University provides a platform for students to understand how to transform the world. In the future, as a Psychology Professor, my three primary teaching goals would be rooted in social justice philosophies to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to comprehend and alleviate social issues. First, I would be committed to cultivating an inclusive and accessible intellectual environment. Second, I would utilize critical pedagogy, with the inclusion of historical and diverse knowledge, to broaden student perspectives on contemporary social issues. Third, I would encourage and support students in applying their psychology knowledge to tangible social issues, with the building of research and/or community engagement skills. By accomplishing these three primary goals, students would become not only immensely competent and independent scholars, but also highly skilled global citizens prepared to tackle and alleviate social issues (Breunig, 2009).

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            My student-focused approach to teaching will give utmost importance to fostering an engaging, inclusive, and accessible intellectual environment. Differentiated learning, with the inclusion of regular student feedback activities, would allow students with diverse skills to learn and participate in my courses (Morgan, 2014). Using a variety of active learning techniques would also allow students to contribute their knowledge in the classroom in multiple ways. Along with differentiated learning and active learning strategies, paying close attention to including a diversity of authors in course readings and utilizing diverse examples to explain course material are steps I would take to ensure that I create a meaningful learning environment for a diverse student group. As a Women's Studies 1000 Seminar Leader, 31/36 students reported that they felt comfortable participating in the seminar, and also felt included in the seminar.  Fostering an inclusive learning environment is particularly important to me because I attended higher education as a minority myself, being a second-generation female Indian immigrant in Canada. Feeling included in my educational setting was crucial to bolstering my confidence and aptitude as a scholar.

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            Critical pedagogy is also an essential component of teaching that I would utilize in order to equip students to advance social justice efforts in their futures (Door, 2014). In my personal academic journey, gaining the ability to understand and critique academic papers, institutions, and societies was instrumental to understanding how I can better create social change. For example, reading certain academic papers and asking why they were written, who they were written by, who was represented, and who was excluded allows one to critically evaluate the true meaning and impact of a paper. Applying this particular example to my courses, developing these skills among my students would involve myself facilitating group discussions and asking students to reflect on each of these questions in relation to course readings. Developing these critical thinking skills, along with critical pedagogy knowledge, would provide students with the foundations required for pursuing social justice efforts (Breunig, 2009). 

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            However, when working to alleviate social issues, critical thinking is not enough to facilitate meaningful and sustainable change. Students must also be able to link their critical thinking to tangible actions (Door, 2014). As a Professor, I would challenge students to apply their knowledge through two options. First, students could choose to gain high-quality research skills, where they would undertake supervised research in an area of interest. I would challenge students to critically contemplate how research philosophies may be suited to particular research questions, how methods can be chosen, and how results can be evaluated. On the other hand, students could apply their knowledge through community engagement activities. In this case, I would challenge students to develop, implement, and evaluate community-based programs. Students would then be equipped to utilize community-based programs as vehicles for facilitating social change. Within my Women's Studies seminar, 21/36 students reported feeling more confident to engage in activism at the end of the course. With the ability to feel engaged, develop critical thinking skills, and apply their knowledge, my future students will be fully prepared to transform the world.

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