September 2005
September 2005, Issue 22
Your College and You
Thank you for your interest in receiving breaking news and professional information from the College.
In this Issue:
The College's annual State of the Teaching Profession survey results reflect the views of 1,000 College members polled by telephone in July.
Smaller classes do matter, respondents to third annual College member survey say
Reducing class size will do the most to improve learning for Ontario students, say respondents to the College's third annual survey of members.
But that's in sharp contrast to a recently released CD Howe Institute study that says class size has little bearing on student achievement.
Released publicly today to coincide with the start of school and the distribution of Professionally Speaking, the College's annual State of the Teaching Profession survey results reflect the views of 1,000 College members polled by telephone in July.
The poll explored themes such as problems confronting Ontario schools, education reform ideas, teachers' experience in pre-service programs and public perceptions about the teaching profession.
Notable highlights include:
- 71 per cent of those polled think that multi-year collective agreements will result in system peace and stability
- 31 per cent perceive the provincial government as education friendly
- 91 per cent say smaller classes would do the most to improve student learning
- 71 per cent think that standardized testing is the least helpful education initiative
- 64 per cent shun the notion of becoming a school administrator.
Statistically, the sample is considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The survey, conducted by public opinion and market research firm COMPAS, Inc., provides a snapshot of teacher/educator opinions on education issues.
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The College web site has been redesigned and restructured to better reflect our users' needs.
Web site's new look
You will have noticed changes in the College's publications recently. The transformation is part of a College-wide project ensuring that materials have a consistent, high-quality and professional look.
As part of this initiative, the College launches its redesigned web site this September. The firm responsible for the College's new look is Hahn-Smith Design, whose other clients include the Art Gallery of Ontario, Harvard University and New York's Museum of Modern Art.
In conjunction with the visual shift, the web site has been restructured to better reflect our users' needs. You can quickly locate information on:
- College services
- what you need to become a teacher
- continuing professional development.
One section of the site has been created specifically for internationally trained teachers, and there's a new section for the media. The library now has its own navigation system, which will make it easier to locate library materials. And if you are looking for articles from Professionally Speaking, you'll find them under Publications.
The Investigations and Hearings section has a few minor adjustments while the Standards section is virtually unchanged.
Visit soon. If you haven't already done so, sign up in the Members' Area. Then drop in regularly to check out new services to be added this fall.
Your feedback and suggestions for improvements are welcome. Contact Lynda Scarrow at lscarrow@oct.ca.
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Cases for Teacher Development includes stories by 13 Ontario teachers who have struggled with real dilemmas.
Thirteen stories from Ontario teachers
A brand new book written by Ontario educators - available in English and French - is designed to aid teachers and teacher candidates.
How do we consider the needs of all our students when one of them is particularly difficult to handle?
What do we do when we are sharing a class with another teacher whose approach to classroom management is fundamentally different than ours?
How do we respond to parental concerns about a child with special needs?
These are a few of the questions addressed in Cases for Teacher Development: Preparing for the Classroom, developed by the Ontario College of Teachers and published by Sage.
The book includes stories by 13 Ontario teachers who have struggled with real dilemmas. Whether related to their own anxieties, their students' learning disabilities or their relationship with parents, the cases describe situations that most teachers will face at some point in their careers.
The honesty of their reflections will prove invaluable in preparing students at faculties of education as well as in guiding the work of more experienced teachers.
Cases for Teacher Development: Preparing for the Classroom is available for $38.95 at Sage Publications, www.sagepublications.com, or at Login Brothers Canada,
telephone 1-800-665-1148, www.lb.ca.
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The library will mail books and videos postage-free to your home
or school address.
Library Services for You
The library has a circulating collection of more than 3,000 books and videos, approximately 200 professional journals and many other resources. You can search the library database online from the College web site.
The library will mail books and videos postage-free to your home or school address. Using a special-return mailing label, you can mail books back to the library free of charge.
You can also request a literature search by library staff, who will mail, fax or e-mail the journal articles.
What's New in the Library is updated monthly and lists new items in the College library collection. You can borrow these items by contacting the library by phone, e-mail, fax or in person.
More information regarding the library and its resources or e-mail library@oct.ca.
Olivia Hamilton
Ontario College of Teachers
Margaret Wilson Library
121 Bloor St. E.
Toronto ON M4W 3M5
Phone: 416-961-8800 ext. 679 or 1-888-534-2222 ext. 679
Fax: 416-961-9838
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Ontario College of Teachers © 2005
