OISE Teaching Awards
Nominations for the 2024-2025 OISE Teaching Awards are now open. Nominate an OISE teacher who inspires you by January 31, 2025!
Award Categories
Teaching is at the heart of OISE’s mission and OISE’s Teaching Awards are one important way of recognizing excellence in teaching.
Established in 2004-2005 by OISE Council, the Awards also build and promote a robust culture of teaching within the Institute and support our teaching and learning mission and reputation.
The following awards, criteria and nomination guidelines have been established to honour and reward OISE’s excellent teachers. Please take the time to nominate someone whose teaching is truly exceptional.
*Note: The Award for Excellence in Continuing and Professional Learning is administered by the at OISE. If you are interested in nominating someone for this award, contact: oise.cpl@utoronto.ca.
Nomination-Based Award Categories
David E. Hunt Award for Excellence in Graduate Education
This award was created as a tribute to Professor David Hunt on the occasion of his retirement from OISE, to honor his 50 years of university teaching, and in recognition of his exceptional contributions to graduate teaching. The award recognizes faculty members for sustained contributions to teaching, supervision and mentorship of students in graduate education inspiring students to reach excellence in scholarship and become successful professionals. Nominations will be assessed based on demonstrated ability to foster an enriching teaching and learning experience and impact on graduate students, as well as demonstrated excellence in teaching and supervision at the graduate level.
Evidence of excellence in at least three of the following areas is required:
- Instruction (classroom, lab, virtual)
- Supervision/mentoring of graduate students
- Course design and/or curriculum development
- Development of innovative teaching methods
- Development of innovative educational materials
- Leadership to improve teaching
- How teaching informs the nominee’s research and how research impacts teaching practice
- Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in teaching
- Commitment to professional growth and/or effective collaboration with colleagues and education partners
Award Eligibility
OISE faculty members holding continuing tenure stream or teaching stream appointments with more than two years of graduate teaching experience in OISE graduate programs (MA, MEd, PhD and EdD) other than teacher education programs. As a career achievement award, the David E. Hunt Award for Excellence in Graduate Education can only be awarded once; previous recipients are ineligible for nomination.
Excellence in Initial Teacher Education
The Award for Excellence in Initial Teacher Education recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching and learning in teacher education programs at OISE impacting the development of the next generation of excellent teachers. Nominees’ contributions will be assessed based on demonstrated impact on teacher candidates and the ability to foster enriching teaching and learning experience, as well as demonstrated excellence in teaching and/or supervision in teacher education programs.
Contributions can be made in one or more of the following areas:
- Instruction (classroom, lab, virtual)
- Advising/Supervision/Mentoring of teacher candidates
- Course design and/or curriculum development
- Development of innovative teaching methods
- Development of innovative educational materials
- Leadership to improve teaching
- Research on teaching
- Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in teaching
- Commitment to professional growth and development and/or effective collaboration with colleagues and education partners
Award Eligibility
OISE faculty members holding a tenure stream or teaching stream appointment, contractually-limited term appointment, part-time academic appointment, or sessional lecturer appointment with at least two years teaching experience in teacher education programs at OISE (MT, MA-CSE). This award can only be awarded once; previous recipients are ineligible for nomination.
Excellence in Educational Leadership
This award recognizes faculty members who have made sustained contributions to the advancement of teaching, broadly conceived, and to educational change and innovation within and beyond the Institute. Nominations will be assessed based on demonstrated ability to impact student learning by leading major initiatives that promote effective teaching, foster curricular innovation and pedagogical/professional development, shape education policy and practice, and contribute to research on teaching.
Evidence of excellence in at least three of the following areas is required:
- Curriculum and program development
- Coordination of programs, cohorts, options or other program level and institutional initiatives
- Advising/consultation/policy development on teaching/curriculum to departments or organizations outside OISE
- Leading or contributing to major educational change and policy initiatives with external organizations/institutions doing work complementary to OISE’s academic mission
- Engagement with teaching and learning committees, centres, associations and community organizations
- Development of innovative approaches to teaching and learning using technology
- Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in teaching
- Commitment to professional growth/active engagement in professional development of others
- Integration of scholarship with teaching, including contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Award Eligibility
OISE faculty members holding a tenure stream or teaching stream appointment, contractually-limited term appointment, part-time academic appointment, or sessional lecturer appointment with at least two years teaching experience at OISE. This award can only be awarded once; previous recipients are ineligible for nomination.
Distinguished Contributions to Teaching
The Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching recognizes OISE’s inspiring educators who have continually demonstrated deep commitment to excellence in teaching, and have made outstanding contributions to teaching.
Nominations will be assessed on the basis of evidence of distinguished contributions to teaching in one or more of the following areas:
- Instruction (classroom, lab, virtual)
- Advising/Supervision/Mentoring of students
- Course design and/or curriculum development
- Development of innovative teaching methods
- Development of innovative educational materials
- Leadership to improve teaching
- Research on teaching
- Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in teaching
- Commitment to professional growth and/or effective collaboration with colleagues and education partners
Award Eligibility
OISE faculty members holding a tenure stream or teaching stream appointment, contractually-limited term appointment, part-time academic appointment, or sessional lecturer appointment with at least at least two years of teaching experience at OISE.
Award for Excellence in Continuing & Professional Learning
The Award for Excellence in Continuing and Professional Learning recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching and learning in continuing and professional learning programs at OISE in one or more of the following areas:
- Instruction (classroom, lab, virtual)
- Advising/supporting/mentoring of students
- Course design and/or curriculum development
- Development of innovative teaching methods
- Development of innovative educational materials
- Use of research on teaching
- Commitment to professional growth and/or effective collaboration with colleagues and education partners
Award Eligibility
OISE Continuing & Professional Learning instructors/facilitators with at least two years of teaching experience in Continuing Education. The nomination and selection process outlined on this website does not apply to this award.