Creating Postgraduate Collaborations Forums CPC Supervision Development Course Module 3 Module 3: Writing Development and the Provision of Feedback

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  • Esther Kiaritha
    Moderator
    Post count: 18

    Do you already use some of these techniques with your students? Let us know which ones or share other suggestions.
    Well, I am aware of the techniques discussed but I do not use them consciously with my students to develop writing skill. I have in the past used reflective and reading journal especially for qualitative studies with students. I now need to use these technique more consciously and purposefully.

    Were there any writing development techniques that were new to you that you might like to try in the future?
    The promodoro technique was rather new. But I must say I have sometimes (I guess),in a small way used this technique without knowing it was a technique. For instance, I would turn off phone and computer and just write without disturbances, which is more like this technique.

    Do you develop your own writing in the ways suggested in these videos?
    Not really. I like the idea shared in the second video of having pre-writing which is ‘writing for myself’ before thinking of the target audience I want to wrote for in the drafting stage. I must admit I have been skipping stage 1 (pre-writing) and sometimes even stage 2 (drafting), thus wanting an almost perfect document from the moment I pick a pen and paper/ computer. Thus, this mode gives me liberty to make mistake while putting my ideas on paper and therefore freedom to think wildly, and as such, create knowledge with no limits.
    Sometimes even writing freely in my native language may help to think widely with a deeper understanding of the subject, before translation to English. The videos were great!

    Yakub
    Participant
    Post count: 17

    I usually apply two types of supervision feedback to my postgraduate students. Depending on necessity, we would have a face to face discussion on the written work, listening to the student’s verbal demonstration of his/her work and we discuss the issues arising. As confirmed by the PowerPoint, surely the students in most cases verbalize their ideas so well that I do get surprised to see the difficulty in the flow of their ideas when I receive the drafted copy. However, the most effective form of feedback is the written one. This feedback enhances the student’s focus and provides enough time for the student to digest the probing questions raised and respond appropriately.

    The PowerPoint presentation has opened my eyes more to the fact that the students need to be made to understand that academic interruptions are meant to ensure the thesis is good and makes sense. I love the discourse of what happens during speech being compared to what should equally occur during writing. I can relate this to when I was being supervised for my MA and PhD…I could actually tell how my supervisors would respond to my assertions. I hope my students have ‘conversations’ with me as they work on their theses!

    Esther Kiaritha
    Moderator
    Post count: 18

    What kind of feedback do I give to my students, and which feedback in my view is most effective?
    Mostly students send to me electronic documents which I right the feedback through “track changes” on the margins. However, I must admit that I had never seen feedback in the “imaginary conversation” model as explained in the ppt. I like idea of having a conversation with the student’s text and interrupting with question for clarification, or to show disagreement, or even showing incomplete thought lines.

    In the past, I would ask questions, give suggestions, ‘waste time’ with correcting grammar. What I have learnt is that I need to have that conversation and interact with the writing, and ask necessary questions. Additionally, that I should not be giving answers to the student’s gaps that I may see in the texts, for it is the student’s responsibility to answering those questions. I find this to be very effective and logical.

    Christopher Odhiambo
    Moderator
    Post count: 15

    I am familiar with all the techniques. I think these come with the experience that as is right stated comes from experience. Writing techniques are also acquired through extensive and intensive readings within the discipline. Writing for me more than just practice is also function and implicated in what we read. As we read, we get to understand the style and structures beyond grammar and spellings.

    Jethro
    Participant
    Post count: 17

    This was a very interesting presentation especially about the issue of grammar and feedback provision. My experience has shown that there is a lot of fear by new writers to continue writing as sometimes as supervisors we focus on the writing instead of looking for the content first before correcting the grammar and stuff. However, some students because of different background and discipline may struggle to cut it in a new area as the writing style may be different and the way how feedback is given may really discourage them
    However the aspect of writing is also a challenge as starting is really a challenge. This is where supervisors are called upon to use diverse ways of encouraging the students to write. One way I found useful was the issue of discussing the document submitted by the student together with the student as putting ink onto it may be discouraging. I also found it motivating by encouraging the students to do peer reviewing of their work before submission

    Jethro
    Participant
    Post count: 17

    I have been using some of the suggestions especially of using journal for writing and asking my students to periodically share as peers about what they have been reading. These techniques are very useful though but one think to be remembered is that there is no one size fit all. I have an experience with a PhD student who was very prolific in writing and he never feared writing and submitting. However, the challenge was that sometimes he will write things that are irrelevant. Trying to tell him to pause was a challenge as he felt discouraged. On the other hand there was a female student who was so scared of comments and almost dropped off because she felt due to the grammar that was always a problem she did not know her stuff. We ended up meeting and discussing he content first before correcting the grammar and it not only led to an improvement in the grammar but the content as well

    Christopher Odhiambo
    Moderator
    Post count: 15

    I use both face to face and electronic feedback. My feedback is essential to guide the student to make sense of what they are trying to say. As such my feedback is usually interrogative. I ask questions that are supposed to help the student to begin thinking critically about what they are writing and whether they are really communicating their thoughts and ideas with clarity. I will make comments and suggestions that provoke them to see other alternative possibilities. My feedback is usually intended to catalyse a dialogue between the student and I, and the student with his/her work. This ensures that the student retains ownership of the work. As a supervisor my role in the process of giving feedback remains largely catalytic.

    Sandra
    Participant
    Post count: 10

    After having listened to videos, and read some of the comments in this forum it became clear that many of us are familiar with these techniques. However, I find that we often forget communicating these techniques to our students-or at least we do not communicate it clearly enough. I believe this is something I might want to change in the future.

    Regarding norms and values of the discipline
    I believe I need to introduce students to the norms and values within the field – or explain how these affect writing. I think that at the start of the master or PhD trajectory, I would encourage students to critically read some papers in the field and then we would discuss them together. In this way, the students will learn how to structure the paper and organize argumentation within their discipline.

    Regarding the writing
    – I always stress the importance of drafting. I learnt during my PhD that drafting is critical for success.
    – I always urge for feedback. During my PhD I would always indicate how and where I needed my supervisors input-esp. support with argumentation. I learnt by receiving feedback from others and by practice. Therefore, I always set deadlines for drafts, and indicate to my students that I really need them to tell me where they need my feedback the most.
    -I always tell my students it is ok if they cannot write sometimes, or if they are not productive, or creative, or cannot get about to do any work. I like the very notion of letting go and not fighting that specific state of mind.
    – I advise each student to schedule writing in their agenda. I encourage my students (and myself) to find that perfect time to write. For me it is early morning and evenings.
    – Last but not least, reading journals are a must. I call them HELP NOTES and use Mac’s notes on the computer. I actually ”force” my students to use something similar and I also show them my notes and how I use them then for argumentation and structuring the papers I publish.

    Sandra
    Participant
    Post count: 10

    What kind of feedback do you give on your students’ writing? What kind of feedback, in your view, is the most effective?

    I usually give electronic and verbal feedback. In fact, I usually first speak to students to understand what they are thinking about a certain research topic, what is the research question, how they contextualise it, and basically develop a conversation. After this practice, students write drafts of their thesis which I check in Word, insert comments and track changes. I do not focus on correcting spelling mistakes, but I do focus on argumentation and flow. I learnt from my supervisor how to structure articles in my field and how to write so as to make sense and get published. I actually tend to do the same with my students and it is working out great. I noticed that most students really need structure and that is what I try to provide. It is of course important not to be imposing, avoid giving instructions and telling them what to do. Revising written text is therefore best by posing questions and indeed engaging in conversation with the student by giving commentary.

    I would like to highlight however that giving feedback might differ per student. Some students (especially at master level or first year PhD) really need very clear, step by step feedback which is almost instructional. These students often come from different countries in which research culture are not comparable to ours in Europe. By providing more structured, instructional feedback these students learn and are more efficient in their further work.

    Charles O
    Participant
    Post count: 25

    Do you already use some of these techniques with your students? Let us know which ones or share other suggestions. Unfortunately I don’t use some of these techniques with my students. Reason is my knowledge on the same techniques was limited for awhile. I learnt how to write on my own by reading journals and books….was never trained when i joined the PG bandwagon. However I encourage my students to read widely or extensively in their area of research and by reading more, they learn how to write better

    Were there any writing development techniques that were new to you that you might like to try in the future? Yes. Developing my own writing journal. Once successful, I will train my students to do the same too

    Do you develop your own writing in the ways suggested in these videos? No. I read articles or publications in my field of knowledge. This is how I develop my writing skills by trying to mimic other authors / writers in the same field of research.

    Israfil BOYACI
    Participant
    Post count: 7

    I keep reading journals for my own writing, particularly, at the pre-writing stage. I always find it useful, but most of the time my reading list at the outset continue to expand after I start to read, so it usually takes more time to finish my reading lists than I expected at the beginning. Keeping such journals help me a lot to develop my own voice and to craft my arguments.

    Presence of a Writing Center at institutional-level would be really helpful for a postgraduate student to get some writing supports in case of need before sending her work to the supervisor. This would minimize the efforts that a supervisor needs to devote surface-level corrections. Also, such a separate center may enable better convey of norms and values in every research fields.
    (thank y`all)

    Israfil BOYACI
    Participant
    Post count: 7

    I keep reading journals for my own writing, particularly, at the pre-writing stage. I always find it useful, but most of the time my reading list at the outset continue to expand after I start to read, so it usually takes more time to finish my reading lists than I expected at the beginning. Keeping such journals help me a lot to develop my own voice and to craft my arguments.

    Presence of a Writing Center at institutional-level would be really helpful for a postgraduate student to get some writing supports in case of need before sending her work to the supervisor. This would minimize the efforts that a supervisor needs to devote surface-level corrections. Also, such a separate center may enable better convey of norms and values in every research fields.
    (thank y`all)

    Rox
    Participant
    Post count: 16

    Just write! The first video had a great impact on me. I learned English when I was an adult and despite my eight years of graduate school in the States (PhD obtained in 2019), I still make quite a lot of mistakes when I write, especially when I am writing emails and chats.
    I try to be compassionate with myself, but I have days when this lack of full English proficiency puts me down (imposter syndrome). For now, I am practicing the exercise of reading aloud all that I write.
    When it gets to the academic writing, my degree of confidence gets better because I have more time to correct spellings and words. As the video says, I do read first about the subject matter before start writing, and then, everything gets easier. Having a critical friend who can read the final drafts of my manuscripts has always helped me to identify gaps and flaws of my study.

    Chrissie Boughey
    Moderator
    Post count: 10

    Good morning everyone! This is Chrissie here. I’m glad that so many of you find the writing practices introduced in the materials helpful and even more glad that many of you use them already. Several people like Yacub and Moses mention ‘linguistic issues’. It’s really important to remember that learning to write and learning a language are different things. Many people who are home language speakers of English can’t write well and avoid writing at all costs – indeed, I remember struggling as an academic writer. There were times as a postgraduate student that I was scared to even sit down to write.

    John K brings up the idea of the ‘second abstract’. I think abstracts are actually very difficult to write. Lecturers seem to try to get their students to write abstracts in the mistaken belief that they are easier than a more extended piece. All the research shows us, however, that the more you write the easier it is to find what you want to say and say it coherently.

    Sukh mentions that some weaker students have difficulty in understanding what they need to do with comments and questions you provide in relation to their writing. When I used to teach in undergraduate classes, this was very common and I used to have to teach my students how to work with comments and questions. I used to type up a sample anonymous assignment with my comments and then go through it on the screen in class explaining the difficulties I was having as a reader and asking the students to tell me how they needed to change the writing in order to ‘silence’ me. This was time consuming but it worked well.

    Xolane
    Participant
    Post count: 4

    Writing in the natural sciences tend to align more with the second abstract from the first video. the more removed and somewhat straight to the point fact-based writing that doesn’t allow the the author to be partial or seem to voice their opinion in a way. when it comes to formatting and citations, even within the Earth science discipline each journal has it’s own preferred style which makes it more challenging for students to use one when writing manuscripts. i am going to try out these writing techniques going forward as a mistake i am guilty of was to go straight to writing without any pre-writing. this has led to time wasted trying to find the write phrases or words to use.

Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 118 total)
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