The 3M National Teaching Fellowship - Findings from a National Questionnaire on the Impact of the Program

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

The paper examines the impact of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (3MNTF), Canada’s premier recognition for university teaching and educational leadership, by reporting results from a national questionnaire. It summarizes levels of awareness among administrators, faculty, educational developers, students, and others, and explores how fellows influence their institutions and communities. Drawing on a multi-phase study beginning with 2012 focus groups, it also presents recommendations to guide the program’s next phase and future development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study context and purpose

National questionnaire and participants

Rationale for the study

Prior research on teaching awards

Reasons for establishing teaching awards

International approaches to teaching excellence awards

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship: Findings from a National Questionnaire on the Impact of the Program Arshad Ahmad, McMaster University Denise Stockley, Queen’s University Ron Smith, Concordia University Amber Hastings Truelove, Queen’s University DOI: 10. 22329/celt.v10i0 .4744 In 2016 the 3M National Teaching Fellowship reached a milestone in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first fellowship in 1986. The fellowship is the premier award of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and each year up to 10 fellows are announced. Thus far, there has not been a systematic review or evaluation of the fellowship program. This study is a starting point to engage the various stakeholders and gather their perspectives regarding the fellowship program. This paper highlights the findings of a national questionnaire that targeted 3M National Teaching Fellows, administrators, educational developers, faculty, and students. The findings provide a snapshot of the awareness of the fellowship, the impact of fellows on their institutions and beyond, and recommendations for the future of the program. The 3M National (3MNTF) is seen Teaching Fellowship by many as Canada’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in university teaching and educational leadership. In fact, 42% of the administrators, faculty, educational developers (EDs), and students who responded to the survey were aware of the Fellowship, compared to 18% who were aware of other national teaching awards. Since 1985, 3M Canada and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) have recognized 308 3MNTFs, from more than 80 Canadian Universities representing almost all of the disciplines in the Academy. This paper is part of a three-year study that explores the overall impact of the 3MNTF. The study began in 2012 at the 3MNTF Retreat in Banff with focus group interviews of 3M senior administrators, 3M Fellows, 3M retreat facilitators, EDs, and program coordinators. A detailed account of the focus group findings has been accepted in Innovations in Education and Teaching International. In the second phase of this study, and the focus of this paper, we developed a questionnaire which was sent to 3M Fellows, faculty, administrators, students and members of the STLHE community at several Canadian universities to assess various aspects about the Fellowship program including awareness, influence, process related questions, and overall impact. Rationale for the Study In the 30 years since the first 3MNTF was awarded, many people have been involved in the program; not only those who have won the award, but also faculty who have been nominated, EDs who helped mentor nominees and assembled nomination packages, administrators who have nominated colleagues, and students who have been taught by 3M award winners. Despite the potential for the award to have a far-reaching impact, this study is the first attempt to define that impact on diverse members of the academic population. As the 3MNTF award program enters its next 30 years, we have an opportunity to define how the award program, and its Fellows, have impacted their institutions, and the impact that Fellowship has had on successful nominees. For the purposes of our study, we defined impact in terms of the effect that the 3MNTF has had on individual winners, the influence that fellows have been able to exert within their institutions after being awarded the 3MNTF, and the national and international influence of the 3MNTF award program. For members of the teaching and learning community who are currently developing their teaching portfolios in anticipation of a 3M nomination, recognizing the diverse impacts of the award could be very beneficial. Teaching awards that recognize teaching excellence in higher education have existed for a number of years, and there have been numerous attempts to define the impact that they have had on the landscape of higher education (Aron et al.

FAQs

What is the purpose of the national questionnaire in this study?

It assesses awareness, influence, process-related aspects, and the overall impact of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship among fellows, faculty, administrators, students, and members of the STLHE community.

How did awareness of the 3MNTF compare with other national teaching awards?

In the responses, 42% of administrators, faculty, educational developers, and students were aware of the fellowship, compared with 18% who were aware of other national teaching awards.

How is “impact” defined in the study?

Impact is defined through effects on individual winners, the influence fellows exert within their institutions after receiving the award, and the national and international influence of the program.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay