While much literature has considered feedback and professional growth in formative peer reviews of teaching, there has been little empirical research conducted on these issues in the context of summative peer reviews. This article explores faculty members' perceptions of feedback practices in the summative peer review of teaching and reports…

Academic dishonesty is an issue that post-secondary institutions are having difficulty resolving. More than 100 studies have been conducted over the past 30 years, yet these studies have not provided data necessary to effectively address this problem. Indeed, research indicates that academic dishonesty is increasing. The purpose of this study was…

This paper analyzes the ideological orientations of Canadian university professors based on a unique 2000 study of a representative sample of Canadian academics (n=3,318). After summarizing methodological problems with extant research on this subject, and tentatively comparing the political views of Canadian and American academics, the paper…

Findings from a comparative case study conducted in Canada and Qatar are presented in this article. The study examined the cultural context of a transnational post-secondary program offered by the Faculty of Business at a Canadian college, with campuses located in both St. John's and Doha. The instructors' perceptions of their students' cultures…

The purpose of faculty development in terms of the educational role is to assist faculty in becoming better educators. Educational peer review (EPR) is one method of faculty development. This article is based on a study that explored the different development needs of nursing faculty within a school of nursing at an Ontario university. The study…

This paper reports on a pilot study that involved introducing writing tutors or writing fellows into a compulsory, third-year economics course with the intent of incorporating both writing across the curriculum and writing intensive elements. The connections and interrelationships between writing and writing intensive courses are set out briefly…

In Canada, non-permanent faculty are no longer simply a reserve, flexible labour pool available for administrators to draw on when needed (e.g. during times of fluctuating enrollments); rather, they represent a strategy utilized by universities to reduce overall labour costs. In this article I bring together Women's Studies, feminism, contingent…

This article reports the findings of a university's pilot project documenting the impact of an intervention entitled Course (Re)design for Internationalization Workshop (CRIW) on faculty perspectives and their subsequent willingness to engage in internationalization of the curriculum. Two main theories, transformative learning (Mezirow, 1991) and…

Students, faculty and administrators at a major Canadian university were surveyed to investigate the utility or "consequential validity" of student ratings of instructors. Of the 1,229 (approximately equal number of males and females) students and alumni, about half (52%) indicated that they had never used the ratings, but of those who did use it,…

Reflecting on one's teaching practice is often an implicit goal for faculty development programs. Yet very little has been documented on how programs for diverse groups of university teachers actually engage faculty in such reflection. This paper examines how theoretical constructs of reflective practice were applied in the context of an 8-month…

Investigated the proposition that the mathematics skills of first year entrants into the faculties of mathematics, engineering, science, and applied health sciences have declined at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Scores from diagnostic tests show a decline to the mid 1990s, but scores then level out. A survey completed by 52 faculty members…

Offers a rationale for using cooperative learning in higher education, identifying six elements essential to its success: positive interdependence; face-to-face verbal interaction; individual accountability; social skills; group processing; appropriate grouping. Describes and compares three distinct approaches in medicine, dentistry, and…

A study with nine physics students in a Quebec university found they saw themselves learning primarily outside the classroom as they solved assigned problems, saw few new concepts being introduced, and felt they had moved beyond memorization to application of concepts to problem solving. Students' perceptions were sometimes at odds with teachers'…

Reports a study of 20 Canadian associate professors, aged 41-59, which explored how faculty experience the mid-career and mid-life period in academic and community work, personal and family relationships, and sense of self. Identifies a variety of difficult issues for this population, but proposes that adult development theory suggests potential…

Faculty at two small Canadian universities were surveyed concerning their research activities and preferences, views of themselves as researchers, and factors they felt constrained or facilitated research activities. Respondents were highly committed to research. Teaching and nonteaching commitments, availability of graduate students, limitations…