Bake Your Teaching Philosophy F.A.Q.
1. What is Bake Your Teaching Philosophy?
2. Why should I participate?
3. When is the competition taking place?
4. Does this count for the Teaching Fundamentals or Advanced University Teaching Preparation Certificates?
5. What is required to participate?
6. What is the competition?
7. Who can participate?
8. Can I attend if I don’t want to compete?
9. What is the prize?
10. I don’t know much about writing a statement of teaching philosophy. Where should I start?
11. How do I figure out what to bake?
12. I still have questions or want to talk about this more – how can I get more information?
1. What is Bake Your Teaching Philosophy?
Bake Your Teaching Philosophy is a twist on the increasingly widespread use of baking and other creative approaches to disseminate knowledge and think about research in a new way. As far as we know, this is the first competition connecting baking and teaching philosophy – but we have drawn inspiration from the Bake Your Thesis competition held at Memorial University in 2018 and the current wave of enthusiasm for home baking.
2. Why should I participate?
Participating in the competition provides the opportunity to develop your statement of teaching philosophy through the use of metaphors. Metaphors are widely understood to be useful ways to think through your approach to teaching. You may have heard of the “container” model of teaching, for example, in which students are understood as empty vessel waiting to be filled up with knowledge, or the “journey” model in which students are understood to be guided by instructors along a path. What can you say about your teaching through a spicy flaky pastry, a chocolate babka, or a savoury pie in the shape of a sloth? Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for applying to sessional or faculty positions is a task that can feel as overwhelming as a split buttercream. This competition provides the opportunity to start thinking about your teaching or further develop your teaching philosophy through the use of a creative practice.
3. When is the competition taking place?
March 23rd, 4:40pm – 6:30pm, Location TBD
4. Does this count for the Teaching Fundamentals or Advanced University Teaching Preparation Certificates?
Yes! You can count participation as one workshop toward your certificate.
5. What is required to participate?
Firstly, register (https://tatp.eve.utoronto.ca/home/events/633) for the competition! You’ll be sure to get all the updates, including the announcement of our special guest judges. In order to compete, you need to bring your baked item, an ingredient list, and a 200-300 word description connecting your baking to your teaching philosophy. At the Bake Your Teaching Philosophy event, you’ll get the chance to sample competitors’ baking and learn about their perspectives on teaching.
6. What is the competition?
This is a baking competition! Entries will be judged based on deliciousness. Your written description will not be judged – we want you to have a low stakes opportunity to think about your teaching philosophy and talk about it with your peers.
7. Who can participate?
The event is for graduate students at the University of Toronto.
8. Can I attend if I don’t want to compete?
We are figuring out the logistics of competitors bringing a friend or two to help with the eating – we’ll let you know.
9. What is the prize?
In the grand tradition of the Great British/Canadian Baking Shows, this is about the glory and the fun. (And the eating and the camaraderie.) No prize needed for that!
10. I don’t know much about writing a statement of teaching philosophy. Where should I start?
Great question. If you want to learn more about writing a statement of teaching philosophy in the context of creating a teaching dossier, there are workshops called Preparing Your Teaching Dossier and a Statement of Teaching Philosophy Clinic offered by the TATP. A statement of teaching philosophy is typically included at the beginning of a teaching dossier and provides a narrative for the dossier as a whole. If the workshops are full, feel free to sign up on the wait list.
You can also find a number of resources on the TATP website related to preparing statements of teaching philosophy in our Teaching Dossier section.
11. How do I figure out what to bake?
Figuring out what to bake will look a bit different for each person but will likely involve an iterative process between thinking/drawing/free writing about your teaching approach and thinking about what you love to bake. Maybe you’ll realize that your teaching is rooted in a particular theory and everything stems from that foundational centre, and you’ll find a baked good that speaks to the need for a strong foundation. Maybe you’ll discover that you prioritize flexibility and find baking that (in process or product) centres around the need for flexibility. Maybe you love to bake lemon meringue pie and look to the pie for connection to teaching (turning sour into sweet? separating eggs and then bringing them back together in a new way?). The stakes are low – we encourage you to experiment and have fun with this task.
12. I still have questions or want to talk about this more – how can I get more information?
We are holding two drop-in sessions for Q&A with TATP staff member (and procrasti-baker) Anjali Helferty on March 12th (11am-12pm) in Robarts room 4035. Come by and brainstorm! You can also email Anjali with questions: anjali.helferty@mail.utoronto.ca.