In Canada, educational leadership is a term often used to describe specific types of academic and scholarly work in universities, colleges, CEGEPs, other post-secondary institutions (and in K-12 contexts, where the term's usage is entirely distinct). Our interest is in how educational leadership is framed in the specific context of Canadian…

This study examines undergraduates' research practices, as described in reflective essays submitted in applications to a library research award. Thematic analysis of 24 student award essays identified three strong themes in student reflections about their research experiences. Students experienced research as a social process, made meaning closely…

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship (3MNTF) has been part of the Canadian higher education landscape for the past 31 years and has grown to be a community of 328 fellows, with up to ten more being added each year. As part of the 30-year anniversary of the Fellowship, we initiated a study to understand its impacts on the higher education community…

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship (3MNTF) is the highest award in teaching in Canada and was first awarded in 1986, yet to date there has been no research measuring its impact on individual winners and their institutions. As part of this project, two focus groups were conducted at the 3MNTF Retreat in Banff, with the 2012 cohort, 3M retreat…

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship is a national teaching award program that has recognized over 300 teachers at more than 80 Canadian universities for their teaching excellence and outstanding educational leadership. Despite its rich, 30 plus-year history, its impact has remained largely anecdotal. In this study, we build on Hannah and Lester's…

SoTL Canada recently conducted a survey to gain insight into the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) activities of faculty and staff at institutions of higher education across Canada. Questions were guided by several principles, including: (a) identifying who is doing SoTL (such as personal, institutional, geographical and professional…

Quality teaching and how to assess and award it, continue to be an area of scholarship and debate in higher education. While the literature demonstrates that assessment should be multifaceted, operationalizing this is no easy task. To gain insight into how teaching excellence is defined in Canadian higher education, this empirical study collected…

This study examined online student feedback to determine the extent to which students identify strengths of character in their perceptions of professors and whether student-identified character strengths could distinguish between teaching-award winners (n = 120) and research-award winners (n = 119). A content analysis of posted comments on…

This article analyses the information literacy (IL) competencies of high-achieving undergraduate students through the lens of undergraduate research celebrations in a North American University. This article focuses on York University's Undergraduate Research Fair, and shares findings from an analysis of students' IL award submissions including…

In this article, the authors present the 2012 Campus Technology Innovators. These IT leaders have deployed extraordinary technology solutions to meet campus challenges. The authors also recognize the vendors and products involved in making these innovative projects a success. The 10 winners are: (1) University of Arizona (Student Systems and…

History of science can be used to bring scientific concepts to school science in a way that humanizes the protagonists and provides an appropriate context. The authors have researched the 1909 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) in Winnipeg, a significant event in the city's history that has remained largely…

We were interested in how preparing for a national teaching award influences those who subsequently receive awards and whether these influences expand higher education's exploration of teaching excellence or limit it. We explored these interests by conducting semi-structured telephone interviews with 10 awardees from five different countries and…

We evaluate the effects of academic achievement awards for first and second-year college students on a Canadian commuter campus. The award scheme offered linear cash incentives for course grades above 70. Awards were paid every term. Program participants also had access to peer advising by upperclassmen. Program engagement appears to have been…

On a chilly Toronto evening in November 2005, an envelope was opened in a darkened auditorium, and the words spoken reached out across the land to Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan. No doubt Lindsay Knight's family was watching the televised Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards that night and would have felt elated to hear her being honored with…

Tight budgets and an uncertain economy did not diminish creativity for the 2009 CASE Circle of Excellence Award winners. In fact, judges gave 19 Grand Gold awards this year, a significant increase over recent years. The program received 2,800 entries from 690 member institutions, representing 13 different countries. Forty-four panels of volunteer…