AERO's Panel of Educators Teachers and Leaders
AERO's Senior Learning Designer, Krystie, put an early draft of the interactive model in front of some members of our Panel of Educators Teachers and Leaders (PETL) who were unfamiliar with AERO's learning and teaching model:
'We observed how they interacted with the tool to see if it was as useful and intuitive as we'd hoped it would be. It turned out, it actually wasn't! So, the feedback we received from these PETL members really helped us transform the tool into a much more user-friendly and practical resource,' Krystie said.
That's what AERO's PETL is for. Now in its fourth year, the panel has over 700 current members who are teachers, educators and leaders from every state and territory, spanning early childhood education and care (ECEC) through to government, independent and Catholic schools. PETL exists to help us user test resources before they reach a real-life classroom or service.
'For our work to be relevant and accessible, we need to tap into the accumulated wisdom and practical experience of educators and teachers, so one of the ways we keep our fingers on the pulse is through PETL,' said AERO CEO Dr Jenny Donovan.
What PETL does
By inviting PETL members to take part in live online workshops, one-on-one user testing, short surveys and document reviews, we can witness our resources being used as they would be in schools and ECEC services, to test for useability and accessibility prior to publication.
The benefits of collaborating works both ways. PETL member and NSW secondary school teacher Rebecca says, 'Being part of PETL has been a game changer for us. To get involved in the development of resources and the consultation process has been the best professional development we could have [had] at the school.'
It isn't just our interactive model that PETL has helped to shape. We've had the benefit of member feedback on practice guides, explainers, video content, quality assurance standards and our School Writing Instruction Framework (SWIF). PETL's value lies in the range of perspectives it gives us access to – a practitioner in a small remote school may respond very differently to a resource than one in a large metropolitan school. Hearing the perspectives of both helps us see where a resource works and where it doesn't. When combined with the evidence base, this feedback helps shape how our practitioner-facing resources perform in the field.
How to get involved
To find out more about PETL or to apply to become a member, head to our PETL page.