A Dialogical Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Jeffrey W. Murray

Assistant Professor, Department of Focused Inquiry - Virginia Commonwealth University

As I began compiling materials to apply for promotion last summer, I thought to include a statement of teaching philosophy. I began by inspecting the statement I’d written when applying for my current position almost ten years ago. To my mild horror, it seemed not only out-of-date with respect to my evolved approach to teaching, but alternatively vague and trite. What exactly is my teaching philosophy?

After pondering this question, I was struck by the fact that I didn’t