FAQ

Answers to frequently asked questions

What is Éclairs de sciences?
What process does Éclairs de sciences use?
How does Éclairs de sciences work?
How do I register my school?
Who are the scientific consultants?
What is the role of the science consultants?
How available are science consultants?
How can I become a science consultant?
Does Éclairs de sciences have any job openings?
Can Éclairs de sciences give a training session at my school?
Just one other question...

 

What is Éclairs de sciences?

Éclairs de sciences is a program to help elementary school teachers vitalize their teaching of science and develop their autonomy by providing resources and structured assistance. Éclairs de sciences is part of a professional development process taking place in a number of school boards. Registration and participation in the program are free, and the scientists who travel to schools to assist teams of teachers do so on a voluntary basis.

What process does Éclairs de sciences use?

Éclairs de sciences is based on the “process of active discovery” in science. This process can be used throughout elementary school and is modeled after the process used by real scientists. Éclairs de sciences has four different facets:

• scientific advising by a science consultant, who answers questions about concepts and about the process of active discovery as it relates to teaching elementary school science;
• teaching support by the school’s (or school board’s) pedagogical advisor so that teachers better understand the program’s competencies, the teaching strategies to use, and the evaluation methods to introduce;
• a website that assembles all of the program’s resources, including a Web forum where participants can share ideas, resources, complementary content, etc.;
• an activity bank of learning and evaluation situations that students will find meaningful and interesting.

How does Éclairs de sciences work?

Teams attend three or four meetings during the school year, depending on the model used by their school board. The first meeting serves, among other things, to select three activities to carry out during the year and plan their preparation. The other three meetings are used to review how the activity went (difficulties encountered and accomplishments) and to plan the next learning activity. Teachers are encouraged to correspond with their science consultant between meetings. They can also get support from their pedagogical advisor in terms of activity planning, teaching strategies, and competency evaluation.

Teachers have the option of taking part in this ongoing training for two or three consecutive years (depending on the model used by their school board) in order to explore the “essential knowledges” of the Québec Education Program (Material World, Living Things, and Earth and Space).

How do I register my school?

Interested schools should contact senior management at their school board or their pedagogical advisor responsible for science and technology, or they can contact Éclairs de sciences directly for information about the registration process. For the time being, scientific advising services are offered only to schools in the Greater Montréal region.

Who are the scientific consultants?

Éclairs de sciences recruits its scientific consultants from universities, colleges, businesses and research centres. These people are eager to share their passion and knowledge about science with elementary school teachers, and they receive initial training before being paired with a team.

What is the role of the science consultants?

Their role is primarily to support teachers in planning and preparing their educational activities:

1. by answering teachers’ questions about scientific topics,
2. by carrying out research in libraries or on the Internet,
3. by helping teachers find specific items or equipment,
4. by suggesting different and original experimental methods or techniques.

How available are science consultants?

Science consultants make a commitment to be available for a total of about 30 hours during the school year.

How can I become a science consultant?

Just get in touch with the Éclairs de sciences program manager, whose contact information is on the Contact Us page, or visit the Become a Consultant section of the website.

Does Éclairs de sciences have any job openings?

No. The people who provide scientific advising to teachers are volunteers. The people providing teaching support are employed by their respective school boards.

Can Éclairs de sciences give a training session at my school?

We provide ongoing support throughout the school year. Hence, we do not provide “custom” or “on-demand” training.

Just one other question…

Please get in touch with the Éclairs de sciences program manager, whose contact information is on the Contact Us page.