Making a Difference - Three Decades of Canada’s Only National Teaching Award

Oct 15, 2026

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship (3MNTF) has shaped Canada’s higher education teaching community for 31 years, now bringing together 328 fellows with up to ten new additions annually. For the 30-year anniversary, the study examined impacts on individual winners, institutional influence by awarded fellows, and broader national and international effects. Evidence came from focus groups with the 2012 cohort, 3M retreat facilitators and coordinators, and 3M Canada representatives, plus the 2013 cohort fellows. Additional focus groups in 2014 included senior university administrators and educational developers, and a 2015 online survey gathered data from faculty, administrators, educational developers, and students across Canadian universities. Findings show the Fellowship’s high recognition and its role in shaping related local and international teaching awards.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Fellowship background and scope

Research design and data sources

Findings and impacts

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 10 | Issue 1 | Article 4 | | --- | --- | | Spring 5-31-2019
Making a Difference: Three Decades of Canada’s Only National Teaching Award
Denise Stockley
Queen's University, [stockley@queensu.ca](stockley@queensu.ca)[ ](stockley@queensu.ca)Ronald Smith
Concordia University, [ronsmith154@bell.net](ronsmith154@bell.net)[ ](ronsmith154@bell.net)Arshad Ahmad
Lahore University of Management Sciences, [arshad@lums.edu.pk](arshad@lums.edu.pk)[ ](arshad@lums.edu.pk)Amber Hastings Truelove
Queen's University, [amber.hastings@queensu.ca](amber.hastings@queensu.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca](https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca)
[https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.7998](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.7998) | | Recommended Citation Stockley, D., Smith, R., Ahmad, A., & Hastings Truelove, A. (2019) . Making a difference: Three decades of Canada’s only national teaching award. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1). [https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.7998](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.7998) Making a Difference: Three Decades of Canada’s Only National Teaching Award Abstract 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 by examining the effect that the Fellowship has had on individual winners, the influence that fellows have been able to exert in their institutions after being awarded the 3M Fellowship, and the influence that the 3M National Teaching Fellowship program has had nationally and internationally. To identify the various impacts of the 3MNTF, we conducted focus groups with the 2012 cohort, 3M retreat facilitators and coordinators, and the representative from 3M Canada, as well as the new fellows from the 2013 cohort. In 2014, we conducted two focus groups with senior university administrators and educational developers. In 2015, we developed and administered an online survey to faculty, administrators, educational developers, and students at a number of Canadian universities. We found that the 3M is one of the most recognizable teaching awards in Canada’s higher education landscape. The structure of the fellowship has helped to shape local and international teaching awards, while individual fellows often provide mentorship to future leaders in education. Le Prix national 3M d’excellence en enseignement fait partie du paysage de l’enseignement supérieur canadien depuis 31 ans et il regroupe maintenant une communauté de 328 lauréats et lauréates auxquels viennent se joindre jusqu’à dix lauréats et lauréates supplémentaires chaque année. Dans le cadre du 30ème anniversaire du Prix, nous avons lancé une étude afin d’en comprendre ses effets sur la communauté de l’enseignement supérieur. Pour cela, nous avons examiné les effets que le Prix avaiteus sur les lauréats et les lauréates individuels, sur l’influence que les lauréats et les lauréates ont été en mesure d’exercer dans leurs établissements après avoir obtenu le Prix 3M, ainsi que sur l’influence que le programme du Prix national 3M d’excellence en enseignement avait eue aux niveaux national et international. Afin d’identifier les divers effets du Prix 3M, nous avons organisé des groupes de discussion avec les lauréats et les lauréates de 2012, les animateurs et les animatrices et les coordinateurs et les coordinatrices, des représentants et des représentantes de la compagnie 3M Canada, ainsi que les nouveaux lauréats et les nouvelles lauréates de 2013. En 2014, nous avons organisé deux groupes de discussion avec des administrateurs et des administratrices

FAQs

What was the purpose of the 30-year anniversary study of the 3MNTF?

The study aimed to understand impacts of the Fellowship on individual winners, on influence fellows had in their institutions after receiving the award, and on national and international effects of the program.

How did the authors collect evidence for the research?

They conducted focus groups with the 2012 cohort, retreat facilitators and coordinators, and 3M Canada representatives, and also with new fellows from the 2013 cohort. They added two focus groups in 2014 with senior administrators and educational developers, and in 2015 they administered an online survey to faculty, administrators, educational developers, and students at multiple Canadian universities.

What key impact does the paper report about the 3MNTF?

The Fellowship is identified as one of the most recognizable teaching awards in Canada’s higher education landscape, with a structure that has helped shape other local and international teaching awards and fellows who often provide mentorship to future education leaders.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Anna Hans