Claire Saunders, Tansy Jessop
This poster addresses the conference theme of building a culture for learning. We argue that developing a stronger writing culture amongst academic staff can have far-reaching impact on the wider learning culture of the university through the integration of teaching, research and writing in the academic role. Two writing interventions were implemented in our institution. Each was underpinned by a view of writing as a process rather than simply a final product, and each recognised the daily realities and pressures of academic life. Both were designed to carve out a space where there was time to think, write and share.
Using visual methods and reflective data, we examined the gradual changes in teachers’ academic writing identities through two parallel interventions. The first was a rapid-fire six-part series of workshops on the craft of academic writing; the second was a slow burn series of monthly writing groups. This poster tells the story of how these interventions helped teachers shift their view of writing as an unremitting drive for output, beginning to see its potential as a creative and rewarding process that generates thinking, enlivens teaching and opens research and ideas to a wider audience.
We suggest that there are both some ‘quick wins’ that can revitalise teachers’ attitudes to writing, and a ‘long game’ in which sustained effort begins to shift both individual and institutional perceptions of the value of writing. We hope that the poster triggers reflection on the place of writing as a powerful, creative agent for thinking, learning and teaching in higher education.
