Professor PLC 

Professors teaching in the Teacher Education program were made up of full-time professors, part-time professors (or lecturers) and seconded teachers. Finding common ground within this community of professionals was an important first step to ensuring quality education for FSL teacher candidates. 

Working with professors who were teaching our FSL teacher candidates, we created a Professional Learning Community (PLC) to open up a conversation about the program goals, the students' needs, the specific teaching methodologies we would use and teach them about, and the logistics of using uOttawa learning platforms and grade submission tools. The aim of working with professors teaching our FSL teacher candidates was to create cohesion in the program and work towards a common vision. We worked with professors during the school year of 2021-2022. 

We first met with professors in the Summer of 2022 during the University of Ottawa Summer Retreat. This served as an onboarding meeting. During this meeting, we got to know each other, and we introduced the professors to the program, its structure, and people who could serve as points of contact if they had questions. During this meeting, we presented the framework for effective L2 teacher preparation (outline in our Theoretical Framework section) as a basis for preparing future FSL teacher candidates in ways that would promote their professional identity and sense of well-being. Questions around the four pillars (language proficiency, intercultural competence, pedagogical knowledge and skill, and collaborative professionalism) came back throughout our ensuing meetings with the Professor PLC.

Prior to the onboarding meeting, we prepared a document to share overarching themes and content for the University of Ottawa FSL Methodology courses. In the University of Ottawa Teacher Education program, each level (P/J, J/I and I/S) has 2 Methodology courses. To ensure cohesion and guide professors in the program we prepared and co-negotiated with them a list of overarching themes to address in these courses. Having agreed upon them together, this aided professors in preparing their syllabi. 

Next, we met regularly over the school year (twice in the Fall semester and once in the Winter semester) to share experiences, answer questions and facilitate preparation for the Part 2 courses in the Winter semester. 

At the end of the school year (2021-2022), professors were invited to participate in interviews for data collection. 

Feedback from the participants

The profesors who participated in the the Prof PLC indicated that the experience was invaluable for them during the onboarding process (especially for those who were seconded teachers or part-time lecturers). The Prof PLC created a space for the professors to share institutional knowledge that is accumulated over the years by professors who have been teaching in the program over several years. 

The professors also indicated that they felt relieved having an established group of peers and mentors that they could reach out to when they had questions, for example, about how to input grades, how to deal with student questions, etc.

The professors all indicated that they would like something like a Prof PLC if they were to continue working in the program. Overall, the professors who participated also indicated that they were able to feel a part of the institutional community in terms of creating coherence and cohesion in the program. 

Below you will find resources we developed with the professors and topics we discussed together. Please feel free to adapt any of these resources for your own purposes. 

Summer of 2022

Summer Retreat slides for onboarding meeting

Overarching themes for the FSL Methodology courses co-negotiated with professors

Meeting agendas and discussion points during the school year 

(September 2021-April 2022)