Our third Senior Graduate Teaching Assistant (SGTA) Seminar of the Fall 2023 Semester was titled ‘Research and Teaching Statements’. During this seminar we not only discussed the length, content, and structure of such statements, but general advice and methods of preparing the statements throughout a graduate student’s tenure. Additionally, in an effort to provide some practical examples, a number of recently hired faculty and postdocs in our department shared their research and teaching statements from their most recent job search.
Research Statements
A research statement is a written summary of your research career. It should include your research accomplishments, current work and future directions, and potential collaborations. The research statement should be 2-3 pages in length and formatted in a way that is scannable. That is, the statement should be split into sections, with important results bolded along with supporting figures (if available). While the research statement should be technical it should also be accessible to a broader audience. The first half page should be more general and give a “big picture” overview of your research agenda and how it fits the needs of the department for which you are applying. Following this section you should discuss the types of problems you work on and describe your specific research projects. Be clear about your role within a project (if working collaboratively). Connect your research to other areas of research, specifically explaining how your research fits into the broader field. Lastly, discuss future directions and any work in progress.
Teaching Statements
The teaching statement should be 1-2 pages in length and identify approximately 3 themes or teaching philosophies. The statement should start with an introductory section summarizing your teaching philosophies, followed by a discussion of each of your teaching philosophies in separate paragraphs. It should conclude in a final paragraph summarizing your teaching philosophies and point to future directions of growth. When discussing your teaching philosophies you should give specific examples of your actions as a teacher that support your philosophies. In addition, it is important to demonstrate a pattern of reflection and growth as it relates to your teaching philosophies. Reflect on experiences that contributed to your current teaching philosophies.
Due to the fact that most of the GTAs present were not actively on the job market, a large portion of the discussion centered around preparing a teaching statement. This discussion was particularly important because many of the GTAs in our will serve as instructors of record or recitation leaders during their time as graduate students. One of the best ways to develop one’s teaching philosophies as a graduate student is to keep a running document of one’s teaching experiences. Have a particularly awesome experience, or a particularly ‘bad’ experience? Write it down. Reflect on why the experience was good or bad and make note of how the experience will impact your teaching methods moving forward. SPOT surveys can also help summarize how things went during the semester. Although student responses may be polarizing, with some filtering one could draw conclusions on what teaching pedagogies were successful and unsuccessful for the course. Lastly, talk about teaching regularly with others and use these conversations to help you develop your teaching philosophies.
