Breathing our way into mindful academic writing: a collaborative autoethnography of an online writing community

ABSTRACT

Although literature demonstrates that mindfulness practices enhance undergraduate student learning, writing composition, and sense of well-being in higher education, there is minimal research that explores faculty and doctoral student engagement in mindfulness practices to support academic writing and build online writing community. In this collaborative autoethnographic study, we fill this gap by exploring our experiences as five female academics participating in an online mindful writing group where we gathered regularly to meditate and write throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We developed and engaged in innovative meditations designed to support our academic writing and writer identity. Data included individual position statements and reflections and group conversational interviews. The findings are clustered under three main themes: (a) deepened understanding of the writing process and writer identity as expressions of self-reflection, creativity, and joy that led to greater acceptance of ourselves and others as writers, (b) the role of mindfulness in academic writing as present-moment non-judgemental awareness and acceptance that promoted well-being, and (c) development of a mindful online writing community that provided a space for honesty, vulnerability, knowledge exchange, and knowledge creation. We identified tensions of collaborative writing, such as navigating different writing styles, negotiating writer voice, and interpreting asynchronous feedback. We recommend that universities support the development of online mindfulness-based writing communities and pedagogies recognising that faculty and doctoral students vary in their continuum of mindfulness practices and, thus, are likely to hold different expectations from such communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Mindful academic writing
• mindfulness
• collaboration
• online writing community
• COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vera Woloshyn

Vera Woloshyn is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University and registered psychotherapist and holds advanced degrees in education, counselling, and psychology. Vera holds a strengths-based, holistic approach to learning, mental health, and wellness that recognises the interconnectedness of individuals’ cognitive, emotional, social, cultural, familial, physical, and spiritual experiences. Her current research and teaching interests include exploring individuals’ learning, mental health, and wellness experiences. She is especially focused on the development and implementation of innovative instructional practices including the use of contemplative tools and techniques. Other interests include exploring the experiences of those who work in the helping professions and the impact of popular culture on wellbeing and learning. Vera has authored numerous research articles, book chapters, and texts in these areas.

Snežana Obradovć-Ratković

Snežana Obradovć-Ratković is a research officer and an instructor in the Faculty of Education, Brock University, Canada. Her scholarship includes migration and indigeneity, transnational and transdisciplinary teacher education, research education, academic writing and publishing, decolonising and arts-based research methodologies, and wellbeing in higher education. ORCiD 0000-0001-7504-6220

Karen Julien

Karen Julien is a doctoral candidate in the field of Cognition and Learning in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Following careers in elementary and early childhood education, Karen began a career in research and returned to higher education. Karen’s areas of research interest include the role of emotion in academic writing, graduate students’ experiences in improving their academic writing, writing communities, trauma-informed pedagogies for higher education, culturally responsive and culturally sustaining pedagogies in higher education, engaging approaches to teaching research methods, and creating online learning communities. ORCiD 0000-0001-6462-3029 @KarenLJulien

Jody-Lynn Rebek

Jody-Lynn Rebek is Assistant Professor at Algoma University, in the School of Business and Economics (Sault Ste. Marie, ON), and is also a serial social entrepreneur launching WaterWise, Hearterra, and has operated Vive Strategy Consulting for more than a decade. She is an interdisciplinary researcher who uses action research and a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to engage individuals, teams and communities in positive change. Her research topics centre around culture, learning/education and leader/personal development to promote and better understand health and wellbeing, learning, strategy, culture and teams, human motivation/performance, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Ayse Pinar Sen

Ayse Pinar Sen is an international doctoral student in Canada who is originally from Turkey. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in early childhood education. Currently, she is enrolled in the Cognition and Learning program in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Her research interests are the development of abstraction processes in mathematics learning and instructional material and program development in early childhood mathematics and geometry education. She was introduced to mindfulness and meditation practices while working as a part-time translator in a leadership and personal development course called Eureka seminars that were given by Prof. Upen Chokshi between the years of 2008 and 2010. Ever since, she practiced the meditation techniques that she learned in the seminars personally, with kindergarten children, and with undergraduate students when she was teaching. During her Ph.D. program, she began to run mindful academic writing sessions in Writing Studio for graduate students. She prepared mindfulness meditation scripts for each week and meditated with the other participants. The sessions continued with focusing attention on specific sections of writing projects and writing mindfully in a community. She enjoys this experience very much because mindful writing is a passionate, empowering, creative, and joyful activity.