OISE/UT Bulletin 2000/2001 -- University of Toronto Graduate Studies in Education | |||
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning - Teacher Development Program | |||
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Program Coordinator and Head, Centre for Teacher Development:
F. Michael Connelly
Core Faculty
C. Beck
C.T.P. Diamond
G. Feuerverger
B. Kilbourn
M. Kooy
C. Kosnik
Associated Faculty
P. Allen
L. Hannay
G. Wells
Teacher development as a field of educational study encompasses the development of teachers throughout their careers. The four degree programs (M.Ed., M.A., Ed.D., Ph.D.) are governed by the central idea that teaching is an act of inquiry and that teachers are inquirers and learners. The M.Ed. and Ed.D. programs are designed for practicing educators who wish to apply knowledge and skills in teacher development to the improvement of educational practice. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs are more theoretical in their orientation.
The two focus areas described below represent distinct but complementary lines of research. The program involves knowledge in both areas, which form the foundation of the field and contribute to research in teacher socialization and professionalization, policy and evaluation, and the social and political context of teacher education. Interwoven in both focus areas are issues of gender, language, culture, and identity, as well as the application of narrative research methodology.
1. Reflection, Inquiry, and Practice
Teacher development as a personal and social phenomenon; the relationship between knowledge and teacher development, including teacher identity, teacher learning, and teacher beliefs and practices. Through inquiring into their own and others' beliefs, histories, and practices, students learn to understand and facilitate the personal and professional development of teachers.
2. Improvement of Practice
Teacher development in the context of organizational and policy issues; the relationship between teacher development and school improvement - that is, how schools may create an organizational culture which enables teachers to improve their practices. Students will explore strategies, structures, and contexts which promote the development of schools, teachers, and students.
Master of Education
This degree is designed for practising educators who wish to apply knowledge and skills in teacher development to the improvement of educational practice. Applicants are accepted under the SGS general regulations, which specify an appropriate four-year University of Toronto bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a recognized university, completed with an academic standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year. Candidates with an appropriate three-year University of Toronto bachelor’s degree or its equivalent may also be accepted. One year of professional education for teaching, or the equivalent in pedagogical content, is recommended. Ordinarily, applicants will have at least one year of relevant, successful, professional experience prior to applying. Since the Teacher Development Program focuses on teaching in general, professional experience in education can include teaching in other areas (e.g., nursing).
The M.Ed. program consists of eight half-courses, four of which are normally undertaken in the program, plus a major research paper (MRP), and may be taken on a full or part-time basis. Additional study may be required either within the degree program or prior to admission. All requirements for the degree must be completed within six calendar years from first enrolment. (See the Minimum Admission, Program and Degree Requirements section for program requirements, pages 26 - 34)
Master of Arts
This degree is designed to provide academic study and research training related to teacher development. Applicants are accepted under the SGS general regulations. Admission normally requires a four-year University of Toronto bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, in a relevant discipline or professional program, completed with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year. Candidates with an appropriate three-year University of Toronto bachelor’s degree or its equivalent may also be accepted. Ordinarily, applicants will have at least one year of relevant, successful, professional experience prior to applying. Since the Teacher Development Program focuses on teaching in general, professional experience in education can include teaching in other areas (e.g., nursing). Students who anticipate going on to further study at the Ph.D. level are advised to apply for enrolment in an M.A. program rather than an M.Ed. program.
The M.A. program may be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis and consists of eight half-courses, four of which are normally undertaken in the program, and a thesis. Additional courses may be required of some applicants. All requirements for the degree must be completed within six calendar years from first enrolment. (See the Minimum Admission, Program and Degree Requirements section for program requirements, pages 26 - 34)
Doctor of Education
Applicants are accepted under SGS general regulations. A University of Toronto M.Ed. or M.A. in education or its equivalent from a recognized university, in the same area of specialization proposed at the doctoral level, completed with an average grade equivalent to a University of Toronto B+ or better is required. Further documentation may be required to establish equivalence. Applicants will ordinarily have a minimum of three years professional experience in education prior to applying. Admittance is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a Qualifying Research Paper (QRP) or a master’s thesis. An applicant’s admission will be confirmed, however, only when the QRP or master’s thesis is judged to be of sufficiently high quality to warrant admission.
The Ed.D. program normally consists of eight half-courses, four of which normally are undertaken in the program. Additional courses may be required of some candidates, depending on previous experience and academic qualifications. Students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination. A thesis embodying the results of an original investigation, and a final oral examination on the content and implications of the thesis are also required. The Ed.D. program includes one year of full time study, but, may be initiated on a full-time or part-time basis. All requirements for the degree must be completed within six calendar years from first enrolment. (See the Minimum Admission, Program and Degree Requirements section for program requirements, pages 26 - 34)
Doctor of Philosophy
Applicants are admitted under SGS general regulations. A University of Toronto master’s degree in education or its equivalent from a recognized university, in the same area of specialization as proposed at the doctoral level, completed with an average grade equivalent to a University of Toronto B+ or better is required. Further documentation may be required to establish equivalence. Applicants will ordinarily have a minimum of two years professional experience prior to applying. Admittance is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a Qualifying Research Paper (QRP) or a master’s thesis. A candidate’s admission will be confirmed, however, only when the QRP or master’s thesis is judged to be of sufficiently high quality to warrant admission.
The Ph.D. program normally consists of six half-courses, four of which normally are undertaken in the program. Additional courses may be required of some candidates, depending on previous experience and academic qualifications. Students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination. In addition, a thesis embodying the results of an original investigation, and a final oral examination on the content and implications of the thesis are required. The Ph.D. program must be initiated on a full-time basis and requires two years of consecutive full-time study. All requirements for the degree must be completed within six calendar years from first enrolment. (See the Minimum Admission, Program and Degree Requirements section for program requirements, pages 26 - 34)
The following is a list of courses offered within the Teacher Development program. Not all of the courses listed are offered in any given year.
CTL4000H Techniques for Improving Teaching
A critical review of current approaches to analysing teaching and an examination
of theoretical literature on the concept of teaching. The course involves reflection
on one's own teaching. Students should be currently teaching or have access
to a teaching situation.
B.S. Kilbourn
CTL4001H Facilitating Reflective Professional Development
Reflective practice is one means through which practitioners make site-based
decisions and through which they continue to learn in their professions. This
course will critically examine the research and professional literature concerning
the meaning of and the processes involved in reflective practice. Additionally,
as professional development is often associated with reflective practice, the
course will also identify and examine professional development strategies which
could facilitate reflective professional development. Students will critique
these models by utilizing the concepts from the reflective practice literature.
L.M. Hannay
CTL4002H Constructive Feedback in Teaching
This course concerns observing and giving feedback to teachers; it is experiential
and requires that students be able to observe and work with a colleague who
is currently teaching. The focus is on developing the skills of in-depth, systematic
analysis of classroom teaching and the skills of sensitive, informed, one-to-one
feedback. The course is particularly relevant to those with supervisory or professional
development responsibilities.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
B.S. Kilbourn
CTL4003H Teacher Development and School Improvement
This course examines various approaches to studying, describing, and explaining
teacher development at different stages in a teacher's career (e.g., preservice,
induction, inservice years). Particular emphasis is placed on the relationship
between teacher development policies, practices, and various approaches to school
improvement (e.g., inservice training, innovation implementation, effective
schools projects). Generally, the course considers how teacher development can
improve schools and how school improvement initiatives can influence teacher
development.
F.M. Connelly
CTL4004H From Student to Teacher: Professional Induction
This course will critically examine the various conceptual and structural approaches
to teacher education, including an inquiry-based, transformative orientation.
Participants engage in their own inquiries, exploring the ways in which they
have constructed a professional knowledge in their own lives, and in which other
professionals in transition participate in their professional development. Theoretical
perspectives, research methodologies and research findings are discussed for
the purposes of deepening our understandings of our current teaching and research
practices, and of engaging in the ongoing construction and reconstruction of
professional knowledge.
M. Kooy
CTL4005H Perspectives in Teacher Education
This course uses arts-based textual strategies such as stories, self-narratives,
poems, split text, duologue, palimpsest, and visuals to explore teacher-researcher
development. As in a postmodern Gothic mystery, development is represented as
a detective thriller with an ongoing contest between aspects of a teacher-self
and its context. The protagonists include "the teacher I hope to become" and
"missing or 'kidnapped' parts of teacher-self" such as child-artist. The antagonists
include "the teacher I fear to remain" and "false, idealized teacher-selves".
"The teacher I am" provides a staging point for the next round of development.
In a series involving transformation, arrest, or resistance, any ending only
provokes new beginnings.
C.T.P. Diamond
CTL4006H Text, Values, and Teacher Development
This course examines contemporary literary and cultural theories regarding the
meanings of a variety of texts. It helps participants to identify key texts
of their lives and work and to examine the multiple meanings, inherent values,
and possible implications within them. Ways in which the interpretations of
texts reveal, reinforce, and challenge values in school and society are explored.
Emphasis is placed upon the teacher as participant and mediator in the process
of textual inquiry.
J. Aitken
CTL4007H Language, Culture, and Identity: Using the Literary Text in Teacher
Development
The literary text is used as a vehicle for reflection on issues of language
and ethnic identity maintenance and for allowing students an opportunity to
live vicariously in other ethnocultural worlds. The focus is on autobiographical
narrative within diversity as a means to our understanding of the "self" in
relation to the "other". The course examines the complex implications of understanding
teacher development as autobiographical/biographical text. We then extend this
epistemological investigation into more broadly conceived notions of meaning-making
that incorporate aesthetic and moral dimensions within the multicultural/anti-racist/anti-bias
teacher educational enterprise.
G. Feuerverger
CTL4008H Knowing and Teaching
This course examines how knowledge is developed, explores the relationships
among different kinds of knowledge (e.g., moral, scientific, religious, aesthetic),
and identifies the various philosophical bases of such school subjects as English,
history, and math. It examines the relationship between issues about knowing
and issues about teaching. For example, the questions of what and how we should
teach are addressed from the standpoint of different kinds of "knowing." The
course is oriented toward secondary school but is not confined to any particular
subject-matter specialty. It is not assumed that students will have a background
in philosophy.
B.S. Kilbourn
CTL4009H Multicultural Perspectives in Teacher Development: Reflective Practicum
This course will focus on the dynamics of multiculturalism within the individual
classroom and their implications for teacher development. It is intended to
examine how teachers can prepare themselves in a more fundamental way to reflect
on their underlying personal attitudes toward the multicultural micro-society
of their classrooms. Discussions will be concerned with the interaction between
personal life histories and the shaping of assumptions about the teaching-learning
experience, especially in the multicultural context. The course will have a
"hands-on" component, where students (whether practising teachers or teacher/researchers)
will have the opportunity to become participant-observers and reflect upon issues
of cultural and linguistic diversity within the classroom.
G. Feuerverger
CTL4010H Action Research in Language and Learning
This course focuses on teachers' classroom-based research as a mode of professional
development and is most appropriate for those interested in carrying out such
research. Although the term "language" appears in the title, this is intended
to indicate the principal kind of evidence that will be considered rather than
to delimit the range of possible topics for investigation. Educational practitioners
other than classroom teachers may also find action research relevant to the
practice of their professional responsibilities. Particular attention will be
given to such issues as topic selection, methodology, data collection and analysis,
and the interpretation of evidence, as well as to the consideration of course
members' specific areas of inquiry and of the role of action research more widely
within the education system.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
C.G. Wells
CTL4011H Teaching and School Renewal
This course is designed for those interested in where schooling should be going
today and what form life in classrooms and schools should take. No background
in philosophy of education is required. The everyday problems facing teachers
will be considered, with special attention to the concerns of elementary schooling.
C.M. Beck
CTL4797H Practicum in Teacher Development Program: Master's Level
Supervised experience in an area of fieldwork, under the direction of faculty
and field personnel. Inquire at the department office at least two weeks before
the beginning of term.
Staff
CTL4798H Individual Reading and Research in Teacher Development Program:
Master's Level
Specialized study, under the direction of a staff member, focusing on topics
of particular interest to the student. While course credit is not given for
a thesis investigation proper, the study may be closely related to a thesis
topic.
Staff
CTL4799H Special Topics in Teacher Development Program: Master's Level
A course designed to permit the study (in a formal class setting) of specific
areas of teacher development not already covered in the courses listed for the
current year. (This course does not fulfil the purpose of CTL4798, which is
normally conducted on a tutorial basis.)
Staff
CTL4800H Seminar: Current Problems in Teacher Development and Curriculum
Studies: Apprenticeship
The examination of a current topic or problem in teacher development and curriculum
studies through an apprenticeship. Students will present one or more seminar
papers, or may use the course to develop a research proposal. Topics and apprenticeship
sites will vary from year to year depending upon the interests of course members.
F.M. Connelly and staff
CTL4801H Narrative and Story in Research and Professional Practice
A seminar on narrative and story telling in the study of educational experience.
Narrative is explored both as a fundamental form of experience and as a collection
of methods for the study of experience. Narrative traditions in literary, philosophical,
psychological and professional literatures are studied. Review of published
theses and dissertations. Students should bring practical research agendas.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
F.M. Connelly
CTL4802H Doctoral Seminar in Qualitative Research on Teaching
Critical examination of current qualitative paradigms of research on teaching.
The course requires fieldwork research, which serves as the basis for seminar
discussions. Students will have the opportunity to develop and present research
ideas.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
B.S. Kilbourn
CTL4803Y Women as Change Agents in Educational Systems
This course provides an overview of the experiences of girls and women in educational
institutions from many perspectives. How women have historically influenced
the culture, climate, and curriculum of schools will be discussed as well as
the ways in which the occupational culture and conditions of the work place,
teacher ideology, and societal expectations act as barriers and blocks to change
initiated by females. New possibilities for women to act as change agents by
altering classroom interactions will be explored through revised methods of
evaluation, and through the understanding that they can provide leadership whatever
their role in the system. In considering how women may act as agents for change,
the texts of film, novel, story, visual art, and our own lives will be drawn
upon. Participants play an active role in the design of the course and in making
use of it for their own development as teachers.
J. Aitken
CTL4804H Alternative Theoretical Perspectives in the Study of Curriculum
Practice and Teacher Development
A critical analysis of various theoretical perspectives used in classroom-based
curriculum research, including those from psychology, analytic philosophy, sociology,
and "curriculum theory." These are examined and assessed as they influence problem
selection, the nature of resulting knowledge claims, and the relative power
and usefulness of personal and professional development for curriculum development.
Students are expected to make seminar presentations of developing thesis ideas.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
F.M. Connelly or staff
CTL4805H Research and Inquiry in Teacher Education
This course enables teacher-researchers to represent, reflect on, and redirect
their journeys as they prepare for and complete a field project/thesis proposal/thesis.
Different perspectives on teacher knowledge, classroom practice, education,
and research provide them with contrasting inquiry maps. Qualitative forms such
as life history explore a person's context (the bios), while narrative, arts-based
writing (the graphia) highlights personal experience (the auto). Narrative consists
of different traditions, including anthropological, psychological, sociological
and literary approaches. Arts-based narrative is a postmodern form that encourages
researchers to use textual and visual forms (stories, poems, split text) to
reconstruct experience. Such self-reflexive and collaborative inquiries promote
professional development.
C.T.P. Diamond
CTL4997H Practicum in Teacher Development Program: Doctoral Level
Supervised experience in an area of fieldwork, under the direction of faculty
and field personnel. Inquire at the department office at least two weeks before
the beginning of term.
Staff
CTL4998H Individual Reading and Research in Teacher Development Program:
Doctoral Level
Specialized study, under the direction of a staff member, focusing on topics
of particular interest to the student. While course credit is not given for
a thesis investigation proper, the study may be closely related to a thesis
topic.
Staff
CTL4999H Special Topics in Teacher Development Program: Doctoral Level
A course designed to permit the study (in a formal class setting) of specific
areas of teacher development not already covered in the courses listed for the
current year. (This course does not fulfil the purpose of CTL4998, which is
normally conducted on a tutorial basis.)
Staff
NOTE: The following course may also be of interest to students in the Teacher Development Program:
CTL1016H Cooperative Learning
OISE/UT Bulletin 2000/2001 -- University of Toronto Graduate Studies in Education | |||
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