The academic writing/feedback cycle: an exploration through collaborative staff/student research

1. The academic writing/feedback cycle: an exploration through collaborative staff/student research Rosemary Allen, Kate Lundie Hill, Joy Jarvis, Ellie Lawrence, Amanda Roberts, Dianne Solly, Jen Woodward School of Education UH Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 5th May 2011

2. The project • Built on a 2009-10 Faculty staff/student research project : Feedback for Learning • Academic Writing Spiralproduced • 2010-11: Trialling , evaluation and further development of Academic Writing Spiral through student/staff collaborative research in a number of modules spanning levels 4-7 • Production of resources to support its use The academic writing/feedback cycle

3. The academic writing/feedback cycle

4. An interactive version The academic writing/feedback cycle

5. We aimed to use the Academic Writing Spiral and supporting resources to help students to: • understand assignment briefs • understand the vocabulary associated with academic writing • develop their skills in different types of writing • understand thefeedback they were given • clarify the link between academic reading and writing The academic writing/feedback cycle

6. How might these aims be achieved? • through making visible the constituents of academic writing at the various levels • through clarifying what students need to do to progress from one level to the next level • through supporting students and staff in identifying areas of difficulty in academic writing and in developing resources and approaches to help overcome them The academic writing/feedback cycle

7. The production of resources • 39 resources available to support writing development at Levels 4-7 (and beyond?) • PowerPoint presentations to explore, for example: • - What is the purpose of writing? • - How can I develop my academic voice? • - How can I move from Level 4 to Level 5? • - How can I develop as a critical reader? • Word documents - student activities The academic writing/feedback cycle

8. Ease of use The academic writing/feedback cycle • as the basis of a lecture (narrated/teachers’ notes) • in seminars • independent learning: • - step-by-step activities • - narrated power points • - StudyNet

9. The staff/student research dimension • Student and staff researchers: • kept notes on their use of the spiral and their learning from it • gathered feedback from students within and outside of taught sessions to help us all to understand the process of writing development and how to best support it The academic writing/feedback cycle • met as partner researchers to discuss insights • attended a staff/student researcher day – April 2011

10. What did we learn about academic writing/feedback?

11. Student researchers discovered ... Students who achieved the higher grades often found their feedback less informative about how they had fulfilled the criteria or how they could improve their work further Many module leaders now make a effort to ensure that feedback comments are unambiguous, consistent and match the final grade The academic writing/feedback cycle Students found the Spiral useful, and would like to see this referenced more widely, i.e. used in lectures when setting assignments Students seem to be developing a more positive response to their feedback

12. I was a bit nervous when I started writing. The Spiral did help a bit. I liked the fact it was coloured and very visual Students commented ... It was good to have the Spiral for reference when I started my assignment The academic writing/feedback cycle I don’t find the Spiral particularly helpful as the colours and small font make it hard to read I went over the assignment with the Spiral in my hand to see if I could find evidence of what level I was at

13. One student’s story ... The academic writing/feedback cycle 13 October 2010

14. The academic writing/feedback cycle 19 October 2010

15. The academic writing/feedback cycle 9 November 2010

16. We have become much more aware of the need to support writing – particularly the need to be more explicit about both the process and about what needs to be produced Staff commented ... We need to offer students more small-group support to develop their writing The academic writing/feedback cycle We need to make everything much more explicit , particularly how students can use our feedback to move their writing on at whatever level Students see the benefit of further developments to the Writing Spiral to support their decisions about what level they want to submit their work at

17. What did we learn about collaborative staff/student research?

18. Students involved in the project commented ... I felt that my feedback and research was valued and respected by various members of the team My perception of staff / student relationships changed during this project The academic writing/feedback cycle The possibilities for students to impact on curriculum development are endless, providing they are given appropriate direction and support I felt empowered as a student to impact on my own learning at UH and on the learning of others

19. I tried not to lead the students too much but this meant they did not always collect relevant data Staff commented ... Engaging with students as researchers has given us a partnership approach to developing practice which has been really effective The academic writing/feedback cycle Staff and student commitment to developing practice together has led to improvements in academic writing and in our ability to work collaboratively in developing learning and teaching It was not always easy to find time to meet with students particularly when they were out on teaching placement

20. The bigger picture? The academic writing/feedback cycle

21. “There is a separation shown here between students and staff. The long road shows the long way we have to go in our communication between one another.” The academic writing/feedback cycle

22. The academic writing/feedback cycle “There is not much connection between staff and students. Everything is quite closed off.”

23. “ This is how I see it at the moment, with all the staff on one side of the film and all the students on the other side. This is starting to be broken down now but still the nuts and bolts of the university’s policies are getting in the way.” The academic writing/feedback cycle

24. The academic writing/feedback cycle “ This is how I see the future. There are still barriers there but there are ways over this with staff and students communicating professionally with each other.”

25. The academic writing/feedback cycle “ The feathers symbolise creativity and difference. I think we should embrace creativity and that could help us to develop the curriculum.”

26. And so now .... • development of Writing Spiral resources, following student feedback • new research and development project, looking at how students use the resources and the impact on their learning • agenda to explore further the student viewpoint • other things not yet imagined The academic writing/feedback cycle

27. Questions and comments?