Angela Rhead

Angela Rhead | Keele University

Having explored a range of strategies, including scrolling and textmapping (Middlebrook, 1994) to develop academic reading practices, frustration remained with the limited time for deeper learning about the purpose of enquiry and the relationship of reading to enquiry (Marton & Säljö, 1976). Writing retreats, which safeguard time but also ensure structure (Kornhaber et al, 2016) seemed to offer a possible solution and have inspired two reading retreat models focused specifically on academic journal articles:

‘Open’ retreats, targeting undergraduates preparing for dissertations: whole-day events with twenty places, providing multidisciplinary group discussion with readers-in-residence (lecturers)All participants bring articles to support their enquiry.

‘Embedded’ retreats, planned and delivered with academics, in-programme, for up to forty undergraduates and postgraduates: half and whole-day events, providing disciplinary–specific discussions and expert readers-in-residence.

Both models successfully engaged learners in exploring the process of reading academic articles. Students and academics reported increased confidence in reading or writing articles and better understanding of the challenges of ‘critical’ reading (MacMillan, 2014). Open reading retreats appear to produce the deepest learning, whereas embedded retreats tend to focus on assessment more than the purpose of academic enquiry.

References:

Kornhaber, R., Cross, M., Betihavas, V., & Bridgman, H. (2016). ‘The benefits and challenges of academic writing retreats: An integrative review’. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(6), 1210-1227.

MacMillan, M. (2014) ‘Student connections with academic texts: a phenomenographic study of reading’. Teaching in Higher Education, 19:8, 943-954

Marton, F and Säljö, R. (1976) ‘On qualitative differences in learning. I – Outcome and Process’. British Journal of Educational Psychology 46, pp. 4-11

Middlebrook, R. D. (1994) Instructional Benefits of Textmapping [on-line]. Available at http://www.textmapping.org/benefits.html