Writing groups for doctoral education

Diversity in collaborative research communities: a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group in public health

“…Importantly, it has assisted us in extracting ourselves from deeply entrenched ways of perceiving both our own and others' work. This diversity has heightened our awareness of the audience of our work and has increased our capacity to be both learners and teachers in the process of peer review (Caffarella & Barnett 2000;Aitchison 2009; Stracke 2010), a process inextricably linked with academic pursuits and therefore of great value to emerging researchers and policy-makers. We have been exposed to a variety of fields, very much characteristic of Public Health as a discipline, which we might not otherwise have had the opportunity or confidence to engage in actively or critically.…”

“…One could speculate that peer interaction would also be stimulating, hence renewing interest in the writing process and research project as a whole. A further major benefit of participation would be that members could learn a great deal about writing through the process of critiquing each others' work (Caffarella & Barnett 2000;Lee & Boud 2003;Aitchison 2009). Not only do students need excellent writing skills to communicate their projects, but providing constructive feedback is a valuable skill for academics working in an environment that privileges the concept of peer review.…”

“…Literature exploring doctoral writing groups ranges from reports on specific programs (Delyser 2003;Mullen 2003;Larcombe et al 2007;Cuthbert & Spark 2008;Maher et al 2008;Aitchison, 2009;Ferguson 2009;Parker 2009;Aitchison & Lee 2010), and the value of peer learning/mentoring and community building (Caffarella & Barnett 2000;Pyhalto et al 2009;Stracke 2010;McAlpine & Asghar 2010), to discussions of identities formed during writing (Lee & Boud 2003;Kamler & Thomson 2008). Without exception, the research demonstrates the positive value of writing groups in providing effective learning spaces for doctoral candidates.…”

“He just told me to get on with it”: Insights into Transforming Doctoral Writing Development

“…[Student A focus group] The 4x4 also goes beyond what is described in other literature about doctoral writing where the focus has been on peer editing practice (Aitchison, 2009). Instead, our learning developers step back from the written page and through conversation help students develop their ideas orally and then plan with an "educated other" how to enact organizational writing structures to bridge from the spoken to the written.…”

Role overload theory as a framework for nurse educators to optimize graduate students’ learning environment

“…Faculty can then provide feedback on both the substance of the assignment as well as the student's critique. Learning to provide constructive criticism in a peer review is considered an essential component of scholarship [26] and is part of scholarly pursuits in and beyond graduate school.…”