The Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University is pleased to announce a Special Topic Public Seminar this January 28th at 5:00 PM in EDB 8620 on the Burnaby Campus.

With assistance from the Canadian Council on Learning (http://www.ccl-cca.ca), we are pleased to bring Dr. Clermont Gauthier (Canada Research Chair in the Study of Teacher Training) to our faculty to speak on the topic of "School Success and Educational Reform: Why is it so difficult to increase the performance of our educational systems?"

Dr. Gauthier's presentation will focus on the "issues of educational reforms and school success and will examine these through the lens of research on the effectiveness and impacts of these reforms. Approaching these significant issues in this fashion is important because research on different teaching practices that appear to positively impact student learning should form the basis of any effort at educational reform. I will use my lecture to try to answer the following question: What are the pedagogical approaches that seem to promote student learning? It could also be formulated as follows: How do teachers teach in schools that promote student success? The answers I'll provide to these questions will help shed light on why the reforms put forth in the Western world have failed to noticeably increase the performance of our educational systems."

This presentation will be geared towards teachers, graduate students and the academic community here at SFU and we believe that you will find this to be a very engaging and relevant talk. Snacks and beverages will be available.

(A separate presentation designed for a wider public audience has been organized by CCL on January 29th. Please see their Web site for details.)

About Dr. Gauthier:

Dr. Gauthier is a Professor of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at Université Laval, Quebec, and is a noted expert in the areas of teacher education, educational foundations, and instructional practice. Dr. Gauthier has extensively studied the impacts of major changes on teachers'

practices in contemporary educational systems. Over the course of a career spanning nearly three decades, he has published 30 books, some 100 articles and book chapters, and delivered more than 200 presentations at various national and international conferences on the foundations and history of education, particularly those of Quebec, as well as on pedagogy and teacher training.

He was the university representative on the Québec government's advisory committee on teacher education and an expert member of the committee mandated in 2000 by Québec's Ministry of Education to develop new skills and directions for instructional training. He also served as Secretary of the Committee of the Estates-General on Education of 1996 for the greater Québec City area.

Internationally, Dr. Gauthier has conducted studies on teaching and teacher training for UNESCO, the OECD, and the World Bank. He has also taught in various countries, including a number of developing countries, a reflection of his commitment to education the world over.

For more information, contact Teresa Martin at tmartin@sfu.ca or 778.782.4479.