An application to promote reinforcement

How is it possible to promote the reinforcement and reactivation of certain notions in the students, without it becoming exhausting, stressful and boring for them? Technology is becoming a solution for the students of Collège Sainte-Anne.

“Teachers were looking for an original and more fun way to review the concepts of science in 4^e secondary school by their students. A teacher proposed the design of an application. We quickly realized that we could find partners who had already developed a product that we could reuse, ”explains Isabelle Senécal, director of educational innovation at the College.

The B12 project started during the last year, in collaboration with Jean-Philippe Bradette, co-founder and president ofApprentX. In fact, the B12 application already existed and was used in a professional training context. Its use has been somewhat diverted to allow the revision of knowledge in a school context. This year, all 4^e high school use the science app.

Concretely, it involves importing a series of questions and answers into the application. Revision sessions are then scheduled, at a determined frequency. Each is designed to last a maximum of 5 minutes. The student receives a notification and can complete their session on a computer, tablet or cell phone, as they wish, outside of school hours. “We rely on constant reactivation, with short but frequent sessions,” says Senécal.

We rely on constant reactivation, with short but frequent sessions.

Isabelle Senécal

Useful data

The app not only has the advantage of making reinforcement more fun for students, it frees teachers from some review tasks that they no longer have to do in class. It also provides information promoting differentiation and targeted interventions. 

Teachers can get statistics by group, by student, by topic, by question. By glancing at the dashboard, it is possible to identify concepts that are less well mastered by the students, to do group reviews if necessary, and even to intervene on a case-by-case basis. For example, last year, they quickly noticed that the students had not understood the module on electricity well and organized revision sessions on the subject.

In addition, before answering each question, the student must indicate his level of confidence. Does he think he can give the right answer? This information is valuable and teachers are encouraged to take it into account.

“The application is still under development with a view to integrating real artificial intelligence. Eventually, she can analyze the students' results and send them targeted questions based on their previous answers. We are still in the early stages of harnessing the potential of this tool, ”says Ms. Senécal.

The teachers are already satisfied with the results obtained and the school team has undertaken to add a question / answer section in French. This time, all the levels will be concerned. The first version of this new module should be ready for September 2021.

The B12 project, made possible thanks to the Sainte-Anne College Foundation, is also under the magnifying glass of Patrick Charland, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in curriculum development and professor in the didactics department of UQAM, who will try to validate whether the use of this type of application can promote the success of students.

For an overview of the application, we invite you to watch the ApprentX video.