Student Writing in Transition Symposium 2011

Abstracts and speaker profiles

Keynote Presentation

9.45-10.45 am

From Transition to Transformation: students shaping their experience and their institutions

Dr. Marco Angelini, Transition Manager, University College London

Before moving to UCL as Transition Manager in 2006 Marco was a Senior Tutor and Lecturer at West London College, where his professional outlook developed towards education policy and equity issues. He worked as a researcher and lecturer at the LSE and Queen's University Belfast from 1994, gaining his PhD from Queen's in 1998. He has published and given talks on a variety of topics including educational reform, widening participation, academic skills, transition pedagogy and ancient Greek thought.

Abstract

Student leadership and engagement as the engines of Transition pedagogy have become central concerns for institutions involved in supporting student development. The focus in this talk is on the academic and social development of students accessing degree studies, in order to measure the impact that intentional engagement has on their ability to regulate and manage their own experience as learners and institutional agents.

In particular, I will assess the impact that mentoring schemes have had on students' learning experiences in terms of confidence, academic writing skills, social engagement and learning development, discussing the potential of leadership schemes to transform learning communities by prioritising participative learning. The main aim of this talk is to chart various aspects of students' developing identities in order to map out a model of effective learning strategies, making links with wider concerns about the ethos and social purposes of student engagement.

Parallel sessions 1

11.00-11.45 am

Expectations, Boundaries and Responsibilities: managing the student / writing-developer relationship

Ruth Coward, Learner Development Co-ordinator, School of Art & Design, NTUand Siân Trafford, Learner Development Co-ordinator,School of Social Sciences, NTU

Ruth is Learner Development Co-ordinator in the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University, supporting students in a variety of ways including providing one-to-one and small group writing development sessions. Ruth also supports staff by working with programme tutors to engage and develop learning within specific curricula.

Siân is Learner Development Co-ordinatorin the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, providing support for academic writing on both a one-to-one basis and a group basis via open access writing development workshops. Siân also works with programme tutors, delivering subject specific learning development sessions throughout the year.

Abstract

The role of the Learner Developer can often seem isolating, especially when spending large amounts of time engaging with students on a one-to-one basis. In this session Siân and Ruth unlock the mysteries of what takes place behind the learner developer’s door and take a practical look at what it means to work with students in a writing development capacity. The session explores how to manage student and staff expectations and how to set appropriate boundaries whilst ensuring that students are getting what they need in order to develop confidence and independence.

The session will involve delegate participation, interaction and reflection and will allow time for the sharing of ideas for good practice.

How to Make a Good Argument: teaching the thesis statement to university students

Dr. Alex Baratta,Director for the Language, Literacy and Communication (LLC) programme, School of Education, The University of Manchester

Dr. Alex Baratta is the Director for the Language, Literacy and Communication (LLC) programme in the School of Education at The University of Manchester. In addition to teaching academic writing, he also runs the LLC Writing Centre, Write Away, and he has received funding for £8169 for projects which focus on visual pedagogy in the writing classroom and writing development. His book, Visual Writing, was published in 2010 and focuses on the ways in which film can be used in the classroom as an analogous link to academic writing. He has also been published in the Journal of Pragmatics, Professional and Academic English and the Journal of Educational Enquiry and his interests in academic writing are in the areas of writer stance, visual learning and discipline-specific writing. Dr. Baratta also serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Language Teaching and Research and he is a member of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW).

Abstract

This paper investigates the nature of the thesis statement (or ‘argument’, the term used at The University of Manchester) within the academic writing of the Language, Literacy and Communication (LLC) programme in the School of Education at The University of Manchester. Results show that there are some differences in opinion between LLC staff and students with regard to their beliefs as to what a good thesis statement should accomplish. Moreover, the majority of students delay offering their opinion until their conclusion, with the thesis consisting of a statement of intentions instead. This differs from the US model, at least within the context of writing classes, whereby students are expected to give their opinion in the introduction and restate it in the conclusion. Further cross-cultural research into academic writing within a variety of disciplines is needed to see if indeed the much discussed ‘Anglo-American’ model with regard to academic writing pedagogy for L2 writers is in fact as homogeneous as has been thought.

Students’ Writing and the Transitions from School to University: the commonalities and inconsistencies between writing for A level and writing for degree level

Sally Baker, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University

Sally Baker is a 3rd year research student at The Open University and is currently working on her doctoral thesis which has the provisional title of ‘Students’ writing and the transition from school to university’, under the supervision of Dr Mary Lea and Dr Theresa Lillis. Her PhD is framed as an ethnographically styled exploration into the learning journeys of a group of students who are being followed from the last year of A levels to the end of the first year of university, using academic literacies as the conceptual framework.

Sally’s other research interests include the use of social network sites to facilitate longitudinal research, liminal literacies and exploring student-writer identities.

Abstract

This presentation explores one case study from my PhD project into students’ writing in the context of the move from A level to degree level study, particularly focusing on the consistencies and dissimilarities in writing (encompassing process, product, assessment, feedback) and discourses of writing (Ivanič, 2004) across the two educational levels. The data are taken from a two year engagement with a group of students, following them from their last year of A levels to the end of their first year of undergraduate study. The case study of Kate presented here is built around two principal data sources: interview data and examples of Kate’s writing collected over the two years. A layered approach to analysis is being taken: the written texts have been thematically analysed and then member validation has been sought through interview with the participants. The interview data has been explored using Ivanič’s categorisations of discourses of writing as the primary lens into this data, which has helped to unpick the discourses of writing, and the underlying assumptions and beliefs that the participants engage with and contribute to.

Some emergent and salient findings will be presented here, such as the endurance of dominant practices and ways of ‘being a writer’ that Kate transfers from A level to university and her engagement with (or lack of) teacher feedback on her writing. In addition, some of the wider themes that are emerging from ongoing interrogation of the data will be discussed.

Parallel sessions 2

11.45-12.30pm

Bringing the University to the Student and the Student to the University: online resources for academic literacy development

Lisa Clughen, Teaching and Academic Support Co-ordinator, School of Arts and Humanities, NTU

Lisa Clughen is a principal lecturer in Spanish, and Learning, Teaching and Academic Support Co-ordinator in the School of Arts and Humanities at Nottingham Trent University. She has worked in both professional and academic literacy development for almost 20 years and is currently working on a co-authored book entitled ‘Writing in the Disciplines: Building Supportive Cultures for Student Writing in UK HE’ (Emerald, forthcoming).

Abstract

In this interactive session, I shall invite participants toreflect on and discussthe calls from different quarters of literacy scholarship to recognise the sociocultural dimensions of literacy. Engaging literacy cultures, it is variously argued, recognise that literacy is ‘essentially social’ (Barton and Hamilton 1998) and offer literacy development that is ‘culturally relevant’ (Barton, Hamilton and Ivanič, 2000: xvi) in order that it both engages students and invites them to participate fully in university literacy cultures. The task of literacy development, then, is not just about socialising students into a particular literacy culture, but about opening up opportunities for them to insert themselves into this culture.

The paper will describe how I have responded to sociocultural aspects of literacy development in my work as Academic Support Co-ordinator in the School of Arts and Humanities at Nottingham Trent University. It will do so with reference to my long-standing interactions with students writing in different literacy cultures across the University, but will focus on my work with a level 3 module in gender and sexuality in the English subject area. In this regard, I shall present my ongoing work on the ‘Thinking, writing and speaking as an English student’ learning object that, using the idea that the lecture is a useful heuristic device for literacy development, offers an approach that is replicable in any subject area. Participants will also encounter a range of practical exercises that can be used across the curriculum for issues ranging from acculturation into local literacy practices to peer support for literacy development.

Importantly, the sentiment that reading and writing are ‘complex human activities, inseparable from both people and the places involved’ (Barton and Hamilton 1998: xii) will infuse this session and participants will be invited to share their own thoughts and experiences of literacy practices and development in order to produce together a contextualised, nuanced discussion that, in keeping with the situated approach to literacies I describe, seeks to draw out the local and particular in literacy practices and support.

In this session, I invite participants toreflect on calls from literacy scholars to recognise the sociocultural dimensions of literacy. The paper presents my ongoing work on the ‘Thinking, writing and speaking as an English student’ website that, using the idea that the lecture is a useful heuristic device for literacy development, offers an approach that is replicable in any subject area.

References

BARTON, D. and HAMILTON, M., 1998.Local Literacies: A Study of Reading and Writing in One Community. Routledge.

BARTON, D. HAMILTON, M. and IVANIC, R., eds., 2000.Situated Literacies. Routledge.

Being and Becoming: transitions to university education

Dr. Giles Martin The Learning Institute, Queen Mary, University of London

Giles is the Educational Development Adviser in the Learning Institute at Queen Mary, University of London, and the programme director of the Certificate in Learning and Teaching. He started his research life as a Mathematical Physicist, completing his PhD at York, before moving into Learning and Teaching Development. His MEd (Educational Research) thesis at Cambridge was on the Transition to University Mathematics. Together with colleague Dr Matthew Williamson and others, he has been involved in institutional educational research, in particular on transitions in higher education.

Abstract

This session relates some of the key findings and themes from a three year long institutional research project looking at the transition to university for undergraduates students at a 1992 group university. The project involved data from 3 years of full-cohort questionnaire surveys of incoming students, interviews with undergraduates following their progress over the first two years of their study, and visits, observations and interviews with pupils and teachers in local sixth forms. The session will concentrate on students’ knowledge of what it is to be a student and their act of becoming a student over the course of a transition period.

Students’ Early Experiences and University Interventions to Support the Transition of First Year Undergraduates

Julie Prior, Senior Lecturer / Undergraduate Programme Co-ordinator, Glamorgan Business School, University of Glamorgan

Julie has worked at the University of Glamorgan since 2001, in a variety of roles combining teaching, student support and research into the student experience, with a particular focus on student retention.

She was responsible for the set up and ongoing management of the Business School Advice Shop in 2006, and introduced a number of initiatives (such as a mentor programme, buddy scheme, attendance monitoring, summer revision event, etc) to enhance student performance and attrition.

She current combines a teaching role, with management of the undergraduate Business School portfolio, but continues to work on cross-faculty initiatives to support and enhance the student experience.

Abstract

The issues students encounter when making the transition to higher education is well documented in the literature. Both home and overseas students can struggle with the more autonomous learning environment, need time to orientate themselves to university protocols and can find it difficult to balance competing time pressures for study, paid employment, socialising and other personal commitments.

So what are the mismatches between students’ expectations and their first year experience at university? What can be done at a module, course, faculty or institution level to support a successful student transition to higher education?

This workshop will share some of the highs and lows of the author, who has spent many years working on projects to enhance and support the student experience at Glamorgan. It will specifically focus on the initiatives implemented to support the transition of first year undergraduates; touching upon the transferability of these to other cohorts, such as 2+1 direct entrants and postgraduates without a first degree.

The workshop will also share some of the challenges and strategies adopted over the years, to secure the commitment and support of academic colleagues and senior management, to encouraging the engagement and participation of students, and to make the most effective use of often limited resources.

Parallel sessions 3

1.30-2.00pm

Increasing Seminar Participation: lessons from EAP for everyone

Dr.Ellie Kennedy, Learning Support tutor, Nottingham Trent International College

Dr. Ellie Kennedy is a Learning Support Tutor at Nottingham Trent International College. The College prepares students from a variety of national backgrounds for undergraduate and postgraduate study at NTU. Ellie teaches Study Skills at all levels and carries out one-to-one tutorials. Before coming to Nottingham, Ellie was a lecturer in German Studies, where she learned to teach academic content in a language which was non-native both to her and her students. This experience sparked an interest in pedagogical strategies which meet the needs of students operating in a second language.

Abstract

International students are in multiple transition: from school to university; from home culture to UK culture; from one education system to another; and often from learning in their own language to learning in English. This ongoing and multiple state of transition may mean that international students’ learning needs are not always met within the usual course of university teaching. For example, linguistic and cultural barriers may result in a reluctance to participate actively in seminars. This can lead to less critical engagement with key concepts and materials, and may signal an apparent resistance to active learning. As a result, seminars can be a frustrating experience for international students, their classmates and their tutors.

There are many strategies – already used in language and academic skills teaching – which can successfully increase (international) student participation. This session takes teaching styles from EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and applies them to subject seminars. For example, written case studies – the cornerstone of many Business seminars – can be made more accessible to students through common language-teaching techniques such as pre-teaching key terms. In this way, students can both access meaning and express a position on the text or topic. Similarly, seminars can be made more interactive through approaches used in skills classes, such as group work, eliciting, and peer support. These techniques represent good teaching practice and should encourage greater participation and critical engagement from all students, whether international or home.

This session aims to:

  • raise awareness of international students’ specific learning needs;
  • provide a transferable 5-step lesson-planning strategy, including ideas for adapting case studies and other materials;
  • pass on techniques from EAP which can be employed to enhance seminar participation and critical engagement on the part of all students.

It will be argued that the introduction of simple communicative techniques from EAP teaching can help both international and home students to grasp key subject concepts while creating a seminar environment more conducive to student participation.

Student Learning at HE Level: how Libraries and Learning Resources facilitates a smooth transition from FE

Heather Parsonage,Liaison Librarian for the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, NTU and Sharon Potter, Liaison Librarian for the School of Social Sciences, NTU

Heather Parsonage has worked as an academic librarian for five years, with previous roles in further education libraries. She is currently the Liaison Librarian for the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, supporting FE and HE students, and for the Nottingham Business School.