RASCALS' Roundtable

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:

• Maxime Camiré – Cégep de Victoriaville
• Christina Favvas – Cégep Édouard-Montpetit
• Amy Pittendreich – Cégep Lévis-Lauzon
• Élise Mitchell – Cégep de Chicoutimi
• Ian Pitblado – Collège Laflèche
• Marc-Alain Blanchard Maurais – Cégep Beauce-Appalaches
• Rona Denise Yu Asensi – Cégep de Jonquière

Together, they highlight four accessible ways to participate:

• Join a community of practice (inspired by Jérôme Loisel’s essentialist approach)
• Contribute to devis-implementation discussions
• Share ideas at Johanna Wang-Cardinal’s Show and Tell
• Take the leap and present a session—like Ian Pitblado did this year!

Thanks for listening all season long. This episode is a celebration of what happens when teachers show up for one another.

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:

• Maxime Camiré – Cégep de Victoriaville

• Christina Favvas – Cégep Édouard-Montpetit

• Amy Pittendreich – Cégep Lévis-Lauzon

• Élise Mitchell – Cégep de Chicoutimi

• Ian Pitblado – Collège Laflèche

• Marc-Alain Blanchard Maurais – Cégep Beauce-Appalaches

• Rona Denise Yu Aseni – Cégep de Jonquière

Together, they highlight four accessible ways to participate:

• Join a community of practice (inspired by Jérôme Loisel’s essentialist approach)

• Contribute to devis-implementation discussions

• Share ideas at Johanna Wang-Cardinal’s Show and Tell

• Take the leap and present a session—like Ian Pitblado did this year!

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: 

1. 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 

1. “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. 

1. “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: [email protected] 

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: [email protected]

📎 Want to go deeper? Check out:Understanding the R Score (EN)CRC Explained (FR)