Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Description

The TATP Bake Your Teaching Philosophy competition 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. The #bakeyourthesis and #bakeyourphd hashtags on twitter provide examples of research from academic bakers around the world engaging in (delicious!) play and experimentation. Bake Your Teaching Philosophy is a new iteration of this work that brings together baking and teaching pedagogy.

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 – we invite you to start thinking about your teaching philosophy by engaging in some fun and productive procrasti-baking.

Resources related to metaphors and writing statements of teaching philosophies:

Coppola, B. P. (2002). Writing a statement of teaching philosophy. Journal of College Science Teaching, 31(7), 448-453.

Korn, J. H. (2012). Writing and developing your philosophy of teaching. In Effective college and university teaching: Strategies and tactics for the new professoriate, 71-79.

Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement by Nancy Van Note Chism, Ohio State University https://archive.tatp.utoronto.ca/teaching-toolkit/teaching-dossier/preparing-teaching-dossier-guidelines/#APP3