FLEX 3

 

FLEX 3

Using Structured Writing Retreat to actively engage students with the academic writing process.

The I Love Learning (ILL) project was disseminated through two articles showcasing the development and implementation of our project, I have written collaboratively with colleagues David, Helena and Sue.  Finding designated time to write has proved difficult when faced with busy working days, running of the ILL project and studying on professional development courses. To encourage each other to write, Helena introduced us to the  Writing Retreats, which offer dedicated writing time and distraction-free setting, to progress writing projects in a supportive, non-surveillance environment, increasing the motivation to write (Moore, 2003). She also suggested to read a research paper about Writing Retreat as Structured Intervention where participants write down ideas, use a number of techniques: such as goal setting, free writing and sharing. Such retreats offer participants an opportunity to share their writing goals and ideas and seek feedback from others and help to develop a sense of being part of the community (Murray and Newton, 2009; Grant, 2006).

Although we liked the idea, we still found it difficult to designate suitable time to run a retreat for our group within a physical space. As an alternative, we developed a strategy to facilitate our individual writing retreats, using opportunities that arise in our daily routines. We shared our progress via email and skype to motivate each other, set goals and provide feedback. As a result, we have written two collaborative articles one of which have been published. The mutual support and encouragement have given me motivation and confidence in my academic writing abilities with potential for publishing. It also gave me an experience to be part of the ‘community of practice’ (Lave &Wenger, 1991cited in Muuray and Newton, 2009: 542) and encouraged me to work on new research projects such as Student Academic Innovation Journal. This experience has led me to consider if the Writing Retreats could work in a similar way as a tool to engage students with the writing of assignments in a social and supportive setting.

Students often ask for study skills support in the last minute before the assignment is due which can affect the outcomes. Study skills and academic writing support play a vital role in student engagement and retention, therefore I work closely with Programme Teams and Student Support Officer, to embed study skills support into the curriculum in appropriate time to emphasise their relevance and importance within academic studies. Although Study Skills Workshops or The Writing Project teach relevant writing skills, students often do not put freshly acquired skills into practice and leave their assignment to the last minute before the deadline. This can lead to insufficient time available to consider all the aspects of academic writing introduced to students such as, use of the structure or being critical and allowing. This also reduces time for exploring appropriate topics or sources and for gaining feedback on drafts. Reasons for this could be the lack of organisation, planning or motivation for the task and can be explored through the model of Self-Regulated –Learner.

Zimmerman (2002) identifies that for students to enhance self-satisfaction and motivation in improving their methods of learning, the learner must set goals and self-reflect on their increasing effectiveness. He further suggests that students who set specific and realistic goals for themselves display higher achievement and increased self-efficacy. According to Kitching et al (2011) students with belief in their own capabilities are more likely to be motivated to succeed in difficult situations. The Structured Writing Retreats somehow seemed like a ‘new companion’ to the study skills workshops, space for students to engage with the writing process in a good time before the assignment is due. Also to allow time for the development of ideas and time for editing and accessing additional support.

I used the Writing Retreat Facilitator Guide (Murray and Newton, 2009) to design a session plan (Attachment 1) and run the first retreat during the development week. The Writing Retreat involved induvial time to set writing goals achievable within half-hour writing slots or within the full session and make a plan of how the content will be covered. Participants need to consider what is achievable in designated time and share their writing goals with others, explain their writing project, goals and the reasoning behind it and discuss with others if the goals are achievable. Throughout the retreat, participants continue to reflect on whether they have achieved their goals, adjust their goals in relation to what they have accomplished and are encouraged to learn from each other. This approach can help students to develop an approach to writing that is engaging and provide realistic timescales and organisation.

Students’ feedback on the activity highlighted the benefit of a social aspect of the retreat, having a critical friend and sense that you are not alone in this situation and mutual support  building sense of learning community ‘It’s a great opportunity to discuss ideas for Witten assignments … in a group and bounce ideas …’.  Beachboard et al. (2011) argue, that student-learning communities allow for the development of belonging and relatedness, which leads to student motivation, confidence and interest in learning.

Many students have to manage complex workload such as a number of assignment due in the approximate time, alongside other commitments and as a result, affect their motivation. We often procrastinate and leave written work to the last minute. Writing retreats can act as a trigger to start making small steps towards completing of an assignment. ‘I have few assignments due and I wanted to get them done. I thought that I may be able to find some new ways to focus and be more productive with my writing.’ Setting goals and finding more productive ways, such as fitting shorter but more regular writing session within daily schedule can enhance the progress. ‘I got quite a bit of work done in a session and I also learned that working in 30 minutes ‘blasts’ is a lot more productive than trying to ‘slog out’ for 4 hours. I learned new techniques on how to focus and get my work done.’ Students were encouraged to consider incorporating Techniques introduced in the writing retreats in their daily routines and were able to discuss as a group how this could be achieved.

Action:

To set regular writing retreats alternating with reading retreats aiming to engage students with a critical reading of academic journals. Both retreats will aim to enhance student engagement with taking a proactive approach to their studies, creating a social and supportive environment, and potentially will involve Peer Assisted Learning Leaders in the facilitation of the retreats to develop learning communities and students employability.

References

Beachboard, M., Beachboard, J., Li, W. and Adkinson, S. (2011) ‘Cohorts and relatedness: self-determination theory as an explanation of how learning communities affect educational outcomes’. Research in Higher Education. 52, 853–74.

Grant, B. (2006). ‘Writing in the company of other women: Exceeding the boundaries.’  Studies

in Higher Education, 31(4), 483–495.

Moore, S. (2003). Writers’ retreats for academics: Exploring and increasing the motivation to write. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27(3), 333–342.

Murray, Rowena and Newton, Mary(2009)’Writing retreat as structured intervention: margin or mainstream?’ Higher Education Research & Development, 28(5) pp. 541 — 553 DOI: 10.1080/07294360903154126

Kitching, J., Cassidy, S., Eachus, P., and Hogg, P (2011) Creating and Validating Self-Efficacy Scales for Students The American Society of Radiologic Technologists 83:1, 10-19

Zimmerman B.J. (2002) ‘Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview’ Theory Into Practice, 41(2) pp. 64-70

Attachment 1

writing-retreat-session-teaching-plan