This year has been an exceptional year for teaching. We are just transitioning out of a COVID19 time period and our students are ready and eager to engage with faculty!
Before the semester began, I made the decision to travel to a Texas State Park. I realized that I write best papers when I am sitting outside in camping chair, cooking lunch with a foldable cookstove, and surrounding myself with the most amazing bug spray ever.
So, while I was “in nature”, I thought about some out of the box strategies that I could use for the upcoming semester. One of these strategies was centered around one of my husband’s experiences during his graduate program at Texas A&M University – The Journal Club. Now, keep in mind – I teaching in the Communication Department and journal clubs are primarily held in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM).
So, I jumped into the Journal Club game HEAD FIRST and I decided to integrate the experience on my syllabus. My graduate students did not have any experience with a journal club and I had to demonstrate and explain the purpose of the activity. ALL of my students are online and this meant that the best way to explain the journal club was to demonstrate how it works. So, here’s my demonstration video…
After the students viewed the video, they were able to select the days and the associated articles that they wanted to highlight in the journal club. The students had to present two times and they had to attend at least one session. Each session has two facilitators and they basically divide the article in half. Many of the students have attended more than three sessions. Here are the articles we reviewed this semester…
Overall, it is a great learning experience for them and I will definitely integrate it next year. The students are reflecting about the articles and are highlighting how the articles have implications for many fields.
In fact, the Rural Communication and the Texas Social Media Research Institutes are hosting Texas Social Media Conference MONTH in November. You are welcome to attend our Journal Club sessions via Zoom, chat and network with others through our Thursday night Twitter chats, and hear some AMAZING presentations! I will post registration soon. In the meantime, check out the month-long schedule.
Texas Social Media Month – November 2021 (Draft) by jennifertedwards
Have any questions? Contact me.
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Enjoy!
Check out my book – Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.
Remember to order copies for your team as well!
Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication
Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute
& Rural Communication Institute