The Year Ahead in Professional Learning

Gathering feedback to increase and improve our offerings

PLearning (PL) has been expanding in response to Member needs, continurofessional ously reviewing our offerings from feedback we receive. That information helps us improve content, delivery and type of learning sessions.

One of the ways we gather information is through participant feedback at the end of each session. These forms are reviewed and used to make changes to existing courses and sessions, or to add to the selection of offerings. In addition, we regularly consult Provincial Council and the PL Focus Group for their advice about new ideas and the identification of needs. Occasionally, Members send their suggestions to the learning@principals.ca inbox or directly to the Director of PL. All of these mechanisms for gathering information are components of our planning process.

We also rely on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Roster for their expert advice. We endeavour to ensure that the writing team includes at least one of the Members who are part of the EDI Roster. When that is not possible, a Member of the Roster reviews any course materials before they are finalized. Through this process we receive feedback on language, image use and diversity of resources and sources; this helps us to develop increasingly anti-racist and anticolonial PL opportunities.

In 2022–23, we will continue to welcome Member suggestions through feedback forms, Council and the PL Focus Group. In addition, we will work more closely with the Protective Services Team (PST) and the Director of EDI to develop offerings that may proactively address situations frequently faced by Members. We will continue to use our usual planning and development processes, including relying on the EDI Roster.

We will also continue our work with l’Association des directions et des directions adjointes des écoles franco-ontariennes (ADFO) and the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario (CPCO), as well as the Global Network, to provide Members with varied opportunities. For example, through the Global Network, we are offering an Amplification series for experienced principals and viceprincipals. We also plan to continue our work with researchers to develop more resources such as the advocacy paper that was launched earlier this fall.

There are a number of new offerings through the 2022–23 school year, including some micro-credentialed self directed courses and plans for the OPC’s 25th Anniversary celebrations. Consult the PL landing page on our website for more about our offerings. If you have any questions or suggestions, send them to us at learning@principals.ca. If you do not yet receive our weekly PL Bulletin, which features upcoming learning opportunities, you can sign up to get it on our website.

ntrepanier@principals.ca