‘Writing my first academic article feels like dancing around naked’: research development for higher education lecturers working in further education colleges

Abstract

The growing emphasis on research output has resulted in the emergence of initiatives to enhance writing practices, often targeted at specific groups who are less familiar with the research practices of academia. This paper discusses a collaborative writing group project for higher education lecturers working in further education colleges. Participants were drawn from a group who had previously undertaken funded, pedagogic research projects. We present an analysis of the writing that participants' produced during the initiative, alongside with data from a subsequent questionnaire to review the design, operation and impact of the writing group. We discuss how we sought to challenge established preconceptions and normalise the practice of writing within the group. We conclude by considering the role of academic developers in supporting HE lecturers to develop their writing practices, and identify recommendations to promote the longer-term impact of such work.

Xenolexia's positivity: the alterity of academic writing and its pedagogical implications

“…Henderson is stressing the importance of what the writer has to offer, not what they lack, and xenolexia conceptualises this valuing and meaning-making ability by explaining things by positivity rather than deficit. This positivity has certainly been acknowledged by 'multiple' literacy theorists (see, for example Masny and Cole 2009;Turner, Brown, and Edwards-Jones 2014), but xenolexia goes further. Rather than postulate identity in any formthe identity of learning subjects, the identity of a discipline, the identity of conventions or genreit draws on a 'neo-material turn' to help understand the essentially changing nature of things in this field.…”

Narrative explorations into the professional development of lecturers teaching higher education in English further education colleges

“…Completion of their research had raised issues around dissemination and the academic communities that they sought to affiliate with. The follow-up writing project, facilitated by Authors 1, 2 and 4, ran over the subsequent 12 months and sought to address these issues (see Turner et al, 2009a;2013 for further details).…”

“…When crafting their final narratives the writing group had participated in a range of discussion and peer review activities, as well as drawing upon the writing of other published researchers. As discussed in Turner et al (2013) these activities were used to familiarise the lecturers with the technical, procedural and the emotional aspects of academic writing. To gain an insight into the impact of this intervention on their professional and identity development the analysis would need to capture the writers' changing styles and use of language.…”

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research for Professional Academic Development in Higher Education

“…Scholarly collaboration as empowered by technology could be an essential aspect of faculty professional development in the 21st-century higher education. For example, an academic professional development initiative occurred through a collaborative writing group formed to develop skills in a technology-supported environment where members could encourage and coach others both as colleagues and writers (Turner et al, 2014). Technology support made the collaboration possible in an asynchronous environment that crossed geographical boundaries.…”