Showing papers in "Journal of Writing in Creative Practice in 2018"

Regenring academic writing. Case Study 1: Collages

Abstract: The starting point of our re-genering experiment was to bring together two of our core research interests: our belief in the emancipatory power of ludic and multimodal practice and our desire to empower those widening participation students often labelled as ‘deficit’. We, as learning developers and educationists, started by welcoming and valuing students for who they were, rather than remediating them because of what they were not. Our teaching started with their strengths and assets: their commitment and engagement; and what they could do and what challenge they could rise to without the need for the specific cultural and academic capital typically already possessed by the traditional, middle-class student. The present article and mini-case studies (see also ‘Cabinet of Curiosity’ pp. 211–15, ‘Games and Board Games’ pp. 261–66, ‘Digital Storytelling’ pp. 275–78 and ‘Multimodal Exhibition’ pp. 291–303) present some of the ludic work we have undertaken with our students. This article contains Case Study 1.

‘Yay! Not another academic essay!’ Blogging as an alternative academic genre

Abstract: Academic writing is a staple university practice required across disciplines to determine student success. Despite its ubiquity, however, literacy scholars have long argued that academic writing is both exclusionary and prohibitive. Drawing on the work of literacy scholars we make the case for the use of blogs in higher education as a way of providing a type of inclusive writing or ‘regenring’ that such scholars advocate. To achieve this, we trial the use of a blog in a final-year undergraduate module, employing a mixed-methods approach to explore student perceptions on whether blogging affords them a means to engage with and take ownership of their writing and learning. In keeping with the task we have set our students, we have presented this article using blog-like features.

Slaying the beast: Writing, learning and experiencing in a post-dissertation world

Abstract: This article looks at the motivation behind the removal of the final-year dissertation from the fashion, textiles and footwear undergraduate programmes at the University of Northampton. The removal process was not straightforward and occurred over a number of years and through a process of ‘mini actions’ that in large part were driven by student response to changes implemented by the programme team. The title ‘Slaying the beast: Writing, learning and experiencing in a post-dissertation world’ is intended to suggest both the iconic status the final-year dissertation within undergraduate study has and methods of engagement that can be used to replace this set-piece academic exercise. The discussion is organized under five sections with offer reflections on the process and issues involved in this transition, each with a title that is designed to capture the experience: Identifying the beast; Taking aim; The misery of choice; To B or not to B; Taking down the beast; Burying the beast; and finally Looking back on the quest.

Somewhere in between: Blogging as an intermediate and accessible space

Abstract: The learning process involves contextualising new knowledge with prior experiences and beliefs. In the scientific discipline, the focus of learning is geared towards learning how to do science, but there are significant barriers to learning, including jargonised terminology and excessive use of acronyms. Scientific discoveries are made by experimentation, but science as a discipline progresses through a series of ongoing conversations. Blogging provides a platform that widens access to these conversations by communicating science in a style of writing that sits somewhere in between the formal and informal. Regenring scientific writing as a blog can enhance student learning by breaking down the barriers to learning posed by ‘intellectually inaccessible’ information. Here, I describe an experimental approach to teaching cancer biology by regenring a classic review article in the field as a series of blog pieces, using everyday metaphors and analogies to describe the characteristics and behaviour of cancer cells. Other aspects of discipline, identity, ‘voice’ and communities of practice are also considered. Until such time as blogging is recognised as a valid academic output, however, it will remain firmly somewhere in between.

Hollowed-out genring as a way of purposefully embracing troublesome knowledge: Orientation and de-orientation in the learning and teaching of fine art

Abstract: This text emerges from ongoing research focused on pedagogical developments within the curriculum of the Year 0 Fine Art Pathway, at Norwich University of the Arts. Within any subject discipline, including Fine Art, there are threshold concepts (Meyer and Land, 2003, p.1) that can represent troublesome knowledge (Meyer and Land, 2003, p.2); knowledge that must be comprehended in order that students succeed within that discipline. Within the teaching and learning of Fine Art, students will work between both written and visual genres, often struggling to rationalise the two. As part of our research we have developed practiced based research tasks that serve as destabilising prompts, a hollowed out genre, that encourages students to enter into a de-orientated, liminal, conceptual space within their learning. With the introduction of reflective models, students are able to navigate this liminal space and are afforded opportunities for developmental re-orientations, thus beginning to embrace the threshold concepts inherent with the Fine Art discipline. Drawing upon examples of current practice and student learning, we demonstrate how a process of genring and the use of reflective tools encourage students to confront aspects of troublesome knowledge and see critical writing as an important facet of their practice.

The poster session as fusing theory and practice in art and design education: : Exhibiting an occluded genre

Abstract: The author's accepted manuscript is made available in accordance with Intellect's Green Open Access policy (http://www.intellectbooks.com/open-access). The final published version is available in: Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Volume 11 Number 2, doi: 10.1386/jwcp.11.2.233_1. © 2018 Intellect Ltd.