Life definitely feels like these goats on a thin sheet of metal at times. You never know if you are going to stay up or come crashing down. One of the things that has greatly impacted my balance in a good way, is knowing the size and shape of my plate (the proverbial plate on which everything I do rests). Discovering the size and shape of my plate was a process for me and I had help along the way. 

During my probationary period, my wise mentor Polly Laubach realized I had a problem of saying yes to too many things. This “say yes” problem caused a major imbalance which had my plate running over. I felt like I was exceeding the size and shape of the plate I had to offer. Polly identified this problem significantly faster than I did which is one of the reasons she is a great mentor. She was paying attention to me and noted all the things I was doing. Polly’s remedy for this problem was simple, say no. Trust me when I say that we actually practiced saying no. She would run a scenario and provide me the opportunity to say no. We also practiced at the end of our meetings together which was a great way to help me practice saying no. 

I am going to be honest, I do not like to say no. Which is why I do not say no, rather I say:

• What are the deliverables of the project? 
• When do you see this project being completed?
• What days and times would the committee meet? 
• What are the expectations of the committee members? 
• How often would you want to meet to complete this project?
• How will the product we create or project we complete be used in the future? 

All of these questions have led me to being better at selecting which project, committees, and other opportunities I say yes to. 

Sometimes my balance might look like this where everything is balanced even if there are lots of cups or tasks or commitments but the important part is balance. Everyone’s plate is a different size and shape so take on what you can within your limits. 

Ever since joining Glendale Community College, I have felt a comforting gravitational pull coming from the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Engagement (CTLE). As a first year faculty member, all of our First Year Residential Experience (FYRE) meetings were held in the Robinson Room and was where I bonded with the other new residential faculty for the entire year. In those meetings we were introduced to many faculty and staff across the campus and how their work impacts the college as a whole. This meant that even more firsts happened in this space in terms of learning about the college procedures, meeting colleagues, and how to navigate the campus. 

The CTLE provides many firsts for me with workshops and opportunities to grow. I was lucky enough to participate in the first Reimagine cohort which explored new teaching strategies and the support to take a risk in implementing the strategy of our choosing. I was fortunate to again have many first meetings with colleagues and learn new information in the Robinson Room. 

Yet another first came when I became a co-faulty developer for the CTLE. I have had the privilege of working with all the contributing members in the CTLE which has led to me being a part of enhancing the gravitational pull that is the CTLE. Over the last six semesters, I have enjoyed bringing new development opportunities in the form of The Pulse@ GCC, Cleaning Your Digital Life, FLEX Gym, and Tiny Tech Tips to our GCC campus community. This has provided me with a huge amount of joy since I am able to facilitate firsts for others across our campus. 

The most recent first I have had at the CTLE is once again in the Robinson Room. I attend the crafting group meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 pm to 2pm. This has allowed me to meet more faculty and staff across the campus and connect based on our interest in crafting which includes, but is not limited to, knitting, crochet, coloring, gem art, cross stitch, embroidery, and many more. 

Here are some of the pieces I have completed thanks to the assistance of Karen Conzelman

If you are looking for a place that specializes in helping you discover new firsts and try new things while meeting new people the CTLE is the place for you.  They are one of my comfort zones on campus and I am glad that I have had the opportunity to share them with you.

Personally, I have always liked learning new things. I find challenging myself to grow to be rewarding. I embrace the value of lifelong learning in numerous ways. 

In my opinion, one of the key pieces to lifelong learning must be desire. In my personal life I have pushed myself to learn how to knit, change out a bathtub, use a jackhammer, install tile, put up drywall, install solid core doors, put up cabinets, and many other things. What is interesting is that most of these came from my internal desire to change things in my home or learn a new skill. 

Here are some pictures of the project I have taken on and learned from along the way (before on the left and after on the right):

My desire to learn things in my professional life is strong and I find it fun to learn new techniques and technologies to push my instruction and productivity. There is something very satisfying to me when I attempt a new activity with my students. The thrill of not knowing if the activity you built will be a smash hit or just a huge flop can be exciting both in a good and bad way. The suspense of not knowing can also add to the excitement. This semester I have changed my classroom yet again using strategies from Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics from Peter Liljedahl. 

Using strategies from the book, my students are randomly grouped into groups of three every class using a line up activity (Example: Second letter of their last name or distance they drove to campus). Then my students participate in a non curricular task which encourages them to think and has multiple options for solutions and strategies to solve. Once the task is completed they are then given curriculum tasks that are in line with the competences of the course. The students are standing at the boards the entire class with the purpose of problem solving and actively thinking about the task in front of them. 

This new take on my classroom has been invigorating and keeps me on my toes as much as my students. Everyday poses new ways of thinking and pushes everyone in the room to think, not just memorize. 

My desire to push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things has led to growth whether in trying something new and it working out or failing miserably, I am still growing and learning. I truly believe that this attitude helps me be a better teacher and colleague. 

GCC  fosters opportunities for life-long learning in our community. How do you embrace the value of life-long learning? Write about the importance of continuous professional development in your role here at GCC and share your personal experiences and growth.

When your child shows interest in something you, as the parent, research their interest and find lessons, environments, or other experts that can help your child pursue those interests. For my son, that means WE are learning how to play the piano. Don’t get me wrong I have wanted to learn how to play the piano since I was in high school but I never made time for it. Having my son show an interest has pushed me to try something new and let me tell you, playing an instrument is not easy.

I have been pushed in so many ways while learning the keys and notes as well as how to read music. Playing the piano with both hands simultaneously while reading music and looking ahead to where your hands need to be for the next note is intense.

My son is learning at his level which means that I can help him practice what each key on the piano corresponds to the note in the music as well as his hand placement. I can even help him read the music that he is learning. I have loved learning this new skill with my son and I have found that the challenge is invigorating. This shared interest has helped us connect and makes our piano lesson days a mother-son adventure in patience and growth.

As I reflect on this current skill we are learning, I have found other things that I have learned that I did not know before having my son and helping him dive into his interests.

For example, I learned how to solve a rubik’s cube after we had an incident where my nephew jumbled up a solved cube and my son cried for hours about how it would never be solved again. I decided that I could learn how to solve the rubik’s cube and in essence stop any future tears on something that, in my opinion, did not need them. That is a win-win in my mom book.

I began using Generative AI to help with my marriage. I would ask for different activities my husband and I could do together to connect. I was surprised at how many activities the AI systems could create so I started to push a little harder.

For example, I do enjoy hearing that my husband loves me but then I start to think “why does he love me?” and “are the words ‘I love you’ what I really wanted to hear?” So I started to ask ChatGPT what are other ways to say I love you? As well as what ways can you show how you love someone? These two prompts have helped my husband and I feel more connection and love from one another. 

I am not going to say that ChatGPT is a counselor or therapist but if you are looking for small tips that can help you in your relationship day-to-day, I would suggest giving it a try. In the end, after all the suggestions from the GenerativeAI of your choice, you still need to choose which ideas are comfortable and actionable for yourself and your situation. 

I believe that this same mindset can be used for Generative AI in the classroom. Take things slow and use your judgment to determine the best fit for you when integrating ChatGPT suggestions/ideas into your instruction. 

One of my favorite things about my office is all the color. I have an interior office with no natural light and that can make my space feel somewhat dreary. One of the ways that I have created an inspiring office space is with color. This can be found before opening my door. 

You will see in the image I have used colored transparency on my door to bring more color. Circles are my favorite shape so they are also showcased. 

Once inside my office you will find bright summer colors that complement the white walls and black file organizer on my wall. I wanted to create a happy and inviting space. In my research I have found that having plants (real or faux) have a positive effect on your mood which is why I have two fake plants and am looking to add a third soon. 

I hope that you have found some inspiration in looking into my office space and maybe you will consider adding a faux plant to your work space to boost your mood in a positive way. 

One of the first things I hear about AI and systems like ChatGPT is that students are using this to cheat. Cheating is a large concern for most teachers but it begs the question, why is cheating a hot button topic for the teacher?

Personally, cheating makes me frustrated since I work hard to create courses, assignments, assessments, etc. that are fair and can be easily completed if the students are following the structure of my course and completing the tasks along the way. I build my course and content with the intent for my students to pass my course which is why it is frustrating to find a student cheating in my course.

When I see this I start to ask more questions of the student, like:
— How are you managing the time commitment of this course with the rest of your responsibilities?
— Do you feel overwhelmed with the content in this course?
— Are there any areas that I can help support you and your success in this course?

Finding out the answers to even one of these questions, helps me to identify more of what the students need and how to help them be successful without the need or desperation to cheat.

If we can get past the cheating part of the AI systems, I have confidence that educators can find a positive use for the tool, such as:
— Helping to brainstorm solutions to a student conduct issue
— Creating more application problems relevant to students
— Building content that ties to future careers

The possibility of AI has yet to be discovered and I am interested in exploring the space with my colleagues and students.

In 10 years, I see GCC providing quality education that meets the needs of our students and their ever growing need for flexibility.

In order to meet the growing demands of flexibility from our students and their employers, we need to be willing to make schedules strategically. I am all for faculty teaching courses that they want, however the time, format, and frequency of class meetings need to meet the needs of our students. I would like to see us adopt a more positive outlook on reviewing our data. I want all of us to see how our students are doing as they progress from our course into the next. Are there areas that we can grow as instructors to better meet the demands of the next course in our students sequence?

Then I want us to look further into the students’ future careers. What are we leading them toward? What will their work environments look like? What areas can we as faculty grow in order to provide them with the skills they need in their future careers? Can we partner with companies to ensure relevance to our content and our students’ future work environments?

Our faculty are strong and more malleable than we know.. If we get back to the root of the reason why we are all teaching and given the evidence to support change for the betterment of students, we can overcome the discomfort change brings.

Our students are our customers and we need to be sure they want to keep purchasing our product, “knowledge.” We want to create classroom spaces that are collaborative and dynamic. These spaces require ingenuity and innovation. We are teachers but that is only the surface. We are learners and cheerleaders for our content and our students. We are already taking steps to bring more flexibility and change to our classrooms, curriculum, and college. We can see these changes in the online tutoring, the new modalities for courses (live online, flexible attendance), online test proctoring, student services chat systems, instructional videos, grace periods on assignments, allowing students to Zoom into a class session, and many more that I am sure I have missed.

We are well on our way to seeing a full scale change in our campus and yes it will probably take us 10 years to truly adopt the growing world of flexibility but it can be done and I cannot wait to see it.