History

A major transformation in elementary education

Introducing science and technology early into the curriculum is part of a government strategy to promote and reinforce science and technology in Québec. The purpose of doing so is to better equip tomorrow’s citizens so that they will have a greater understanding of new scientific and technological issues.

The arrival of the new Québec Education Program (2001) led to an important restructuring of the elementary school system in the province: a new project-based approach, a two-year learning cycle, evaluations based on competency rather than cognition, and a list of "essential knowledges" altered the academic path. Another significant aspect of these changes was that learning competencies and "essential knowledges" in science and technology became mandatory at the elementary level.

Project origin

As a part of this strategy, the Quebec government and the Conseil régional de développement de l'Île de Montréal (since renamed Conférence régionale des élus [CRÉ] de Montréal) signed an agreement to promote training and careers in science and technology among youth on the island of Montreal in March 2001. This convention, which encourages dialogue and networking between the many players in the metropolitan area concerned with the promotion of science and technology, led to an action plan named L'île du savoir. From 2001 to 2005, L'île du savoir was produced in collaboration with the Société pour la promotion de la science et de la technologie and led to the creation of seven projects, including Éclairs de sciences.

The majority of the teachers consulted during the first edition of Éclairs de sciences did not feel that they had received the training necessary to teach science and technology in a manner that complied with the new requirements of the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (since renamed Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport - MELS). They felt discouraged by their new responsibilities, which included developing subjects and experiments in accordance with the Québec Education Program, finding materials to use in experiments, obtaining documentation to better understand difficult concepts, and having confidence in their ability to answer students’ trick questions while guiding them in their research.

Despite these challenges, teachers do want to make science and technology a priority in the curriculum. This is why the first goal of Éclairs de sciences is to facilitate teaching science and technology to elementary students. The tools developed by Éclairs de sciences were specially conceived for teachers and put forward the Process of Active Discovery as the chosen teaching structure.

The Éclairs de sciences forum, 2003–2009

The program’s first six years of existence focused on growth and on developing tools and support for teachers. In May 2009, a discussion forum was organized jointly by L'île du savoir, the Montréal Science Centre and the Montréal regional department of the MELS. The goal of the forum was to update Éclairs de sciences and to establish its broad orientations for the next three years. Working groups spent the day of discussions workshopping the four facets of the program: teaching support, scientific advising, the website, and the activity bank.

Over the course of the day, more than 30 people who have contributed to the development of Éclairs de sciences over the years pooled their observations and proposals to build an analysis of these topics. The participants included school board representatives, scientific consultants, members of the Éclairs de sciences working group and the board of L'île du savoir, and other special guests. The objective was to highlight the very best ideas in order to reinforce Éclairs de sciences’ strengths and to come up with improvements that will prove most beneficial to teachers.

After the forum, a detailed analysis was carried out, which gave rise to the Éclairs de sciences 2009–2012 Action Plan

An action plan for the future

In the fall of 2009, at a cocktail event organized especially for the occasion, the Éclairs de sciences 2009–2012 Action Plan was made public. Over 150 people were invited, including all participants of the 2003–2009 Éclairs de sciences forum. The event press release (in French) contains additional information about the evening.

The action plan covers each of the four facets of Éclairs de sciences (teaching support, scientific advising, website, and activity bank) along with its underpinnings, i.e., the guiding principles connecting all four aspects of the program. The plan’s goals and means (targets), which were presented at the unveiling, along with other details, can be found in the action plan summary (in French).

The future looks very bright for Éclairs de sciences and its participants. There is even talk of extending the program into several regions outside of Montréal.

A few words about the administration

To encourage the appropriation of the projects by representatives in the concerned fields, L'île du savoir does not create the projects itself. This task is given instead to "project backing" organizations who implement the objectives adopted by L'île du savoir's governing board. Between 2001 and 2005, the Éclairs de sciences project was helmed by the Forum jeunesse de l'île de Montréal. In 2005, this responsibility was transferred to the Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal. Since July 2006, Éclairs de sciences has been managed by the Montréal Science Centre.