The Role of Graduate Students in the Expansion of Educational Research (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
Given global competitiveness for quality research articulated through scholarly publication, minimal research addresses the practices of Anglophone doctoral students in writing for scholarly publication. This study examines (1) the challenges faced by Canadian Anglophone doctoral students in writing for scholarly publication in international English-medium academic journals; and (2) the ways in which these novice scholars are supported by faculty supervisors and expert members of their academic community in communicating their work through scholarly publication. Two overarching questions frame the study: what are the challenges faced by Canadian Anglophone doctoral students in writing for scholarly publication? and how do they acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for scholarly publication? The theoretical framework for this study draws on the social constructivist notions of Discourse Community (Swales, 1990) and Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991). A qualitative case study approach frames the study methodologically. A questionnaire, semistructured interviews, and document analysis constitute the data collection methods. The participants include Anglophone doctoral students, faculty supervisors, and editors of academic journals from all across Canada. The theoretical framework for the study as well as the existing literature inform the data analysis and interpretation. The findings indicate that although Anglophone doctoral students enjoy Native-English-Speaker status and presumably a linguistic advantage, they too face genre-specific, disciplinespecific, and non-discursive challenges in the initiation phase of joining their target discourse community through writing for scholarly publication. They also struggle with the publication process. Moreover, the struggles they face in writing for scholarly publication are similar to their non-Anglophone peers. Furthermore, the findings also highlight a "sink or swim" model for acquiring academic literacy skills in Canadian Higher Education context. The findings underline that academia needs to be more accountable for emerging scholars' legitimate peripheral participation and visibility in global scholarship. This study has important implications for policy making and instructional planning in Higher Education.
An International Interdisciplinary Writing Group
Critical Collaborative Communities, 2019
Recognizing the challenges that often attach to writing for publication, this chapter describes a Collaborative Writing Groups (CWG) initiative that supports scholarly writing about teaching and learning in higher education. This model, which sees groups of scholars from multiple institutions working together virtually and face-to-face to co-author manuscripts on topics of shared interest, has been shown to contribute to building scholarly capacity, community, and collaboration, while also leading to the development of manuscripts that contribute meaningfully to the literature. We describe the model, which was initially developed by the International Network for Learning and Teaching Geography in Higher Education and subsequently modified for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, outline some of the evidence demonstrating its efficacy, and reflect on our experiences adapting the initiative to support collaborative writing in the Canadian context. While the CWG process was originally developed for individuals working on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), it is also applicable to those in other fields and disciplines. Thus, we situate our discussion within the SoTL literature that shaped the initiative, but also offer considerations and recommendations for those wishing to adapt and apply the model in other contexts. Keywords collaborative writing groups-writing group facilitation-Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Publication is a fundamental component of research across most disciplines, but it can also be a challenging endeavor (MacLeod, Steckley, & Murray,
Getting Published: Tips for Emerging Scholars
This editorial outlines the growing pressure on PhD students (emerging scholars) to publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as some of these scholars' writing for publication challenges in the field of Education. The editor suggests how the Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education (CJNSE) attempts to mitigate these writing for publication challenges through its mentored peer review process, and provides some suggestions to emerging scholars for overcoming these challenges.
Growing the Canadian SoTL Community through a Collaborative Writing Initiative
Critical Collaborative Communities, 2019
Recognizing the challenges that often attach to writing for publication, this chapter describes a Collaborative Writing Groups (CWG) initiative that supports scholarly writing about teaching and learning in higher education. This model, which sees groups of scholars from multiple institutions working together virtually and face-to-face to co-author manuscripts on topics of shared interest, has been shown to contribute to building scholarly capacity, community, and collaboration, while also leading to the development of manuscripts that contribute meaningfully to the literature. We describe the model, which was initially developed by the International Network for Learning and Teaching Geography in Higher Education and subsequently modified for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, outline some of the evidence demonstrating its efficacy, and reflect on our experiences adapting the initiative to support collaborative writing in the Canadian context. While the CWG process was originally developed for individuals working on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), it is also applicable to those in other fields and disciplines. Thus, we situate our discussion within the SoTL literature that shaped the initiative, but also offer considerations and recommendations for those wishing to adapt and apply the model in other contexts. Keywords collaborative writing groups-writing group facilitation-Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Publication is a fundamental component of research across most disciplines, but it can also be a challenging endeavor (MacLeod, Steckley, & Murray,
Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) scholars, including those who are not in formal positions of leadership, are uniqully positioned to engage in leadership activities that can grow the field, influence their colleagues, and effect change in their local contexts as well as in institutional, disciplinary, and the broader Canadian contexts. Drawing upon the existing SoTL literature and our own diverse experiences, we propose a framework that describes institutional contexts in terms of local SoTL activity (microcultures) and administrative support (macro-level) and use it to describe the many ways that SoTL scholars can and do “lead up” to effect change depending on their own context. We conclude by inviting scholars to consider, reflect upon, and experiment with their leadership activities, not only for their own professional growth but also to contribute to the literature in this area. Les professeurs qui font des recherches dans le dom aine de l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage (ACEA), y compris ceux qui n’occupent pas un poste de leadership formel, occupent une position unique pour s’engager dans des activités de leadership qui peuvent faire avancer le domaine, influencer leurs collègues et effectuer des changements dans leurs contextes locaux ainsi que dans les contextes plus vastes de leur établissement, de leur discipline et du contexte canadien en général. En nous appuyant sur la documentation déjà publiée en ACEA et sur nos d iverses expériences personnelles, nous proposons un cadre qui dé crit les contextes institutionnels en termes d’activités d’ACEA locale s (micro-cultures) et de soutien administratif (niveau macro) que nous utilisons pour décrire les diverses manières dontn les chercheurs en ACEA peuvent en arriver à effectuer des changements selon leur propre contexte. En conclusion, nous invitons les chercheurs à prendre en considération leurs activités de leadership, à y réfléchir et à faire des expériences, non seulement pour leur propre croissance professionnelle mais également pour contribuer à la documentation dans ce domaine.
The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
2015
The study investigates how university educational development centres in Canada currently support faculty in developing the skills and knowledge to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Content analysis of centre websites was used to identify strategies used to support SoTL. The main strategies identified were providing information and grants. Recommendations include increasing the visibility of SoTL on centre websites and integrating it with other centre activities. The data question the viability of a national strategy to improve teaching through SoTL. L’étude porte sur la façon dont les centres universitaires d’appui à la formation au Canada soutiennent actuellement les membres du corps enseignant dans le perfectionnement de leurs compétences et de leurs connaissances pour participer à l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage. L’analyse du contenu des sites Web des centres a été utilisée pour déterminer les stratégies employées pour souteni...
US-based writing fellows programs have traditionally placed writing fellows in upper-division courses to support student writing beyond first-year composition, given that student writing skills become more developed in the context of genre-or discipline-based writing. The author describes a writing fellows program at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the United Arab Emirates where, despite initial attempts to place writing fellows in upper-division courses, faculty requests for writing fellows came from classes at the 100-and 200-level, resulting in students receiving writing fellow assistance while still enrolled in introductory writing courses. Drawing on interviews with professors, writing fellows, and students in three lower-division writing fellow-supported courses, the author concludes that writing fellows at AUS are quite effectively placed in lower-division courses running concurrently with first-year sequence writing courses due to the immense learning curve AUS s...