What research direction is needed in the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education? Over a decade ago, Windschitl (1998) advocated for more research on in- creasing student inquiry through the World Wide Web and illuminating web-based stu- dent communication. The release and then extensive development of a model of online communities of inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) responded to Windschitl’s call. In addition to continued work in these two areas, a stronger research focus on learn- ing theory and everyday use of Web 2.0 technologies is required (Greenhow, Robelia, & Hughes, 2009; Zawacki-Richter, Anderson, & Tunca, 2010).
Abstract
Inspired by Ontario’s burgeoning interest in postsecondary student mobil- ity, this article examines how elements of Europe’s Bologna Process can help bridge the college–university divide of Ontario’s postsecondary system. Via discourse analysis of relevant qualification frameworks and program stan- dards, it argues that the current system disadvantages students by failing to recognize that the Ontario advanced (three-year) diploma in Architectural Technology is equivalent to a baccalaureate-level qualification in the inter- national context. The article concludes by discussing the larger significance of these findings in terms of ongoing debates about the “changing places” (HESA, 2012) of degrees in the Canadian higher education system.
Résumé
Inspirés par l’intérêt naissant de l’Ontario envers la mobilité des étudiants postsecondaires, les auteurs du présent article examinent comment les éléments du processus de Bologne en Europe peuvent contribuer à combler le fossé collège-université du système d’enseignement postsecondaire de l’Ontario. Grâce à l’analyse du discours portant sur des normes de programme et des structures de qualification pertinents, l’article fait valoir que le système actuel désavantage les étudiants du
fait qu’il omet de reconnaître que le diplôme ontarien de niveau avancé (trois ans) en technologie de l’architecture équivaut à une qualification d’un niveau correspondant au baccalauréat dans un contexte international. Enfin, l’article conclut en abordant l’importance plus grande de ces constatations en termes de débats ayant cours à propos des « autres lieux » (HESA, 2012) des diplômes ou grades du système d’enseignement supérieur du Canada.
This study examines 143 graduate assignments across 12 faculties or schools in a Canadian university in order to identify types of writing tasks. Based on the descriptions provided by the instructors, we identified nine types of assignments,
with scholarly essay being the most common, followed by summary and response, literature review, project, review, case analysis, proposal, exam, and creative writing. Many assignments are instructor-controlled and have specific content requirements. Some are also process-oriented, providing students with teacher or peer feedback on outlines or initial drafts, suggestions for topic choices, and examples of good writing. With an overview of the types of writing tasks across campus, the study has implications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) or graduate writing program designers,
material developers, educators working within and across disciplines, and researchers interested in the types of university writing assignments in Canada.
In this article, we analyze a broad range of factors that affect the sense of belonging of undergraduate students taking a first-year academic literacy course (ALC) at a multicultural, multilingual university in Vancouver, Canada. Students who fail to meet the university’s language and literacy requirements are required to pass ALC before they can enrol in writing courses across the disciplines. Consequently, many of those students feel that they have yet to be accepted as fully legitimate members of the university community. We present data from a two-year, mixed-method study, which involved asking students in surveys and interviews about their sense of belonging, as well as analyzing their reflective writing samples for issues related to their sense of belonging. We found that the participants’ perceptions of sense of belonging are multilayered and context-dependent, relating to changes in time and space, classroom pedagogy, and other social, cultural, and linguistic factors. Implications for higher education are discussed.
One of the primary functions of many Ontario universities and colleges is to provide students with a high quality teaching and learning experience. However, as resources are stretched and postsecondary institutions focus more on research, funding into teaching development and support has been put at risk. A number of additional challenges – including rising
student/faculty ratios and class sizes, an aging faculty population, outdated methods of instruction and curriculum design, and uneven access to teaching development for new instructors – are making it even more difficult to develop and maintain quality teaching. Many student associations, faculty and administrators, the general public, as well as provincial government officials have agreed that the quality of the teaching and learning experience available to students at Ontario’s colleges and universities is increasingly at risk.
ACT has been measuring college readiness trends for several years. The Condition of College & Career Readiness
is ACT’s annual report on the progress of the graduating class relative to college readiness. This year, 54.3% of the graduating class took the ACT® college readiness assessment. The increased number of test takers enhances the breadth and depth of the data pool, providing a comprehensive picture of the current graduating class in the context of readiness levels as well as offering a glimpse of the emerging educational pipeline.
Team-based learning, or TBL, is an application-oriented teaching method that combines small- and large-group learning by incorporating multiple small groups into a large group setting. It has been increasingly used in postsecondary and professional
education over the past two decades. Given this increasing us- age, many faculty wonder about the effects TBL has on learning outcomes. The authors performed a review and synthesis on the educational literature with respect to TBL to examine the quality of their descriptions of core TBL elements, then con- structed narrative summaries of these selected articles. Their analysis demonstrated early evidence of positive educational outcomes in terms of knowledge acquisition, participation and engagement, and team performance. The authors conclude that the TBL literature is at an important maturation point, where more rigorous testing and study of additional questions relating to the method are needed, as well as more accurate reporting of
TBL implementation.
Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology (CAATs) were granted authority to offer degrees in 2000, and the first degree programs were offered in 2002. The rationale for granting colleges permission to offer degrees was threefold: first it was to meet the needs of a higher skilled workforce in a changing economic, social and political environment: second, it was to widen access to degrees for Ontarians overall, but particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are more likely to attend a college than a university; and third, it was anticipated that college degrees would be less expensive than university degrees for students and governments (Skolnik 2016b)
This background paper was commissioned as a “jumping-off-point” for a CACUSS pre-conference workshop: Student Mental Health: A Call to Action, being held at Ryerson University on June 19, 2011. The three over-arching questions to be addressed at this workshop are:
1) Where are we now?
2) Where do we want to be?
3) How should we get there?
This paper is framed around these same three questions, with a goal of painting a broad picture of where things are at now in Canada and internationally and seeding some potentially provocative ideas about how we might move forward with further discussion and action.
This background paper as well as proceedings from the CACUSS pre-conference will inform the development of a comprehensive framework for promoting post-secondary student
“It is time for a renewal of thought, discussion and action about student health. Our expanding
knowledge of the processes and paradigms of learning, emerging institutional commitments to student
success, and a revised formulation of the elements of health itself demand that our
facility-centered, service-
mental health.
The Ontario university sector is already somewhat differentiated. A policy decision to increase the differentiation of the postsecondary system brings the following benefits:
• Higher quality teaching and research programs
• More student choice with easier inter‐institution transfer and mobility
• Greater institutional accountability
• A more globally competitive system
• A more financially sustainable system
This article presents the results of a national study of 39 higher education institutions that collected information about their practices for faculty development for online teaching and particularly the content and training activities used during 2011-2012. An instrument of 26 items was developed based on a review of literature on faculty development for online teaching and analyzed in Meyer (2014). The study found that 72%(n=29) organizations used learning style theory as a basis for their training activities, followed by 69% that used adult learning (Merriam, 2001) and self-directed learning (Knowles, 1975), 64% that used Kolb's (1984)experiential learning model, 59% that used Knowles' (1975) andragogy theories, and 54% that used various instructional design models. Models of good practice were strongly favored (79%) over research on online learning (31%) or theories of learning (23%) in faculty training. Pedagogies of online learning were most important to 92% of the respondents, while research about online learning was most important to only 23% of those who completed the survey. Differences based on Carnegie classification were also found.
In this paper, we exploit a rich longitudinal data set to explore the forces that, during high school, shape the development of aspirations to attend university and achieve academic success. We then investigate how these aspirations, along with grades and other variables, impact educational outcomes such as going to university and graduating. It turns out that parental
expectations and peer factors have direct and indirect effects on educational outcomes through their impact on both grades and aspirations. Policy measures that enlighten parents about the value of education may positively modify educational outcomes.
As the world continues to watch the evolving implications of the Trump administration’s executive orders to restrict certain nationalities from entering the United States, academic institutions have been acting swiftly in response, from university presidents issuing statements against the ban, to widespread student protests. Many campus communities agree international students and scholars not only bring diversity to a university campus, but also contribute to vital research and diverse perspectives to global affairs.
This paper examines the long-term labour market premiums associated with completing a college certificate and a bachelor's degree, compared to completing a high school diploma. Several labour market outcomes of individuals are examined with longitudinal data over a 20- year period spanning their mid-30s to their mid-50s. The findings show that individuals who have a bachelor's degree or a college certificate have more favourable labour market outcomes over their working lives than individuals who have only a high school diploma. More specifically, the earnings premium associated with a bachelor's degree over the 20-year period ranges, on average, from $728,000 for men to $442,000 for women. For a college certificate, the premium is $248,000 for men and $180,000 for women, on average. The earnings premium associated with a bachelor's degree is much larger at the top of the distribution for men than it is for women. The study also finds that, for both men and women, a bachelor's degree and a college certificate are associated with more years of coverage in an employer-sponsored pension plan
and fewer layoffs than a high school diploma.
Students today come from all walks of life. Traditional students, straight from a high school setting, now represent only a portion of the student population in colleges and universities. This is largely due to students fulfilling needs around work, family, and obligations outside of the traditional educational setting. These students bring with them wonderful personal and professional experiences that not only enhance the classroom experience, but also shape and contribute to their educational goals and aspirations. Many students feel they should be able to utilize their life experiences as part of their educational journey. This document will examine offering credit for life experiences, and how it can be mutually beneficial for students and institutions.
Vision
The post-secondary destination of choice for internationally acclaimed, career-focused education
that is essential to an inclusive, prosperous and globally competitive Ontario.
Mission
Colleges will lead educational innovations and advance public policy reforms to build the
advanced workforce required to support new economic investments, rewarding careers and strong
communities throughout Ontario.
COLLEGES ONTARIO
Fuelling Prosperity: Colleges Ontario’s strategic plan 2015-18
Our Values
■ Student success: We promote inclusive college programs and services that will enable all
qualified students to graduate to meaningful careers.
■ Learning and teaching excellence: We drive an innovative learning environment that focuses on
best practices and delivers the high-quality, relevant education required by students and the
labour market.
■ Responsiveness: We are responsive to our communities and to the needs of the labour market.
■ Collaboration: We act as one voice on critical issues in higher education while recognizing and
respecting each other’s unique differences.
■ Strong stewardship: We are committed to excellent stewardship of public resources.
Accelerated courses continue to be part of the changing academic landscape at Canadian universities. However, there is limited evidence to support their efficacy in relation to knowledge retention. A greater understanding of knowledge retention associated with accelerated courses (i.e., intensive full-day course for a one- or two-week duration) as compared to traditional courses (i.e., one three-hour lecture once a week for 12 weeks) will provide university stakeholders and administrators with evidence to determine whether quicker courses should be pursued in the postsecondary education environment.
Executive Summary
Ontario is Canada’s largest provincial destination for immigrants. Language barriers, lack of recognition for foreign credentials and lack of work experience in Canada prevent many from gaining employment in their field of expertise.
There is an urgent and growing need for occupation-specific language training in Ontario. Immigrants cannot apply their experience, skills and knowledge without the level of language proficiency needed in the workplace, but there are not enough language training opportunities to meet their needs. Shortages of skilled workers in many sectors will increasingly hinder
Ontario’s economic prosperity.
The 60-hour, online doctor of education program will begin in August and include coursework in the following three tracks: higher education, college teaching and research.
The University of North Georgia (UNG) has been approved by the Board of Regents to offer a doctor of education degree with a major in higher education leadership and practice, the second doctoral program available at the
university.
"The program will prepare individuals who have had leadership experiences already in K-12 programs and who now seek positions in educator preparation," said Dr. Susan Brandenburg-Ayres, dean of the College of Education at UNG. "Candidates for the program might also be adjuncts with graduate degrees, student affairs professionals or educators with master's or education specialist degrees."
Pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the 60-hour,
online program will begin in August with 12 to 15 candidates and include coursework in the following three tracks:
higher education, college teaching and research.
Education PLUS is the hidden dividend that learners come to acquire if they are educated in what we call the new pedagogies ‐ powerful new learning modes steeped in real world problem solving now made more telling through recent, rapid developments in the use of technology for interactive learning.
We can and will define the core learning outcomes as the ‘Six Cs of Deep Learning’, but we first must understand the existential essence of this new human being. It is no exaggeration to say that the new pedagogies have the potential to support a fundamental transformation in human evolution. The result is that action, reflection, learning and living can now become one and the same. This seamless ‘ecology’ of life and learning occurs during what we used to know as formal schooling, post‐secondary and higher education, but then continues throughout life. In this model, learning, doing, knowing, adapting, inventing and living become practically indistinguishable. Although we offer here a philosophical note on Education PLUS we are deeply involved with practitioners around the world in doing this new work of learning on an increasingly large and deep scale. The
developments we describe are happening in real time, and we predict will take off in the immediate future.