In this episode of *RASCALS’ Roundtable*, Brett and Danielle explore how communities like SALTISE and AQPC bring teachers together to share ideas, research, and inspiration. Chris Whittaker, from Dawson College, tells the story of how a few active learning classrooms grew into a province‑wide network where research meets practice. Then, Margaret Wells, from the Royal Military College, shares how writing for *Pédagogie collégiale* opened the door to AQPC, a conference that’s redefining inclusion for English and allophone educators in Québec.
Links:
• Chris Whittaker – https://www.saltise.ca/member/chris-whittaker/
• Publications –https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=MiagshMAAAAJ
• Margaret Wells – margaret.wells@cmrsj-rmcsj.ca
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, Brett and Danielletalk with Ian Pitblado (Collège Laflèche) about a screenwriting unit that turnsspeculative fiction into a high-impact learning experience for English 103.Students move from world-building to query emails in a six-step process thatdevelops autonomy, self-regulation, and real-world writing skills. From Dune toMean Girls, the project guides students through a writing process that’sperfectly aligned with the new devis. Tune in to learn how to bring cinematicstorytelling and authentic tasks into your ESL classroom.
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, Brett and Danielle tackle the messy, meaningful world of organizational change.Their guest, Marco Palmieri, draws on his experience as a teacher, administrator, and MBA in organizational change to explain why successful reform isn’t just about new policies—it’s about people. He shares practical strategies for leading change, reframing resistance, and keeping teams engagedthrough communication and empathy. Whether you’re implementing the new devis or facing another round of institutional updates, this episode offers clear,actionable advice to make change feel a little less overwhelming.
In this episode of *RASCALS’ Roundtable*, Brett and Danielle explore department culture with two experts. Gilbert Émond, professor at Concordia, explains why coordinators should engage rather than manage, how to unstress a system, and why surfacing values matters. Diane Rondeau, veteran teacher and former coordinator at Cégep de Lévis, shares how she rebuilt trust and communication in a toxic department, offering practical tools for meetings, priorities, and valuing teachers.
The new devis are here – and for the first time ever, we’ve got the full story on how they were written. In Episode 3 of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we go behind the scenes with Andy Van Drom, Sara Langevin, and Brett Fischer to learn what it was really like to write Quebec’s new ESL curriculum. From creative reinvestment to the infamous “and/or” clause, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for.
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, Brett and Danielle sit down with two coordinators who share what it’s really like to manage a department. Katherine Ashmore (Collège de Maisonneuve) talks about staying grounded, setting boundaries, and creating efficient systems. Catherine Pépin (Cégep de Trois-Rivières) shares how she dove into coordination early in her career and discovered hidden leadership skills along the way. Together, their stories reveal the emotional labour, challenges, and surprising rewards of coordination.
In this Season 2 opener, Brett and Danielle sit down with three teachers navigating their first Cegep ESL experiences. Sergio Arduini shares the challenges of breaking in, Guillaume Benard talks about the freedom and enthusiasm of teaching, and Shanie Sirois reminds us that while overwhelming at times, the joy and support are real.
At the heart of every great conference is participation. In our Season 1 finale, we return to the 2025 RASCALS Colloquium for a special vox pop exploring how teachers are sharing ideas, shaping the conversation, and getting involved—without necessarily joining the organizing team.
You’ll hear from:
Together, they highlight four accessible ways to participate:
Thanks for listening all season long. This episode is a celebration of what happens when teachers show up for one another.
This episode takes you right onto the convention floor at the 2025 RASCALS Colloquium, where we asked CEGEP ESL teachers: What impressed you most this year?
We hear from:
Jonathan Bishop (Cégep de St-Hyacinthe)
Tanya Caouette (Cégep de St-Félicien)
Maxime Camiré (Cégep de Victoriaville)
Isabelle Dompierre-Lapointe (Cégep de Thetford)
Dina Isber (Cégep de Valleyfield)
Caroline Orton (Cégep du Vieux Montréal)
Amy Pittendreich (Cégep Lévis-Lauzon)
🔥 This episode includes reflections on three standout presentations:
Keynote: “AI isn’t coming—it’s already here”
Dianne Elizabeth Stankiewicz (Service national du RÉCIT, Domaine des langues) explores what generative AI means for CEGEP educators today. She tackles ethical use, critical thinking, effective prompting, and reframes academic integrity in the age of the machine. There’s even some humour.
📎 Presentation link: recit.org/ul/qxd
“Using a Screenplay Project to Stimulate Human Creativity”
🎬 Ian Pitblado (Collège Laflèche) walks us through a five-step speculative fiction screenwriting journey designed for the English Culture & Literature course. One of our guests called it their personal favourite for how it pushes students to create something real and meaningful.
“A Free, Engaging, Open-Source English 100 Course”
📚 Marie-J. Martineau (Cégep Édouard-Montpetit) shares her ECQ-funded course that’s practical, cost-free, and deeply aligned with the new devis values. Expect flexible lesson plans, H5P Moodle activities, and open access.
📧 Contact: mj.martineau@cegepmontpetit.ca
Whether you’re AI-curious, looking to refresh your materials, or just want to hear what colleagues are up to across the province, this episode delivers a fresh dose of inspiration.
🛎️ Follow us on Instagram: @rascals.podcast
In this episode of *RASCALS’ Roundtable*, we tackle one of the most quietly controversial elements of the new ESL devis: how do we teach—and evaluate—openness, respect, and curiosity? Mikhael Kowalak joins us to unpack what this means in real-life CEGEP classrooms. From grading group discussions to navigating cultural sensitivity, we talk pedagogy, ethics, and that time a student's politics didn't quite align with his - and yet he still got an A+.
🎧 Featuring: Mikhael Kowalak, teacher and researcher at Cégep de Sherbrooke
📚 Publications:
- Lau, S. M. C., & Kowalak, M. (accepted). *Crossing the linguistic and disciplinary divides...* (Routledge)
- Lau et al. (2022). *Soutenir les apprentissages des étudiants immigrants...* Le langage et l'homme, no. 561
- Lau et al. (2020). *Supporting immigrant students’ academic and social integration...* Canadian Modern Language Review
- Blandford et al. (2019). *Une approche plurilingue...* Correspondance, 25(2)
🔗 Learn more: Centre for Integrated Plurilingual Teaching and Learning
What’s in an R-score? And why does it feel like it was designed by a statistics prof with a grudge?
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we demystify one of the most confusing—and most important—parts of the Quebec CEGEP system. Guest Sylvain Jomphe, ESL teacher and union president at Cégep de Jonquière, joins us to explain how R-scores are really calculated, what students (and teachers) getwrong about them, and what we can do to help.
🎧 Topics include:
· What exactly is the R-score?
· Why your grade isn’t the whole story
· How group strength affects your chances
· The truth about ‘cheating down’
· How to talk to students about placement
📩 Contact Sylvain: SylvainJomphe@cegepjonquiere.ca
📎 Want to go deeper? Check out:Understanding the R Score (EN)CRC Explained (FR)
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we sit down with Louisa Hadley, president of the Dawson Teachers’ Union, to talk about precarity, and with David Turpie, a CEGEP teacher who’s lived to tell the tale. From long commutes and unpredictable schedules to burning questions about permanence, this episode exposes the challenges and resilience of Quebec’s non-permanent teachers.
🎧 Topics include:
- The mental and financial cost of precarity
- Why continuing education teachers face the biggest inequities
- What unions are fighting for
- David’s biking, juggling, multi-CEGEP journey
📲 Follow the precarity experience: @ppducvm on Instagram
🔗 Learn more at dtu.qc.ca or via the Dawson Teachers’ Union Facebook page
AI is here—and it’s not going anywhere. In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we tackle the question that’s on every teacher’s mind: How do we keep students from cheating with AI... and how do we start using it ourselves?
It's practical, provocative, and packed with ready-to-use tips.
🔗 Connect with our guests:
📲 Marie-Gervaise Pilon
Instagram/Threads/X: @marshmallowsadz
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mgpilon-blewitt
📘 Publication: Preventing Plagiarism and Cheating in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
📲 Robyn Jaquays
Email: rjaquays@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robyn-jaquays-06b4181a
📘 Publications available on request:
Optimiser l’enseignement professionnel avec ChatGPT
Integrating ChatGPT into Education: A Guide for Teachers
Mise à Niveau isn’t just a course—it’s a lifeline. In this episode ofRASCALS’ Roundtable, Rebecca Peters walks us through how she helped create a course for true beginners in English, built with an ECQ grant and a dream team of CEGEP collaborators. Then, Julia Golden shares how she repurposed the Moodle version of the course to fit the reality at a college where it wasn’t officially offered. Two different strategies. One powerful message: no student should be left behind.
They come from across the country with a suitcase and a sense of adventure—but are they ready for the classroom? In this episode of *RASCALS’ Roundtable*, we follow the language monitor program from two angles: Alexandra Demers trains new assistants for life in cégeps, while Meredith Lees is designing hands-on materials to help them succeed. Whether you're supervising, mentoring, or just wondering what your Odyssey assistant actually does—this one’s for you.
In this episode of RASCALS’ Roundtable, we go undercover—well, almost—to bring you three honest, unfiltered takes on Québec’s revised curriculum for CEGEP English second language courses.
We reached out across the province and asked teachers to share their thoughts. What we got were three very different perspectives: one sees possibility, one wants precision, and one’s somewhere in between. From creative reinvestment to the mystery of “le monde anglophone,” nothing is off the table!
This week on RASCALS’ Roundtable, we’re joined by Paige Delaney, a passionate high school ESL teacher who’s already putting the new devis into action.
We talk:
✔️ Why oral interaction isn’t just speaking—it’s ping-pong
✔️ What reinvestment really looks like outside the classroom
✔️ Why high schools may be ahead of the curve
✔️ How plurilingualism, CEFR, and student identity are shaping a new kind of ESL teaching
Paige brings a thoughtful and practical lens to the devis conversation—one rooted in real student needs, real communication, and a belief that language learning doesn’t happen in isolation.
🎧 Whether you’re still trying to decode the devis or looking for ways to make reinvestment feel less like a worksheet and more like a conversation, this episode is for you.
Now streaming on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
📲 Follow us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable and let us know what’s working in your classroom!
What if the key to student success isn’t more grading... but more collaboration?
In this episode, we meet two CEGEP teachers who are giving tutoring a major glow-up. Becky McKnight from Cégep St-Jean is piloting a bold new program that places paid tutors inside the ESL classroom, offering real-time support and creating a dynamic new role somewhere between peer and TA.
Then, we welcome back Joy Blake from Cégep de Granby, who shares her innovative for-credit tutoring course, where advanced students earn credits while mentoring those in lower levels. The result? Happier students, more empowered tutors—and waiting lists to get in.
We talk program design, admin buy-in, budget models, and the magic that happens when educators think outside the box—and trust students to rise.
🎧 Whether you're looking to revamp your own tutoring system or just need a little inspiration, this episode is packed with practical ideas and a whole lot of heart.
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📲 Follow us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable
Can video games transform the way we teach English? 🎮📚
In this episode, we explore the power of games in education with two innovators:
🎮 Sophie Marier – Creator of An English Journey Through the Digital World and English Culture, a serious game designed to boost ESL students’ digital literacy and vocabulary through interactive challenges. Backed by research and grant funding, her project proves that gamification can enhance language learning in meaningful ways.
🎮 Simon Côté Massicotte – A literature professor who treats video games like novels, analyzing their themes, characters, and storytelling devices in class. His students study games like Doki Doki Literature Club and Disco Elysium just as they would Shakespeare or Orwell—unpacking narrative complexity, foreshadowing, and player engagement.
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
✅ How video games can develop digital literacy and ESL skills
✅ Why serious games are gaining traction in language education
✅ The challenges (and unexpected benefits!) of teaching video games as literature
✅ How Simon’s course went viral on Reddit and what that means for the future of education
📌 Resources & Links:
🔗 Sophie's game on Éductive
🔗 Recommended Video Games for Lit Classes | Disco Elysium | Planescape: Torment | The Wolf Among Us | Her Story | IMMORTALITY
📢 Join the Conversation!
Tag us on Instagram @rascals_roundtable and tell us: Would you use video games in your classroom? Why or why not?
In this episode of RASCALS' Roundtable, we explore how virtual and hybrid language exchanges are reshaping second-language learning. Join us as we speak with educators who are pioneering innovative ways to make second-language acquisition more engaging and authentic.
👥 Meet Our Guests:
🔹 Nick Walker & Philippe Gagné – Founders of a groundbreaking twinning project that pairs ESL and FSL students from different cégeps to foster authentic, meaningful language exchanges. Their initiative builds on key findings from a study of 974 students across 11 cégeps, conducted by Philippe Gagné & Maria Popica, which revealed that one-third of young ayant-droits actively resist learning French, often citing a lack of real-world applications (Popica & Gagné, 2021). However, students with French-speaking friends demonstrated greater autonomy in the language, underscoring the power of peer interactions in language acquisition.
🔹 Susan Parks – Leader of Tandem Canada, a nationwide virtual language exchange platform that connects students across institutions. She discusses how structured language partnerships build confidence, enhance real-world communication skills, and foster lasting cross-linguistic friendships.
🎧 What You'll Learn:
✅ How virtual & hybrid language exchanges transform second-language learning
✅ The role of peer networks in fostering self-efficacy and autonomy
✅ Research-backed insights on student motivation (or resistance!) in FSL & ESL classrooms
✅ How Tandem Canada and the Twinning Project are bridging language gaps
🔗 Links & Resources:
📄 Gagné & Popica’s research: Read the study
📚 Nick Walker’s resources: Labodanglais.com | EnglishLab.ca
🔗 Tandem Canada platform: Explore the platform
📹 Tandem Language Exchange Video: Watch here
