This text is part of the special section Unionism
Massive use of technologies and screens, increasingly large groups, lack of support for students with disabilities, loss of a sense of collegiality within establishments… A real loss of meaning is felt among the teaching staff, particularly in higher education, deplores the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ).
The FNEEQ is very critical of new technologies, because although they make knowledge accessible in a new way, they also create a certain pressure to follow the boat, without necessarily taking the time to do an analysis. in-depth examination of the possible consequences, notes the general secretary and treasurer, Benoît Lacoursière.
“The State and establishments spend a lot of money to buy devices, platforms… But the results are not necessarily there,” he underlines.
The secretary general of the FNEEQ also cites as an example the study by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), which published last November a review of the literature on the use of screens in context. school and its cognitive effects on young people under 25 years old. Multiple research carried out on the subject demonstrates that the use of individual digital devices in class causes students to multitask digitally, which would lead to a reduction in learning. This comes in addition to a UNESCO report, which launched an urgent call last July for the judicious use of technologies in education.
The question of new technologies inevitably leads to that of artificial intelligence, on everyone’s lips for several months. “Everyone talks about the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence, but in reality, what is changing? » asks Benoît Lacoursière.
The latter considers that this is not only a threat to quality education, but also to the teaching profession, citing the example of TELUQ University which launched a pilot project of conversational robots that can answer students’ questions. .
“We even want to use artificial intelligence to replace human beings, and that is very worrying. In a helping relationship context, we rely on robots to try to help students without there being any human contact,” which would endanger the work of TELUQ University tutors, according to M. . Lacoursiere.
“Education is not an assembly line”
All these technological questions bring to the forefront the notion of “pedagogical differentiation”, which recalls the importance of people above all, according to the FNEEQ.
“Each student is different and needs different support,” believes Benoît Lacoursière. Education is not an assembly line. We do not format an identical product. You have to take people where they are and take them where you think they should go. It takes time and human contact to achieve this. »
However, teachers have difficulty achieving this ultimate objective, since their task is always heavier, according to the Federation. The question of class composition, which was very often raised during negotiations with the public sector during the fall, is also a major problem at CEGEP and university, assures Mr. Lacoursière.
“In CEGEP, we can limit the size of groups, and there is still work to do… But we also see it in universities, where we have larger and larger groups. And this is not conducive to personalized teaching: we are more in mass teaching. »
The FNEEQ is also concerned about the lack of collegiality within institutions, a tradition which is increasingly lost, according to its observations. “A university, a CEGEP, must be managed by its community. In fact, it should be up to the teaching staff, professional and support staff, and the student community to manage the establishment. We realize that there is a crumbling of collegiality. We are less concerned with the words of the teaching staff. There is a certain shift where school management wants to take more power, and see staff as executives of the decisions that are made. »
This lack of consultation and collaboration that teachers particularly feel worries the union, which sees it as further proof of the dehumanization of the system. Benoît Lacoursière would like us to invest more money and hire more teachers to lighten the workload of its members, of course, but he also hopes that we can free up time to discuss all these crucial issues and deliberate in a more thoughtful and representative manner.
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