I attended the final (masters) presentation for one of the first summer undergraduate researchers I worked with today! I am very proud of them and all they have done while working full time. Tonight, we watched the ALT 2021 session entitled “Working and writing in the presence of a peer in an online space: facilitating submissions to achieve HEA accreditation?” presented by Carina Bossu, Malik Refaat, and Paige Cuffe. Bossu presented about the HE fellowship previously. The Applaud program that The Open University runs supports cohorts. The project is about “helping colleagues who are registered for Applaud to complete their fellowship submission” and pairing with an “accountability partner.” It is an 18-month project. Two colleagues from the same college preferably are paired. To apply for a HEA fellowship requires some paperwork, so phase 1 has the goal of familiarizing candidates with the process. The second phase is writing time. The third phase strengthens the application by providing feedback. The project Bossu presented focused on phase 2. To support participants, Bossu and their team share resources and help future applicants write and plan. Using the Pomodoro time management approach and video conferencing, participants are supported and encouraged to write. The program so far includes 17 participants and all were able to submit applications. Bossu and colleagues surveyed participants and learned that the partnerships helped stimulate writing and sharing of knowledge. A system to encourage co-writing and the development of applications materials is helpful. Karla in the chat shared a Ph.D. writing group/system. Dave White, the moderator, encouraged “writing as a creative process” instead of an academic task. This comment made me think. The “activation energy” to get started can be overcome by the support and accountability of writing buddies. I should think about working with a writing partner!
