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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion were taught and discussed in a forward thinking way. As more neurodivergent students emerge, I have come to realize how necessary DEI is not only in the classroom, but at the university as a whole. DEI is not limited to those with a 504 or IEP and I feel I have learned that that is what needs to be spread around universities as more students become cognizant of their own learning styles.

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Though professional development days can be dreadful, they are important. I looked at professional development through a different lens within this course and it made me think about how other professionals see the PD sessions they instruct. I also feel that what we learn as teachers are issues we can "submit" for professional development topics, or interests. For example: If an instructor does not have a background in education, they may ask for a PD session to be about classroom management. PD is about developing the whole teacher to further the ability and success of the whole student.

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The biggest takeaway for me regarding faculty governance was a few things: The first was that I learned what it was. Prior to this course, I truly had never heard the term before, or at least, maybe I didn't pay attention. Next was that I wasn't alone in that. When I conducted the interview with my chair, I was asked to provide a definition of both this term and social justice. I also gained that this must be a newer concept in higher education at some universities because from the answers I received and the knowledge I have from working at the same university, the answers did not align with what faculty governance is and what happens on campus. I also learned that it is important to advocate for "the cause" in order to help promote faculty governance.

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One takeaway was prepping for an interview by doing mock interviews! It almost seems silly to realize I had never thought of this. I also remember a classmate saying they brought notes with them to interviews which was another thing I hadn't thought of doing. Tied in with going beyond the call of duty, I could offer mock interviews for my students in a way to help them prepare for after college.

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I enjoyed taking the High 5 assessment to see what my strengths were. I wasn't too surprised at the results and was quite pleased with the fact that I interpreted them to mean I'm where I am meant to be. What I also learned was how to zero in on those strengths to be able to utilize them both on an individual level and combined. My top 5 strengths were coach, commander, empathizer, problem solver, and deliverer. I found through our strength analysis assignment that I code-switch quite often as my top 5 skills are not ones I typically exhibit at home.

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Similar to faculty governance, prior to attending Gwynedd I had never heard of social justice in an education setting. Now that we have been here a little over a year, I am confident in my ability to bring social justice into my classroom. What this course helped me with is bringing it outside of the classroom but still staying with the university. I also realized that I am very passionate about my social justice project and wish I had enough resources to bring it to fruition. Further than that, I learned that my students have great ideas on how to bring social justice to the forefront of what matters to them.

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As a constructivist, I believe in scaffolding. What I learned from this course we that we cannot disregard an experience just because it may not fall in the same context. If we learned from an experience, the lesson can be applied to anything. As educators, we have to use what we remember of being students at an undergraduate level (assuming that's the level we are teaching) and build from that. Building a rapport by allowing our students to know us creates trust with our students. Being an effective instructor means continually allowing yourself to simultaneously be a student.

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To truly be an effective member at a higher education institution, you need friends. As an adjunct, I remember my beginning being rough because I didn't know anyone and I was afraid of appearing "dumb" by asking too many questions. But I developed "situation-ships" with two of my coworkers and it has blossomed into true friendship over the last six years. We help each other develop our syllabi, look for new readings, and create activities. We all have different backgrounds that also help diversify us and helps us gain insight from other perspectives. I learned this through the mock-interview and the interview with my chair.

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To be an effective educator, we have to go beyond our role of professor. We have to show that we are people, and we are human. The more we humanize ourselves, the more respect we earn in turn. Similarly, the better rapport we have, the more our students trust us. It is important for our students to know we are there for them. That might be something simple like attending a sporting event that they are playing in. Or watching the play they are in. But it also might mean allowing (if possible, of course) a student to bring their child to class. Going beyond the call of duty is what sets effective educators apart from educators. Ensuring that we are allowing DEI and social justice in our classroom will go a long way with regards to the success of our students.

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Wayne Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" and he's absolutely right. However, what he didn't say was sometimes we have to create the opportunity for that shot. When we worked on our CV's, I realized that if I want to further develop and enhance my CV I have to look for the opportunities where they may be. If I want the chance to add to my CV, I can look for those opportunities within conferences for the professional associations I had selected. But, I could further that and create the opportunity to run a PD within my department.