Our guest bloggers this week are Nonia Williams and Zoë Jones, Learning Enhancement Tutors at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. They share a passion for using a creative and innovative approach in their work. They offer one-to-one tutorials and workshops for students of all levels of study, including postgraduate researchers. Their workshops cover a range of topics: researching, planning, drafting and editing written work, referencing and other aspects of academic study. They also facilitate PhD writers’ retreats. Here they talk about the playful strategies they use in their workshops with doctoral writers.
by Nonia Williams and Zoë Jones
It can feel risky to encourage doctoral students to try innovative, creative and playful strategies to enhance their writing. Yet, in our tutorials and workshops this is exactly what we do, with activities such as yoga and meditation; playing with LEGO©; drawing and discussing pictures and shapes; inviting students to take a walk with us or each other (see Jones and Williams, 2018, for more information about the detail of these activities). But why do we consider such activities to be ‘risky’ – for our students as well as ourselves? And why might it be worth taking these risks? Continue reading
