Bringing the University to the student and the student to the University
Lisa Clughen, NTU
- What we encounter; how we understand this; how we respond
- Why awareness of ‘skills’ is not enough for writing
- Students diagnose what they need via a skills discourse
- ‘skills’ the dominant paradigm for students and tutors
- Embedding the skills is sometimes ‘bought in’ and separating out skills and subject (autonomous approach?)
- During workshops, students quite good at articulating writing processes
- Writing is deeper than ‘skills’
Experiences from students
- Not understanding the reading
- Text books difficult
- Getting head round information
Therefore, it’s the content of the course. So literacy should be a development in thought, not skill. And this shifts how we support writing.
Moved away from skills towards literacy as a social practice. Always embedded in social practices. So writing is not decontextualised, it has its own connotations in diff disciplines. So we need to unpick these connotations.
Epistemological – how you think/approach data structures how you write. i.e. if you see the world as facts, you will write that way. If its dependant on historical influenes then that will impart in writing, if its negotiable then it will influence writing.
Language effects the epistemology. Shift towards own epistemological stance. (This is/could show conditional tense reflecting negotiable subjects as an example).
Identity/self/being/power = judging, identity (see SB), being; i.e. you are positioning yourself!
Emphasise difference(s):
- How do historians write?
- How do you write as a history student?
(Historians write as an accumulative basis of the perceptions of others…)
Unravelling Writing Cultures
For Central Services: How do you unpick nuances across the disciplines?
For Lecturers: Unconcsiously competent so need to move to be consciously aware of skills. Teasing out the epistemological stance is tricky.
Staff say its about critical analysis and overlook cultural features of the disciplines. How do we get into the culture?
Identity and Difference
Defined by what it isn’t just as by what it is.
English and sociologists have diff epistemologies. They look for different things. Identity is relational and marked by difference.
Professional literacies. Diff. videos of professionals showing differences in writing (eg. Solicitor purposefully writing in a complex way rather than clearly).
Debunking common myths re writing. EG. In law, passive voice (i.e. contract wasn’t signed – no blaming); complicating clauses; dull writing to turn people off.
So, should writing be clear? It depends on the context, purpose, identity, audience! Writing is cultural; its diff in diff places.
How do we get into cultures?
- Putting methods used in one-to-one online
- Ask about lectures and seminars to unravel features of discipline
- Lectures! Up to date performance of cultural conventions of the discipline
EG: Thinking, writing & speaking as an English student. How to’s for English/dissecting the epistemologies (using lecture clips):
- Contextualising texts
- Historicising texts
- Positioning literature
After which it’s ‘over to you’ via cloze activities. What is the data? English, it’s literary. So look at the metaphors, characterisation, etc. In English = close readings of text; more quoting (in other subjects, more paraphrasing). Epistemologically – theorising texts in english.
Get students to unpick lectures shaped as they are.
Students as citizens?
- 2nd section in VLe
- Looking for peer feedback
- Developing
- Set up activities for students to pick n mix
- Questions about lectures
- Activities for making most of feedback
- Implicitly, gives up authority – student led/facilitating
- Stress the joys of writing
* Needs to be structured. Pull out examples. Get students to look for others.
carpet cleaning
ReplyDelete