Sharing another post in our new semi-regular series, "Missives from the Editing Trenches" written by long-time TPII editors. They are the real MVPs, working in the trenches to catch you in all your job document pitfalls -- from the self-deprecating … [Read more...] about How to Turn Your Teaching Duds into Memorable Statements
Teaching Portfolios
The Teaching Demonstration: 3 Goals
by Katherine Dugan Katherine Dugan is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Springfield College in Massachusetts. She earned her PhD in Religious Studies from Northwestern University in 2015 and spent two years on the job market before her current … [Read more...] about The Teaching Demonstration: 3 Goals
The Dreaded Teaching Statement: Eight Pitfalls
We've looked at the Cover Letter and the CV; today we look at the Teaching Statement. An expanded and updated version of this post can now be found in Chapter 25 of my book, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into … [Read more...] about The Dreaded Teaching Statement: Eight Pitfalls
Update on My Book: Blurbs, Reviews, and a Promotion
The book inches closer to actually existing in the material world (August 4)! It has gotten some lovely blurbs by amazing people, like this one by the inimitable Rebecca Schuman: “If you would like your academic career to begin in delusion and end … [Read more...] about Update on My Book: Blurbs, Reviews, and a Promotion
Buy My Book!
Love the blog? Now get it in handy book form--only $11.40! Available for pre-order now--comes out August 4! Buy it at all these places! It also makes a great gift for all those struggling grad students in your life! For bulk orders for use … [Read more...] about Buy My Book!
Teaching: Not When and Where but What and How
When discussing teaching in the teaching paragraph of your letter, one of the temptations is to tell a chronological tale of how you taught as an adjunct here and an adjunct there, and taught this class in Fall 2012 and this other class in Spring … [Read more...] about Teaching: Not When and Where but What and How
The Weepy Teaching Statement: Just Say No
An expanded and updated version of this post can now be found in Chapter 25 of my new book, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job. I am keeping a shortened version here, but for the complete discussion including … [Read more...] about The Weepy Teaching Statement: Just Say No
Banish These Words
Do not use the words “unique” or “burgeoning” in any of your job documents. They are painfully overused. The first is just trite. The second is over-dramatic. That is all. … [Read more...] about Banish These Words
Damning Yourself With Faint Praise–Teaching Edition
For some reason people love to include undergraduate student feedback in the teaching paragraph of their job letters, and that feedback usually looks like this (from an actual letter): “Former students have consistently told me that I give helpful … [Read more...] about Damning Yourself With Faint Praise–Teaching Edition
What the Heck is “Assessment”? (A Guest Post)
Today's post is a Guest Post from a faithful reader and client on the tenure track, and also on the job market, who discovered some interesting points about "assessment" while she was at some interviews this year. More and more often, candidates … [Read more...] about What the Heck is “Assessment”? (A Guest Post)