CATDC Department Chairs Institute, online/Zoom

I learned a ton of great stuff from this, from how to navigate a new position as "middle management" to some ways to observe and give feedback to other teachers in my department. There were some great tips and strategies suggested by the moderators of the course, and there was a lot of time to collaborate with other teachers who were new department heads in their schools, groups by discipline. I think it was an excellent onboarding, and it was nice that it was online since I was out of town during the workshop. The questions it brought up were more along the lines of, how will this look for me and how can I best build trust around my colleagues as I embark on this department head journey. It wasn't so much about changing my students' journey, but our department's journey. I don't think it will change much because I think our department is and has been on a good trajectory, but it will be good to continue the culture of student centered and collaborative teaching as we welcome a few newcomers to our fold.