Voc Talk Café on YouTube: Brewing Ideas and Discussions

Imagine a cosy café where the patrons are vocational training (VT) educators like you. Would you want to walk in and order, depending on your mood, a dreamy cappuccino, an exciting espresso, or a relaxing apéro? Would you want to sit down and engage in the ongoing discussions? Or would you prefer to simply sit and listen? That is the kind of experience that the Voc Talk Café is hoping to offer virtually. Whether you’re seeking inspiration to overcome a complicated teaching situation, looking for fresh approaches to invigorate your classroom, or simply craving a supportive community of fellow educators, the Voc Talk Café offers it all. 

For each episode, the invitation is extended to the stakeholders of a specific sector or trade but every one is always welcome. Intersections are frequent, aren’t they? The first part is a 15 minute presentation, done by a teacher, consultant, or industry partner. It is recorded and published for later viewing on YouTube. The purpose of the second part is to be a safe space for discussion and sharing of experiences between the participants. It is not recorded, only anonymous notes are generated and shared. To join, you are invited to visit the Après-cours site, Mondays at 3:00 PM, and simply click the big yellow button to join the Zoom room. Every link, document or resource mentioned during the episode is afterwards included in a library.

During the pandemic, Robin Long, VT pedagogical consultant for the Provincial Organization of Continuing Education Directors in English (PROCEDE), launched the Voc Talk Cafés primarily to support educators who had to transition to online teaching. She now collaborates with RÉCIT VT and the Après-cours website to expand the initiative.

Here are examples of the topics that were discussed so far: On September 25th, the participants questioned how to align school with transformations in the administration and commerce industries caused by the emergence of language model-based artificial intelligences. On October 2nd, the conversation was about optimising assessment of student performance in Health Services programs by using triangulation, an approach based on evidence collected through conversations, observations, and work production. The dialogue about society’s perception of the front-of-the-house in the hospitality industry, on October 16th, included concerns on the impact on students recruitment for the Food and Beverage Service Program. You can view The complete playlist of episodes here.

Do you want to discuss  one of your happy or difficult teaching moments? Contact us to set up your own Voc Talk Café episode with other educators in your trade from around Quebec.