‘Writing my first academic article feels like dancing around naked’: research development for higher education lecturers working in further education colleges

Abstract

Growing emphasis on research output has spawned initiatives to enhance writing practices, often targeted at groups less familiar with academic research practices. This paper discusses a collaborative writing group project for higher education lecturers working in further education colleges. Participants had previously undertaken funded pedagogic research projects. The authors analyse participants’ writing during the initiative and data to review the design, operation and impact of the writing group. They discuss challenging preconceptions and normalising the practice of writing, consider how academic developers can support lecturers’ writing practices and identify recommendations to promote the longer term impact of such work.

Keywords:

• academic development
• academic writing
• collaborative writing
• peer learning

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants of the Award Holder Scheme writing group for the commitment and enthusiasm they brought to this academic development initiative. This initiative was supported by teams from the HELP CETL, Plymouth University and ESCalate, the UK Education Subject Centre, University of Bristol.