Learning together through international collaborative writing groups

Authors

  • Mick Healey Healey HE Consultants
  • Kelly E Matthews University of Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.5.1.2

Keywords:

Collaborative writing, international co-authoring, scholarship of teaching and learning, writer’s experience

Abstract

The International Collaborative Writing Groups (ICWG) initiative creates a space for ongoing collaboration amongst scholars of teaching and learning who co-author a manuscript on a topic of shared interest. The second ICWG, linked to the 2015 International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference in Melbourne, Australia, involved 59 scholars from 11 countries. In this piece, we describe the aims, process, and outcomes for the ICWG, comparing it with the first ICWG in 2012. While international collaboration around a topic of shared interest is generally viewed positively, the realities of collaborating online with limited face-to-face interactions to complete a manuscript can be challenging. We argue, despite such challenges, that ongoing collaboration amongst scholars is vital to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) movement. Drawing on our experience of leading the overall ICWG initiative and our research into participants’ experiences, we suggest there are individual dispositions toward collaboration that enrich and enable successful participation in ICWG experiences. We end by highlighting the final products arising from almost two year of collaborative thinking and writing from six groups.

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Author Biographies

Mick Healey, Healey HE Consultants

Mick Healey is an HE consultant and researcher and Emeritus Professor, University of Gloucestershire, UK.

Kelly E Matthews, University of Queensland

Kelly E. Matthews is an Australian Learning & Teaching Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, University of Queensland, Australia.

References

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Hutchings, P., Huber, M. T., & Ciccone, A. (2011). The scholarship of teaching and learning reconsidered: Institutional integration and impact. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Marquis, E., Healey, M., & Vine, M. (2016). Fostering collaborative teaching and learning scholarship through an international writing group initiative. Higher Education Research and Development, 35(3), 531-544.

Marquis, E., Healey, M., & Vine, M. (2014). Building capacity for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) using international collaborative writing groups. The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning 8(1).

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Matthews, K. E., Marquis, B., & Healey, M. (2017). Applying theories of communities of practice to reflect on international collaborative writing groups. In J. McDonald & A. Cater-Steel (Eds.) Communities of practice: Implementing communities of practice dreamers and schemers (pp. 597-617). Singapore: Springer.

Murray, R. (2009). Writing for academic journals. Maidenhead: Open University Press-McGraw Hill.

Weaver, D., Robbie, D., Kokonis, S., & Miceli, L. (2013). Collaborative scholarship as a means of improving both university teaching practice and research capability. International Journal for Academic Development, 18(3), 237-250.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business Press.

Published

2017-03-29

How to Cite

Healey, Mick, and Kelly E Matthews. 2017. “Learning Together through International Collaborative Writing Groups”. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 5 (1):3-8. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.5.1.2.

Issue

Section

ICWG Special Section