This paper explores the integration of Open Educational Practices (OEP) into an institutional strategy to develop distinctive excellence in teaching, learning and scholarship. The institution in the case study is a public polytechnic university serving a metropolitan area in Canada. If emerging Open Educational Practices are to flourish at our…

This study interviewed 45 ninth-grade teachers in 4 secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, in the spring of 1997 regarding their perceptions of their professional learning needs. Respondents were part of a 3-year research and development study, "Change Frames." Analysis is based on the view that the most meaningful teacher professional…

The concept of clinical supervision has for several years incorporated ideas about supervisory techniques that have recently received growing support from research on the implementation of innovations by teachers. Among these ideas are that supervision should be focused on teacher behaviors, that analysis of patterns of teacher behavior can help…

Teacher development is theoretically possible in those instructional supervision settings that emphasize collegiality. The paper reports and analyzes episodes taken from two cases in a larger study which investigated the different outcomes in teachers' classroom development associated with hierarchical and collegial approaches to instructional…

This article highlights the work of Ontario teachers who use research and inquiry in the classrooms as part of self-directed professional learning. It positions action research within the work of the Professional Affairs Department at the Ontario College of Teachers. It begins with a narrative account of the researcher's work as a program officer…

This paper explores the connection between workplace relationships and teacher development. Drawing on the first year of a 2-year qualitative study of teacher socialization, the paper explores the questions: With whom do beginning teachers form relationships in their new professional contexts? What is the nature of these relationships? What…

Research was conducted in 1972 to evaluate a program designed to improve the science teaching in grades seven, eight and nine in the Province of Saskatchewan. Since the program included a strategy for implementation and the use of an instructional package, a two-part evaluation was conducted. A general survey was used to evaluate the…

This paper focuses on Alberta, Canada's 1998 "Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation" policy, examining its origins and adoption along with the significant shift in images of teaching and supervision that it conveys. Both the process and substance of the policy are analyzed within the context of Alberta's larger plan to restructure…

This paper reports on research about professional development programs in environmental education for high school teachers in Quebec (Canada). A diagnostic research study was conducted to attempt to answer two questions: (1) what is the current status of environmental education in this sector of formal education?; and (2) how is environmental…

This paper discusses the value of action research in professional learning, presenting political and practical questions from the work of a primary school teacher who conducted action research on literacy with at-risk students and an intermediate school teacher, now a program officer at the Ontario College of Teachers who is helping create…

Educational organizations, particularly elementary and secondary schools are deeply institutionalized and notoriously resistant to change. British Columbia's "Program for Quality Teaching" (PQT), an innovative professional development program based on peer consultation, is described and analyzed in this paper. A portrait of PQT's 5-year…

This paper describes theoretical, political, and practical contexts for developing standards of practice for teaching, creating a framework for career-long professional learning and establishing a set of ethical standards for the profession. It positions the work of the Ontario College of Teachers within the broader context of Ontario education…

This study analyzed the implementation of a teacher performance appraisal process that encourages self-directed learning (SDL), highlighting the extent to which teacher efficacy (TE) influenced the its success. The study also examined whether lack of readiness for SDL was an implementation obstacle. Finally, it noted other barriers and obstacles…

This document reviews research on the implementation by teachers of new classroom procedures. The document also traces trends in methods for encouraging instructional innovation as these trends were influenced by the research findings. The report begins with an account of the curriculum reform movement, which featured nonteaching experts telling…

This paper provides an introduction to the mandate of the Standards of Practice and Education Unit of the Ontario College of Teachers and describes how the College is proceeding to address several challenging tasks. The tasks include the licensing of teachers trained in Ontario or other jurisdictions, disciplinary procedures, and in the…