ERIC Number: EJ1367476
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-877X
EISSN: EISSN-1469-9486
Available Date: N/A
Breathing Our Way into Mindful Academic Writing: A Collaborative Autoethnography of an Online Writing Community
Woloshyn, Vera; Obradovc-Ratkovic, Snežana; Julien, Karen; Rebek, Jody-Lynn; Sen, Ayse Pinar
Journal of Further and Higher Education, v46 n8 p1135-1148 2022
Although literature demonstrates that mindfulness practices enhance undergraduate student learning, writing composition, and sense of well-being in higher education, there is minimal research that explores faculty and doctoral student engagement in mindfulness practices to support academic writing and build online writing community. In this collaborative autoethnographic study, we fill this gap by exploring our experiences as five female academics participating in an online mindful writing group where we gathered regularly to meditate and write throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We developed and engaged in innovative meditations designed to support our academic writing and writer identity. Data included individual position statements and reflections and group conversational interviews. The findings are clustered under three main themes: (a) deepened understanding of the writing process and writer identity as expressions of self-reflection, creativity, and joy that led to greater acceptance of ourselves and others as writers, (b) the role of mindfulness in academic writing as present-moment non-judgmental awareness and acceptance that promoted well-being, and (c) development of a mindful online writing community that provided a space for honesty, vulnerability, knowledge exchange, and knowledge creation. We identified tensions of collaborative writing, such as navigating different writing styles, negotiating writer voice, and interpreting asynchronous feedback. We recommend that universities support the development of online mindfulness-based writing communities and pedagogies recognising that faculty and doctoral students vary in their continuum of mindfulness practices and, thus, are likely to hold different expectations from such communities.
Descriptors: Academic Language, Communities of Practice, Metacognition, Doctoral Students, College Faculty, COVID-19, Pandemics, Writing Processes, Reflection, Well Being, Collaborative Writing, Computer Mediated Communication, Electronic Learning, Self Concept
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A