The 2007 Bondar Report, "Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future," generated a vision for environmental curricula in Ontario. It has been the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for environmental education (EE) in all Ontario schools. Based on our research and personal reflections, this paper…

At the time of writing, the first community colleges in Ontario were preparing for transition to an accreditation model from an audit system. This paper revisits constructivist literature, arguing that a more pragmatic definition of constructivism effectively blends positivist and interactionist philosophies to achieve both student centred…

The benefits of play to children's development and academic learning are often discussed in the research. However, inconsistencies in definitions of play and differing perspectives concerning the purpose of play in educational settings make it challenging for teachers to determine how to productively integrate play-based pedagogies into their…

Within the current standards-based framework of early primary education, teachers must negotiate the integration of assessment with traditional, developmental orientations to teaching and learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine teachers' approaches to early primary assessment within five different school contexts: public,…

First conceptualized by Friedrich Froebel as a "children's garden," kindergarten classrooms in Canada today emphasize play and exploration as the primary methods of learning and development. This garden provides multiple opportunities for children to become lost in spontaneous play and creative interactions with peers. Kindergarten has…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2013, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1 to 3 of June. Education, in a global sense, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the…

Renewed calls for greater accountability within schools have led to a rapid expansion of standards-based reforms across the Western world. Establishing and raising standards, and measuring the attainment of those standards, are intended to encourage excellence in our schools. Yet concern is increasing about the fairness of external testing and the…

Proponents of standards-based reform claim that student achievement testing increases accountability and allows for greater instructional consistency. Performance across schools, boards, provinces, and even countries internationally can be compared and contrasted with the aim of identifying exemplary teaching practices. Teachers can also use…

In the spring of 2002 the Ontario College of Teachers began a research project in order to foster awareness of the "Standards of Practice" for the 187 000 teachers in the province. Case work, in which 18 teachers representative of the College's membership wrote narratives describing their professional dilemmas, was the methodology…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' use of literature-based collaborative Internet projects (CIP) in their elementary classrooms. These practices require two or more classrooms to read and analyze texts on specified topics and then share responses over the Internet. The participants, all female, represented 15 different U.S. states…

In November, 1995, ABC CANADA and the National Literacy Secretariat hosted a national think tank on principles of good practice in workplace and workforce education. This report contains the results of the think tank sessions, including how the discussion was conducted, a list of good practice statements, and some ideas about how to conduct a…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

Research indicates that thoughtful technology use can positively influence learning process inside and outside the classroom, and one-to-one computing has been gaining popularity. Although some view such initiatives as passing, others look at the mounting research and see opportunities to reshape the nature of instruction and learning. This brief…

This document presents a total of 109 references and annotations of works that are in some way related to the topic of math for learning and life. Section 1 presents 68 annotated references with keywords drawn from the Canadian Literacy Thesaurus. Selected topics covered in the listed publications are as follows: numeracy as social practice; the…