The Development of Research and Teaching Philosophy Statements

The Caltech Project for Effective Teaching (CPET) Presents:

Armand R. Tanguay, Jr.

Professor of Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Ophthalmology, Physics, and Astronomy; Neuroscience Graduate Program

University of Southern California

Both research statements and teaching philosophy statements are often essential components in the search for academic positions.  Research statements are designed to capture the essence of research accomplished to date, to place the research in the context of related research worldwide, and to chart near-term, mid-term, and long-term research goals for the future.  Effective teaching philosophy statements blend previous teaching experiences, thoughtful assessments of teaching methodologies, goals for the educational process, and specific teaching proposals into a unified statement of an individual phiosophy of teaching.  This dual topic seminar is focused on the process used to develop outstanding research and teaching philosophy statements, including important questions to consider and address, and the key components to include.  A wide range of suggestions on unusual research and teaching approaches will also be presented.