Foundations of success in academe:

Research, writing, organization …and reflection

Dannelle D. Stevens, Portland State University

Joanne E. Cooper, University of Hawaii

AERA Professional Development Workshop

San Diego, 2009

AgendaI. IntroductionsII. Challenges: Focused FreewriteIII. Research: Reflection in adult developmentIV. Writing: ListsV. Writing production: Research-based strategies BREAKVI. Journal keeping as a teaching, writing and research

resourceVII. Writing: Dialogue with inner mentorVIII. Writing: Concept-mapping & stickiesIX. Writing: Letter from the future with action planX. Final thoughts….

II. Let’s Write: Focused freewrite

Focused freewrite on

challenges/opportunities

in your current work

III. Research on role of

reflection in adult development

“Our narratives are the means through which we imagine ourselves into the persons we become” (Hopkins, 1994, p. xvii).

III. Research on the role of reflection in

adult learning

“…any writing and reading of our lives presents us with a challenge that is at the heart of every educational experience: making sense of our lives in the world” (Grumet, 1990, p.3).

III. Our Research: Role of Reflection on Professional Life

Academics use journals in their professional lives for:

Organizing Collecting ideas Conversing with themselves Reflecting Examining assumptions (Cooper & Stevens, 2006)

IV. Let’s write: Lists

Lists: Make a list of what you know about academic writing and how to produce it.

V. Writing production: Research-based strategies

Freewriting & Focused Freewriting

Dialogue

Concept Mapping

Becoming a student of writing

Daily writing- even 15 minutes

BREAK! 15 minutes

Meet and greet someone new…

VI. Journal keeping: Teaching, writing & research resource

Formatting the journal

Using for metareflection on teaching or research and….

….. Check the handout for many other ideas

VII. Let’s write: Dialogue

Dialogue:

Write to someone, something,

even some feeling.

Change lines for each speaker.

VIII.Let’s write: Concept mapping

Concept mapping:

Generate ideas.

Cluster. Connect.

Write sentences below.

Organize…… start writing!

IX. Let’s write: Letter from the future

Letter from you to you from 1, 5, 10 years in the future.

Consider your challenges.

Consider an action plan..

X. Final thoughts… There was so much to write. He had seen the

world change; not just the events; although he had seen many of them and watched the people, but he had seen the subtler change and he could remember how the people were at different times. He had been in it and he watched it and it was his duty to write of it.

Hemingway from The Snows of Kilimanjaro (p. 64)

And thank you…from Dannelle & Joanne