FASSTEST at the EDEN Digital Learning Europe Annual Conference 2023

The Annual Conference of EDEN Digital Learning Europe was held at Dublin City University 18-20 June 2023. I was delighted to have the opportunity to attend this conference, funded by FASSTEST, to present some of the findings to date of the FASSTEST project Evaluating the Impact of ‘Write Now’ Sessions: Adapting Approaches from Academic Writing Retreats to Create a Learning Community of Student Writers on A233.

EDEN Digital Learning Europe is an educational association focused on e-learning and open and distance education. The 325 delegates gathered at the 2023 conference came from 60 countries around the world, bringing together expertise and research in educational digital technologies and pedagogies of teaching and learning in online spaces. The theme of the conference was ‘“Yes we can!” – Digital Education for Better Futures’, placing the focus on the ’art of the possible’. It was an uplifting event, with inspiring keynote speakers from HE institutions across Europe and beyond, plus an extensive programme of papers detailing work being done in the field.

The Open University had a strong presence at the conference, with colleagues from several Faculties sharing scholarship focused on enhancing our students’ experience as online distance learners. I delivered a conference paper co-written with my Open University colleagues Dr Hannah Lavery (Director of Teaching, School of Arts and Humanities) and Dr Jennifer Hillman (Senior Manager, Student Support Services). This paper will be published in the forthcoming EDEN’s Conference Proceedings for 2023 (ISSN: 2707-2819).

Preparing this collaborative paper enabled us to draw together work on several current Open University pilots of online live writing and study support sessions:

• ‘Study Together’ – sessions delivered by the University’s Personal Learning Advice Service, designed as an enhancement to a live coaching programme for students with mental health declarations
• ‘Catch Up’– early intervention support sessions offered to students (on ten Arts and Humanities Undergraduate modules) who have missed an assignment deadline, focused on practical strategies for catching up, completing the assignment and getting back on track with their studies
• ‘Write Now’ – sessions recently piloted on one of our Undergraduate English Literature modules, offering students the opportunity to meet online, get tips from tutors on tackling a forthcoming assignment and make progress on their assignment alongside their peers

Each of these three projects uses the Pomodoro Technique to help students focus on their work in short bursts and make immediate progress with their assignment planning and writing during the session. They also draw upon the findings of scholarship on the impact of academic writing retreats by providing

• the ‘legitimisation of time and space for writing’ offered by participation in a shared, live writing experience clearly demarcated from attendees’ usual working environment (Girardeau et al., 2014; Grant, 2006; Moore, 2003; Murray & Newton, 2009; Pololi et al., 2004)

• helping to build a ‘community of practice’: ‘a shared vision, collegial support, mentorship and social interaction’ (Cable et al., 2013; Jackson 2009; Murray & Newton 2009; Rickard et al., 2009)
• intrapersonal benefits of participation in writing retreats: ‘increased self-awareness, confidence and motivation; and reduced writing-related anxiety.’ (Kornhaber et al., 2016, p. 1223) 

Feedback from students (gathered via online surveys) indicates that they find these sessions enable them to focus on their work and make positive progress that they can build on in their individual time afterwards. They also value the interpersonal aspect of participation, benefitting from hearing from their peers, gaining reassurance from realising they are not alone in finding something difficult and from sharing encouragement and practical strategies which can help. Attendees described the feeling of accountability that the synchronous online sessions helped to sustain, making it easier to focus during the session and helping sustain momentum afterwards. These positive outcomes demonstrate that it is possible to create supportive communities of student learners online, replicating many of the benefits which have been previously identified as linked to in-person writing retreats.

Work on these projects continues. The ‘Write Now’ FASSTEST project is about to enter a second year, rolling out these sessions to other Undergraduate Arts and Humanities modules and monitoring this expansion. We are keen to integrate these sessions more closely with ‘Catch Up’ sessions, so that students who have fallen behind can be supported to get back on track and then access assignment preparation support before they miss a future deadline. We are also keen to look more closely at the pattern of attendance at ‘Write Now’ sessions, where 45% of attendees during the pilot chose to attend two or more sessions. The implications of repeat attendance, in terms of session design and students’ sense of being part of a community of learners, will be a focus of the next phase of the project.

Author

Debbie Parker Kinch, Lecturer and Staff Tutor in English

References

Cable, C.T., Boyer, D., Colbert, C.Y,. & Boyer, E.W. (2013). The writing retreat: A high-yield clinical faculty development opportunity in academic writing. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 5(2), 299–302.  

Girardeau, L., Rud, A., & Trevisan, M. (2014). Jumpstarting junior faculty motivation and performance with focused writing retreats. Journal of Faculty Development, 28(1), 33–40. 

Grant, B.M. (2006). Writing in the company of other women: Exceeding the boundaries. Studies in Higher Education, 31(4), 483–495. 

Jackson, D. (2009). Mentored residential writing retreats: A leadership strategy to develop skills and generate outcomes in writing for publication. Nurse Education Today, 29(1), 9–15. 

Kornhaber, R., Cross, M., Betihavas, V., & Bridgman, H. (2016). The benefits and challenges of academic writing retreats: An integrative review.  Higher Education Research & Development, 35(6) 1210-1227.  https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1144572 

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

Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009). Writing retreat as structured intervention: Margin or main-stream? Higher Education Research & Development, 28(5), 541–553. 

Pololi, L., Knight, S., & Dunn, K. (2004). Facilitating scholarly writing in academic medicine. Journal of General Internal Medicine,19(1), 64–68. 

Rickard, C.M., McGrail, M.R., Jones, R., O’Meara, P., Robinson, A., Burley, M., & Ray-Barruel, G. (2009). Supporting academic publication: Evaluation of a writing course combined with writers’ support group. Nurse Education Today, 29(5), 516–52.