first)

1. Is my teaching philosophy too long? Ideally, it should be no more than two pages double-spaced, or around 500 words maximum. 
2. Do I demonstrate what I think constitutes effective teaching/learning with evidence?
3. Do I establish myself as unique without being sentimental or melodramatic?
4. Do I avoid sounding meek by abstaining from downplaying my achievements?
5. Do I provide a clear reason behind why I chose to/want to teach?
6. Do I provide specific examples of pedagogical methods I use to get students engaged?
7. Do I provide evidence that I am able to promote diversity, tolerance, and collaboration in my classroom?
8. Do I provide evidence that I encourage the use of technology in new and creative ways in my class?
9. Do I demonstrate how I foster creativity in my class?
10. Is it necessary for me to link my research to my pedagogy? If yes, is this connection explained clearly?
11. Do I have a defined, effective conclusion that wraps up my ideas without being redundant?

Lower Order Concerns (stuff you should worry about second)

1. Parallel Structure- In case you find yourself listing things in your Teaching Philosophy, make sure that you stick with a pattern so that you don't indirectly imply that one of the items on the list is more or less important than the others.
   
   Example: As an instructor, I enjoy lecturing,overseeing peer review, and group work.
                   As an instructor, I enjoy lecturing, overseeing peer review, and assigning group work.
2. i.e. versus e.g.- People seem to mix these up a lot. So, if you find yourself having to use these in your Teaching Philosophy, remember that i.e. (translates to "id est") means "that is..." while e.g. (translates to exempli gratia) means "for example."
3. Capitalization errors- Remember that when referring to your department specifically (Department of Physics, English Department) you must capitalize the initial letters in both words. If you use the vague term "departments," the first letter is lower-cased.