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This content has been written in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE). To gain feedback on your teaching statement or dossier, please email Kristin Brown, educational developer, contact TA training and writing support at CTE.

Learn more about professional development opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows offered by the CTE.

What is a Teaching Dossier?

A teaching dossier is a portfolio of your teaching experience that demonstrates your reflective approach to teaching.

It typically contains three components:

• a teaching statement of your overall beliefs about teaching

• a narrative providing evidence of your teaching

• artifacts from your experience

A teaching dossier should not repeat what is in your curriculum vitae (CV) but instead, provide the reader a sense of what it is like to be a student in your classroom.

Teaching dossier is the preferred term in Canada, but you might also hear the document referred to as a teaching portfolio if you apply to institutions outside of Canada.

How does a teaching dossier differ from a teaching statement?

A teaching statement (also called a teaching philosophy statement or a statement of teaching interests) is a one-to-two-page statement of what you believe and value in teaching as demonstrated through specific practices, supported by evidence of effectiveness.

The teaching statement is also the first section of a teaching dossier. You can think of the statement as an overview of who you are as a teacher, further supported by the narrative of the dossier and appendices. A good teaching statement can stand alone but also align, and be supported by, the remaining sections of the teaching dossier.

How can I prepare materials for a teaching dossier?

Below are four suggestions for gaining and preparing materials for your teaching dossier:

• Collect evidence of your teaching:  Start a folder to save materials you have developed for teaching. Things like lesson plans, lesson slides, teaching and learning activities, teaching evaluations (formal or informal), assessments you have (co-)developed and syllabi you have (co-)developed.

• Seek out teaching opportunities:  If you do not teach tutorials, labs, or a course, guest lectures are a great way to gain teaching experience. Let instructors in your department know you are interested in guest lecture opportunities.

• Seek feedback on your teaching:  Even if you do not receive formal course evaluations, there are many ways you can get feedback on your teaching, including asking your students to give you mid-term feedback or having someone observe your teaching. Check out CTE resources on Tools tools for reflecting on your teaching and Using using mid-term student feedback for suggestions on collecting this feedback.

• Consider professional development opportunities for teaching:  CTE has professional development opportunities for graduate students and   and  post-doctoral fellows who want to develop their teaching skills.

What is the structure of a teaching dossier?

Recommendations for the length of teaching dossiers vary, but for academic job applications, they tend to be no more than 20 pages (10 pages for commentary, 10 pages for appendices).

Here is one structure you could use for a teaching dossier, but we encourage you to include sections that fit your experience and the institution you are applying to:

Should I write my teaching dossier in paragraphs or bullet form?

Since teaching dossiers are meant to be reflective and narrative, paragraphs are strongly encouraged. There may be portions where bullets are used, but we strongly encourage using paragraph style for most of the document.

Can I include student feedback and how do I do this?

It is valuable to include feedback on your teaching from multiple perspectives, such as students, instructors and teaching centre staff. Student feedback can come from various sources. 

Student feedback from course evaluations: An effective way to present quantitative data is by aggregating student ratings for each course you have taught in the form of means or percentages. You can also include qualitative data from open-ended questions.

Student comments: When determining whether to include student comments in your dossier, consult instructors in your discipline to determine whether these would be considered valid sources of evidence by a hiring committee. When selecting student comments, consider whether they provide evidence for the claims you made in your teaching statement or dossier. If you include comments, they should be unedited. Unsolicited comments from students (i.e., emails from students) should only be included in your dossier if you have permission from the student to use the comment in your dossier. 

Student feedback from mid-term feedback: If you collected mid-term feedback from your students, you could provide a summary of the data or findings.

What is the structure of a teaching statement?

While there is no specific format for a teaching statement, one way to structure the statement is: 

• An introductory paragraph stating three key teaching beliefs of values.

• Three body paragraphs that each focus on one key teaching belief or value. State the belief/value, provide one to two examples of how you put this belief into practice in your teaching, and if possible, explain the impact of these practices on your students.

• A concluding paragraph that summarizes your beliefs and states your commitment to teaching. 

The statement should focus on you as an instructor and your students, rather than comparing yourself to other instructors. Use first-person and present tense to highlight what you do in your teaching, rather than what you did or what you will do. Try to incorporate examples from your discipline to give the reader a sense of what it is like to be a student in your classroom.

How do I determine my teaching beliefs and values?

There are several reflective exercises and tools you can use to help you determine your core beliefs about teaching. Try some of exercises and see if they help identify your beliefs:

• Teaching Perspectives Inventory

• Teaching Practices Inventory

• Teaching Goals Inventory

• Exploring Your Teaching Philosophy: Sample Exercises

What should I do if I have limited teaching experience?

A teaching dossier can reflect all your teaching experience as a teaching assistant, lab instructor, guest lecturer and/or course instructor. You can still prepare a teaching dossier if you have not taught your own course. Here are some suggestions:

• If you have limited academic teaching experience, consider writing about other teaching opportunities you may have had through your research (e.g., facilitating training or community workshops) or extracurricular activities.

• Seek out teaching opportunities: If you do not teach tutorials, labs or a course, guest lectures are a great way to gain teaching experience. Let instructors in your department know you are interested in guest lecture opportunities.

• If you find you have limited teaching materials to include as appendices, consider designing a syllabus, teaching activity or assessment for a course you would like to teach in the future and include the document as an appendix.

Further reading

• University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Creating a Teaching Dossier (Teaching Tip). 

• University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Exploring Your Teaching Philosophy: Sample Exercises (Teaching Tip). 

• University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.) Tools for Reflecting on Your Teaching (Teaching Tip). 

• University of Calgary Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. (2021) Learning Module: Developing Your Teaching Dossier. 

• Kenny, N., Berenson, C., Jeffs, C., Nowell, L., &Grant, K. (2018) Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. 

• Montrell, G. (2003). How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

• Western University Centre for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Teaching Dossiers. 

• Western University Centre for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement. 

• University of Victoria. (n.d.) Guide to Preparing Your Teaching Dossier for Instructors at UVic. 

• University of Toronto Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation. (n.d.) Teaching Dossier Guide. 

• University of Toronto Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation. (n.d.) Statement of Teaching Philosophy. 

This content has been written in collaboration with the Writing and Communication Centre. For receiving feedback on diversity statements, you can book an appointment with the Centre for Career Development via WaterlooWorks (under cover letters) or book an appointment with the Writing and Communication Centre.

What is a diversity statement?

What is a diversity statement?

A diversity statement demonstrates your commitment and contributions to diversity and/or inclusion, particularly in your academic career. The statement should be at least one page, but it can be longer. Your statement can address aspects of your academic career such as research, research practices, teaching and pedagogy, service or volunteer work and future commitments to diversity and inclusion.

You do not need to address all these aspects of your academic career. There’s no one-size fits all version of a diversity statement. A diversity statement is composed of a deep reflection on the various ways you have been committed to diversity and inclusion. Focus on the aspects of your career that best demonstrate that commitment.

What is the purpose of the diversity statement?

The purpose of the diversity statement is to demonstrate alignment with the department‘s inclusivity and diversity mission. The hiring committee wants to know that you'll be able to contribute to the department‘s and the university‘s mission, rather than uphold existing barriers and practices that exclude equity-seeking deserving groups.

Your diversity statement should demonstrate to the hiring committee that you understand and can work with a diverse and/or under-represented population inclusively across your research, teaching and/or service.

Research: If your research incorporates a research practice or a way of knowing from under-represented groups that historically have not or do not get counted as research, how have you done so ethically and with care? Does your research feed back into the community or communities that you work with?

Teaching: In your teaching, you can speak about the ways that the design of your course creates an inclusive environment and accommodates student needs. For example, you might describe how you communicate tacit knowledge for first-generation students.

Service: In your volunteer work or academic service, have you participated in an outreach committee or initiative designed to support under-represented populations in your field? For instance, you participated in a community outreach camp for girls in tech and entrepreneurship, Technovation Girls.

How do I structure my diversity statement?

There are several ways to structure your diversity statement, and how you structure the statement should highlight your contributions and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Consider this guide for your reference when structuring your diversity statement.

Introduction

The introduction sets the tone of your diversity statement and gives an indication to the reader what the following statement will address. Possible introductory topics include but are not limited to:

• How has your academic background expanded your knowledge and skills related to diversity?

• How has your demographic background influenced you to advocate for diversity and inclusion?

• When and why did you first start getting interested in diversity and inclusion?

Body paragraphs

The body paragraphs of the diversity statement can be organized in many ways, whether the statement moves chronologically or explores different areas of your past experiences with diversity. Regardless, each paragraph should have a clear topical focus. Your body paragraphs can focus on topics like:

• Personal experiences of oppression in and outside of the academy, and how it contributes to your passion for diversity and inclusion.

• Research interests and their relation to equity, diversity and inclusion.

• Supervisor/mentorship of individuals from under-represented groups.

• Teaching experience and pedagogical approaches to teaching diverse learners from different demographic backgrounds.

• Volunteer and service experience that has supported under-represented populations and your significant role in providing that support.

Conclusion

In your conclusion, summarize your letter and connect it to your future contributions at the institution you are applying to. How will you continue your commitments and contributions to diversity and inclusion at that university? What would these contributions look like? How do your past and future contributions align with the department/university‘s diversity and inclusion mission?

What if I do not have previous experience with equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)?

Before you ask yourself this question, seriously reflect on how you might have contributed to diversity and inclusion in your academic career. Remember that diversity includes a wide range of topics such as race, gender and sexuality, disability and demographics such as age, class, first-generation students, university culture, off-campus communities, etc. Diversity can be demonstrated in your research, ethical approaches to your research, how you have created an inclusive environment in your classroom, pedagogical approaches and volunteer work.

If none of the above apply, focus most of your letter on your future commitment to diversity: what actions will you take in your research, teaching, and service to start contributing to diversity and inclusion? You can also provide plans or recommendations for the kinds of diversity EDI work you will be doing at the institution you are applying to.

Can I only write about my teaching and service experiences if I feel my research is not relevant?

Yes. If you absolutely feel that your research does not demonstrate your contributions/commitment to diversity nor can you think of how your research can be committed to diversity in the future, you do not have to discuss your research in a diversity statement.

Remember, a diversity statement does not have to cover all aspects of your academic career. There’s no template or one-size fits all model for diversity statements. Writing one requires you to think deeply about all areas of your academic career. Reflect on:

• Personal experiences of oppression in and outside of the academy, and how it contributes to your passion for diversity and inclusion.

• Research interests, and their relation to diversity and inclusion.

• Supervisor/mentorship of individuals from under-represented groups.

• Teaching experience and pedagogical approaches to teaching diverse learners from different demographic backgrounds.

• Volunteer and service experience that has supported under-represented populations and your significant role in providing that support.

Your document's structure demonstrates the information most important from asking yourself these questions.

This content has been written in collaboration with the Writing and Communication Centre. For receiving feedback on diversity statements, you can book an appointment with the Centre for Career Development via WaterlooWorks (under cover letters) or book an appointment with the Writing and Communication Centre.

Further reading

Below are some further resources on writing diversity statements:

• UC San Diego‘s Guidelines for Applicants Writing Statement

• The Effective Diversity Statement by Tanya Golash-Boza

• Demystifying the Diversity Statement by Victoria Reyes

• UC Berkeley‘s Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion