Personal Philosophy Of Teaching
expectations.
Teaching Philosophy
● A teaching philosophy is a self-reflective
personal narrative that expresses your values and
beliefs about teaching.
● It includes your conception of teaching and
learning, a depiction of how you teach and an
explanation for why you teach in that way.
● Teaching philosophy statements are usually one
to four pages in length and cover the following
three areas: objectives, methods and evaluation.
● Like a teaching career, your teaching philosophy
can evolve as you accumulate more experience.
Components of teaching Philosophy
● A teaching philosophy statement may include
the following components:
1. A description of the methods you use to teach
2. Your values as a teacher
3. Goals you set for students and yourself
4. An explanation of the impact your teaching has
had on students
5. A list of the grades or courses you’ve taught
6. A description of how you assess students’
abilities
7. Sample syllabi from courses you’ve taught
● If needed, you might also include evidence of
your ability to teach effectively by providing
some of the following:
1. Recommendation letters
2. Comments from students
3. Teaching portfolio
4. Online ratings
5. Teaching evaluations
6. Peer reviews
Why teaching philosophy is important?
● A teaching philosophy is important because it
gives you a framework for deciding how you
want to teach while also conveying your goals,
abilities and values as a teacher to others.
● New teachers and tenured professors alike can
benefit from thinking about and summarizing
their personal beliefs about how they teach best.
● Teachers who constantly update their teaching
philosophy statements also show personal
growth in their careers.
How to write a teaching philosophy
1. Consider your audience
● As you consider your audience, make sure to do
your research.
● Different institutions have different
● If the school you want to work for has a
particular mission, you can address it in the
mission of your statement.
● While your overall teaching philosophy may
remain the same, you may want to modify the
teaching style for this particular institution. Look
closely at the school's website to learn about its
size and values.
2. Brainstorm
● When you’re reflecting on what to include in
your teaching philosophy, imagine that the term
is over and your students are leaving for summer
break.
● Ask yourself what you want them to have taken
away from their time with you.
● Your teaching philosophy can express what you
want your students to learn from you and the
strategies you plan to use to accomplish that.
.
3. Tell A Story
● To get your readers’ attention, it’s important to
make your statement engaging.
● One way to do this is to share a story about how
you effectively taught your students and
accomplished your goal as a teacher.
● In your story, consider sharing specific examples
of the teaching techniques you regularly use in
the classroom.
4. Write an introduction
● Start your teaching philosophy with an
introduction where you share with your readers
your general belief about education.
● For example, you may believe that all children
have the right to learn in a safe classroom. If
there is a specific reason you believe this, you
can share this here as well.
5. Craft the Body
● In the body of your statement, share what you
believe is the ideal classroom environment.
● Then, explain how it makes you better as a
teacher, addresses the individual needs of your
students and encourages interactions between
parents and kids.
● You can also state your goals and objectives and
what you want your students to accomplish with
the help of your teaching.
6. Conclude the Statement
● In the final section, review what your goals are
as a teacher, how you've met them in the past
and how you intend to build on them in the
future.
● Discuss your personal approach to teaching and
managing the classroom, and include what you
believe makes you unique.
● You may also want to mention any intentions to
advance your skills through further education.
7. Cite your sources
● In your teaching philosophy, explain how you
came to use those specific strategies in the
classroom.
● For example, you can share with your readers
whether you learned them from a mentor, from
something you read online or in a book or from
another source.
● If your strategy was something you read about
and then modified for your own purposes, share
that with your audience.
Max Scheler’s Hierarchy of Values
The Essence of Values
● Values comes from the Latin word “valere”
which means to measure the worth of
something.
● Values serve as guide for human behavior.
Max Scheler (1874 – 1928)
● A German philosopher known for his work in
phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical
anthropology.
● Max Scheler was a German philosopher who
developed a hierarchy of values.
● According to his theory, values are ranked from
the lowest to the highest. The lowest values are
those of physical comfort, while the highest
values are those of the “holy”
Pleasure Values
● The pleasant against the unpleasant
● The agreeable against the disagreeable
Examples:
Sensual feelings
Experiences of pleasure or pain
Vital Values
● Values pertaining to the well-being either of the
individual or of the community
● Values of vital feeling
Examples:
Health
Excellence
Vitality
Capability
Spiritual Values
● Values independent of the whole sphere of the
body and of the environment.
● Grasped in spiritual acts of preferring, loving,
and hating.
● Aesthetic values: Beauty against ugliness
● Values of right and wrong
● Values of pure knowledge
Values of the Holy
● Appear only in regard to objects intentionally
given as absolute objects.
Examples:
Belief
Adoration
Bliss
● Based on Scheler’s hierarchy of values, the
highest values are those that directly pertain to
the Supreme Being while the lowest values are
those that pertain to the sensual pleasures.
● We act and live well if we stick to Scheler’s
hierarchy of values, ie., give greater preference
to the higher values.
● We will live miserable if we distort Scheler’s
hierarchy of values, for instance, when we
subordinate spiritual values to pleasure values.
● We act well when we give up the pleasure of
drinking excessive alcohol for the sake of our
health. But while we take care of our health,
Christians will say, we bear in mind that “we do
not live by bread alone, but also by the word that
comes from the mouth of God”(Luke 4:4).