(25b) Teaching Chem-E Journal Club: An Opportunity for Career Exploration and Student Support

Journal clubs are often used as a tool to increase exposure to a field of interest and develop a variety of skills like critical thinking and application of evidence-based practices. A monthly journal club was coordinated in a chemical engineering department that has traditionally not had formal conversations about teaching pedagogy or pathways to teaching in higher education. These meetings were open to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows while being facilitated by clinical-track faculty. A heterogeneous group was intended to allow for mentorship and exchange of experiences for early-career chemical engineers. Each monthly meeting was led by a different member who picked a research article and facilitated discussion.

This journal club focused on discussing engineering education research, particularly research applied to the chemical engineering classroom. In addition, a lens of equity and inclusion of historically excluded groups was added to consider the impact of evidence-based practices. This lens was chosen because of how interconnected engineering decisions are to the broader community and was intended to get early-career engineers thinking about their impact both in the classroom and through their work products.

Outcomes from this trial are mainly intangible through exposure to teaching techniques, exploration of teaching-track careers, and improved critical thinking of impact on belonging, equity, and inclusion. Feedback about the journal club and outcomes was collected using an initial survey, mid-term survey, and closing survey at the end of the academic year. As a result of the journal club and participation by current students and alumni, several ideas for positive change in the department include a syllabus addendum on student support and supplemental teaching assistant training for undergraduate and graduate students.

Journal club is a time-effective tool to discuss teaching methods and their impact on student support in chemical engineering for people who are interested in exploring a career path related to teaching. Future work is needed to study the motivation of attendees and how to encourage attendance by industry-focused department members.