IT’s Contribution to the Development of Critical Thinking

How does one cultivate critical thinking as expressed in the works of Michel de Montaigne, noted French philosopher? How can our academic planning help in this task? What role does information technology and communication play in this regard? These questions are at the core of the program of the of the 32^nd annual conference of the AQPC to be held in Gatineau, from June 6 to 8, 2012 with the theme Cultivating Judgment, from Montaigne to Today.

This theme highlights the relevance of the use of technology in the development of critical thinking as evidenced by the list of 35 “ICT presentations” included in the conference program.

ICT in Teaching

• Using Accounting Software to Teach Accounting Concepts
• Getting Prepared For the English Exit Exam
• Efficacité pédagogique de la simulation clinique haute-fidélité en Soins infirmiers (Effective Teaching in the Nursing Simulations Clinic)

The Twenty-First Century Classroom

• Active Learning Pedagogy and Active Learning Classrooms: What’s Important?
• The 21^st Century Classroom − The Inexpensive Way
• La classe du XXI^e siècle, une classe pas comme les autres! (The 21^st Century Classroom – A Class Unlike All the Others!)
• L’apprentissage actif dans une classe du XXI^e siècle (Active Learning in the 21^st Century Classroom)

Learning Strategies

• La prise de notes comme acte professionnel dans le secteur technique (Notetaking – An Aspect of Professionalism in the Technical Sector)
• Amélioration de la langue, perceptions et retour réflexif (Language Improvement – Perceptions and Self-Reflection)
• Repérer, évaluer et exploiter l’information avant et pendant les études collégiales (Identifying and Evaluating Information Before and During College)

Academic Technical Resources

• Using the iPad in Teaching
• VTÉ Café: Tablet Computers in the Classroom
• Factoring IT into Students’ World View (Profweb)
• Antidote, un outil d’aide à la rédaction efficace pour tous? (Antidote – A Helpful Tool for Effective Writing for Everyone)
• Scénario pédagogique de l’utilisation d’un portfolio numérique (A Scenario for the Use of a Digital Portfolio)
• Utilisation pédagogique de Wikipédia au collégial (Using Wikipedia in College)
• Des TIC pour modeler et façonner la pensée (Profweb) (Factoring Into IT Students’ World View)
• La production télévisuelle et le développement du jugement (Television production and the development of critical thinking)
• Développer le jugement avec des outils « technosexy »
• Le tableau blanc interactif (TBI) : de l’implantation à l’innovation pédagogique (The interactive whiteboard (IWB): Putting an Educational Innovation into Practice)
• L’apprentissage du jugement clinique : un wiki au banc d’essai (Putting a Wiki to the Test Learning Clinical Judgment)

Support for Learning and Success

• Les réseaux sociaux pour créer une communauté d’apprentissage (Using Social Networks to Create a Community of Learning)
• Un centre d’aide virtuel en mathématiques (A Virtual Help Centre in Mathematics)

Virtual Correction Tools

• Corriger plus efficacement sans papier à l’aide d’outils numériques (Paperless Correcting More Effectively Using Digital Tools)

Distance Learning

• Combiner une formation synchrone avec une formation asynchrone (Combining Synchronous with Asynchronous Training)
• Soutenir les enseignants dans la formation à distance (Supporting Teachers in Distance Education)

Professional and Organizational Development

• Diversify your Teaching Using Cégep@distance Ed Tools and Pedagogical Resources from the CCDMD
• Opening Up the Classroom: Why and How You Might Try a Bit of Virtual Team Teaching!
• Finders Keepers: The Challenges of Teaching
• Développer le jugement professionnel des futurs enseignants avec les TIC (Developing the professional judgment of future teachers with ICT)
• Les usages des TIC par les étudiants et les enjeux pour les établissements (The Use of ICT by Students and Its Challenges for Institutions)
• Labo VTÉ, un laboratoire de recherche-action pour pédagogues (Labo VTÉ – An Active Research Lab for Academics)
• Utilisation des TIC au cégep : points de vue d’experts et d’étudiants selon leur profil de lecture (ICT use in College: Views of Experts and Students According to their Reading Profile)
• Profil TIC des étudiants du collégial : situation, implantation et ressources pour les enseignants (The ICT profile of College Students – Implementation and Resources for Teachers)
• Le babillard des ressources pédagogiques (The Bulletin Board of Academic Resources)

Of course, the conference addresses many other issues in its 116 workshops over three days. Among those particularly evident this year are teaching methods, student characteristics, professional development for academics, learning assessment, training of students’ critical thinking and the recent results of educational research in colleges.

Keynote Presentations and Rendez-vous

The conference program also offers six major conferences which will address the the issue of facets of developing critical thinking in education.

• For the opening conference, Claude Lessard, Chairman of the Conseil supérieur de l’Éducation, will discuss the place for reflection in the profession of the teaching.
• David V. J. Bell, former Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at York University and current president of Learning for a Sustainable Future, will discuss the role of educators in the development of a culture that promotes sustainability.
• Leane Arsenault, Performa‘s director, will present her thoughts on the exercise of critical thinking in the academic professions.
• Mathieu D. Gagnon, a professor at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, will focus on the development of a critical spirit.
• Eva Egron Pollack, president of the International Association of Universities, will open the ‘Rendez-vous’ on internationalization.
• Dany Laveault, professor at the University of Ottawa, will close the conference discussing the impact of critical thinking in evaluation.

This 32^nd conference of the AQPC will also be used to hold six Rendez-vous, all of which constitute minicolloques. Lasting three to six hours, these Rendez-vous focus on an element of pedagogy. The events will be held in French around the following themes.

• Pedagogical counselors
• Performa Masters Program
• Strategies for Success;
• Secondary School – College Collaboration
• Innovation in Science Teaching
• Internationalization.

Enriched English Programming

This year the three colleges of the Ottawa Valley – the Cégep de l’Outaouais, Heritage College and the Collège préuniversitaire Nouvelles Frontières – came together to host the college community at the AQPC Symposium. Perhaps due to the presence of an English college among the hosts of the conference, we have received a record number of workshop proposals in English. At the close of the selection process, we were able to retain a total of 17 papers in English including the lecture by David V. J. Bell and two activities presented in the networking sessions on Friday morning. As a result, we are offering a minimum of two activities in English in each time slot. In addition, a simultaneous translation into English or French, as appropriate, will be free in the six major keynote presentations.

A Program Overview

The official program of the conference will be available by the end of March and will be posted immediately on the website of the AQPC. Registration will begin at that time. The printed version of the program will be distributed to colleges at the beginning of April.

Until then, interested parties may already have an overview of program content by browsing through the synopsis of conference activities.

If you have an interest in the pedagogy of higher education, the Palais des congrès de Gatineau is the place to be from June 6 to 8.