Welcome to the WJETT blog
What is WJETT?
The WJETT blog or Warwick Journal of Education - Transforming Teaching blog is designed to encourage staff and students to disseminate good practice and to engage with their peers on academic cultural critique or areas of research that they find interesting. With the increased focus on ‘teachers as researchers’ in the sector, many qualified teachers are expected to publish the outcomes of any action research projects they undertake. The WJETT blog can be the first step on your journey towards publishing and enables you to experience publishing and reviewing in a friendly and supportive environment.
You will need to scroll down the page below the tags to see the posts.
Research–tutored teaching
My students learnt how to critically review two articles from the library database; this combined practical how-to skills with deeper critical thinking skills both of which would stand them in good stead for completing their assignments.
Whilst this is a relatively easy task to undertake in a face to face classroom it is a bit more difficult in an online one – my students were located all around the world. The first hurdle was making sure that all of them could access the library database and then making the instructions very clear so that they all downloaded the correct articles. I was surprised at how much support they needed to get them to this point but once everything was in place they were then given some question prompts to get them started.
I asked each of the students to think of two reasons why they believed that one of the articles was more reliable than the other. I explained that there was no real right or wrong answer to the task and that I had my own views on which one I thought was the most reliable but I did not share these with them until I gave them their feedback. They were expected to think critically and to explain their views in an online discussion forum – commenting on what their peers contributed as well as posting their own thoughts.
I was concerned that I had given the students too much information and that they would just end up regurgitating the prompt questions but I needn’t have worried; the students really embraced the work and produced a comprehensive list of points which included some things that I really did not think they would consider. I think they benefitted from not knowing my thoughts at the start and also from the safe environment that encouraged discussion and questioning. This was one of the benefits of using a closed online forum and in making sure that they all started from the same point. I was also encouraged to see how much discussion and critical questioning emerged during the time allocated for the task. I know there are many concerns around group work with the term ‘lurkers’ being bandied about (particularly in an online context) but this really did not happen; everyone contributed and added new and appropriate content to the discussion.
On reflection some of the reasons this activity succeeded included:
- Relevance – the students recognised that they needed to learn these skills for subsequent tasks and assignments.
- Scaffolding – the students were facilitated through a range of different activities which gradually became harder and less supported; this allowed those students who were less familiar with online studying and/or academic articles to pace themselves.
- Safe environment – the students were in a closed discussion forum where they could undertake divergent thinking without fear of failure.
- Co-creation – the students worked on the activity together building the ‘answer’ between them; this gave them the opportunity to bond as a group which again contributed to future activities and tasks.
Writing guidance
Can I write about anything in my blog post?
Yes pretty much. Academic cultural critique (Thomson and Mewburn, 2013) is always a good source of content for academic blogs. This can include (but is not limited to) comments and reflections on funding; higher education policy or academic life. You might also want to consider blogging about:
- Academic practice (Saper, 2006)
- Information and/or self-help advice
- Technical, teaching and careers advice
- Your research or practice
- How you’ve undertaken research
- The impact of research on your practice
- An area of research/practice that interests you
- Your teaching experiences/reflections
How long can my blog post be?
Each individual blog post should be no longer than 500 words. Long blocks of text are sometimes hard for readers to digest. Break up your content into shorter paragraphs, bullet points and lists whenever possible. Also include a list of keywords or tags as this makes it easier for Google to find your work.
Do I need to use citations?
No, this is a reflective piece so it does not need to include citations (but you obviously can include them if they are relevant).
Can I include links or images?
We would encourage you to include links to any articles that you have considered whilst writing your blog post. We also welcome the use of images (as long as you have permission to use them) as they can often help to illustrate a point and obviously will not be included in the word limit. Please remember this is a public site so if you want to include images of your students in your classes then you will need permission to do this.
What is the process for submitting a piece of work?
Your blog post should be emailed to A.Ball.1@warwick.ac.uk. Once the submission has been reviewed it will either be uploaded at the beginning of the next available week or sent back to you for editing if it requires amendments. You should then send the amended work to me once again and I will then upload it.