Your challenge for today: think of a colleague who is struggling with their writing and/or publishing. Consider what I wrote last week about how to engage those who are struggling, and reach out to them. Be of service. Please.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Engaging Struggling Colleagues: Resources
If you are reading this blog on a regular basis, chances are you are thinking about and using resources related to academic writing and publishing. Make a list of your favorite resources. Have this be a gift to give to those who are struggling.
You can include web-based tools, books, articles, blogs (hint hint), or coaches or therapists who help struggling scholars (not meant to be a hint hint, but sure, why not!). Keep this list on hand to share. Send it to those you know via email. Ask others for their resources. Share the wealth.
You can include web-based tools, books, articles, blogs (hint hint), or coaches or therapists who help struggling scholars (not meant to be a hint hint, but sure, why not!). Keep this list on hand to share. Send it to those you know via email. Ask others for their resources. Share the wealth.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Engaging Struggling Colleagues: Listening
When engaging colleagues who are struggling, you really has to listen deeply. A couple of days ago I suggested that telling your own story of struggles and difficulty was one of the most important things you could do to be of service to colleagues in need. This can help build empathy and trust, and break down defensiveness.
Yet, on the most fundamental, basic level, you need to listen. An old Quaker expression, "Listen with the ear of your heart" is my most cherished guidance on listening. Listen with your whole self. Listen without worrying what you will say next. As I teach my social work and criminal justice students (I am teaching Helping Skills in Criminal Justice this quarter!), you will never hear anybody say: So and So listens to tell. I hate the way he and she listens to me so intently.
So, listen. Provide a safe place for your struggling colleague to be heard.
Yet, on the most fundamental, basic level, you need to listen. An old Quaker expression, "Listen with the ear of your heart" is my most cherished guidance on listening. Listen with your whole self. Listen without worrying what you will say next. As I teach my social work and criminal justice students (I am teaching Helping Skills in Criminal Justice this quarter!), you will never hear anybody say: So and So listens to tell. I hate the way he and she listens to me so intently.
So, listen. Provide a safe place for your struggling colleague to be heard.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Engaging Struggling Colleagues: Sharing Your Struggles
One of the best ways of helping colleagues who are struggling with writing and publishing is to share your own struggles. Actually, this is only partly true. This is one of the best ways of opening up a dialogue and helping to normalize such problems for them. At some point, it is easy for such discussions to be mutually reinforcing, and help no one.
Yet, creating the space to help them break the shame they may be feeling is of great value. This is one of the reasons why I frequently share my story with people. It has not been, and is not, always easy to be living the academic life (no call tears; I know how privileged I am).
Not only should you share your own struggles, but if invited to, share how things have changed for you. Share what tools, resources, and skills you developed. Share how you overcame the blocks and barriers that got in your way. In truth there is no shame in having struggled to write and publish; many of us do.
Yet, creating the space to help them break the shame they may be feeling is of great value. This is one of the reasons why I frequently share my story with people. It has not been, and is not, always easy to be living the academic life (no call tears; I know how privileged I am).
Not only should you share your own struggles, but if invited to, share how things have changed for you. Share what tools, resources, and skills you developed. Share how you overcame the blocks and barriers that got in your way. In truth there is no shame in having struggled to write and publish; many of us do.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
One and Two Day Writing and Publishing Workshops!
One of my favorite professional activities is conducting one and two day workshops on scholarly writing and publishing. Not only have I conducted them at my home university, but
at many universities in more than a dozen countries across four continents.
If you have appreciated this blog and would like to accelerate your writing and publishing agenda, consider helping me come to your university! In my two day workshop (my best!), I help scholars develop skill and tools in several interlocking areas.
1) Methods of writing productivity
2) Mastering the academic article
3) Learn alternative tools and tips for navigating peer review
4) Maximizing the social aspects of our work (working with collaborators, mentors, PhD chairs editors, ect).
5) Resolving the psychosocial barriers (and maximizing your strengths) that interfere with success in the other areas.
Deans, Directors and Teaching/Learning center staff have often founds funds to bring me out when faculty are excited to work with me. I have conducted workshops for faculty across academic and professional disciplines, and gladly tailor what I do for you. I also have worked with groups of doctoral students for intensive dissertation work; I love to help!
If you are interested in working with me, this is a great way of doing so without cost to you. Contact me and I can help you consider how propose a workshop to your administrators. Or, just email me and we can talk about what I do!
If you have appreciated this blog and would like to accelerate your writing and publishing agenda, consider helping me come to your university! In my two day workshop (my best!), I help scholars develop skill and tools in several interlocking areas.
1) Methods of writing productivity
2) Mastering the academic article
3) Learn alternative tools and tips for navigating peer review
4) Maximizing the social aspects of our work (working with collaborators, mentors, PhD chairs editors, ect).
5) Resolving the psychosocial barriers (and maximizing your strengths) that interfere with success in the other areas.
Deans, Directors and Teaching/Learning center staff have often founds funds to bring me out when faculty are excited to work with me. I have conducted workshops for faculty across academic and professional disciplines, and gladly tailor what I do for you. I also have worked with groups of doctoral students for intensive dissertation work; I love to help!
If you are interested in working with me, this is a great way of doing so without cost to you. Contact me and I can help you consider how propose a workshop to your administrators. Or, just email me and we can talk about what I do!
Saturday, February 20, 2016
The Elegant Solution
I am not going to spell check or edit this post; I won't even read it over. By the end of this post, hopefully you will understand why. If not, reflect :).
Affirmations are a positive way of replacing the self-downing beliefs that can interfere with our writing and schlary productivity. Positive affirmations can directly challenge our negative self-appraisals and help reprogram our very plastic minds.
Yet, affirmations are lambasted and satirized, as it in this old Saturday Night Live skit.
Why?
One reasons that is that on a fundamental level, affirmations may be part and parcel to the core philosophy that undergird self-downing- that human beings can be judged.
Albert Ellis referred to this distinction as the inelegant verses the elegant solution. The inelegant solution consists of a tool of cognitive disputations and changes whereby we challgne or negative beliefs and replace them with more positiive (and hopuflly honest nad relalistic, as exaggerated self-apprasials are often not belived by us!) self appraslas.
In contrast, the elegent solution consists of challenging the core belief that human beings (we) can be evaluated. An inelegant solution would be challeging my core belif of " I am not a great writer" with "I am a great writer." This certainly can be helpful. Yet, a more elegant solution of " I may or may not be a great writer, but that does not matter. I find my work of value, and I gain value from it. I am a good enough writer to publish, regardles of how I or others evaluate me, so I am just goign to write."
Overtime, devleoping the a "philosphy of self" of radical self acceptance free of all self evaluations innoculates us from the little digs of academic life. It is hard to hold on to the belief of bieing a great writer, for example, when one's article is rejected multiple times. It also is hard to stay motivated when there is evidence that runs counter to our self apporasal. But eshewing self evaluations in general, and just satying in the moment and process of writing and learning not to evaluate ourselves, we are far more free than if we have to constanly replace negative self appraisals with positive ones.
Now, to hit submit on this unedited post with, from the red lines I can see in the text, many, many writing problems. :). I must be an awful writer :).
Affirmations are a positive way of replacing the self-downing beliefs that can interfere with our writing and schlary productivity. Positive affirmations can directly challenge our negative self-appraisals and help reprogram our very plastic minds.
Yet, affirmations are lambasted and satirized, as it in this old Saturday Night Live skit.
Why?
One reasons that is that on a fundamental level, affirmations may be part and parcel to the core philosophy that undergird self-downing- that human beings can be judged.
Albert Ellis referred to this distinction as the inelegant verses the elegant solution. The inelegant solution consists of a tool of cognitive disputations and changes whereby we challgne or negative beliefs and replace them with more positiive (and hopuflly honest nad relalistic, as exaggerated self-apprasials are often not belived by us!) self appraslas.
In contrast, the elegent solution consists of challenging the core belief that human beings (we) can be evaluated. An inelegant solution would be challeging my core belif of " I am not a great writer" with "I am a great writer." This certainly can be helpful. Yet, a more elegant solution of " I may or may not be a great writer, but that does not matter. I find my work of value, and I gain value from it. I am a good enough writer to publish, regardles of how I or others evaluate me, so I am just goign to write."
Overtime, devleoping the a "philosphy of self" of radical self acceptance free of all self evaluations innoculates us from the little digs of academic life. It is hard to hold on to the belief of bieing a great writer, for example, when one's article is rejected multiple times. It also is hard to stay motivated when there is evidence that runs counter to our self apporasal. But eshewing self evaluations in general, and just satying in the moment and process of writing and learning not to evaluate ourselves, we are far more free than if we have to constanly replace negative self appraisals with positive ones.
Now, to hit submit on this unedited post with, from the red lines I can see in the text, many, many writing problems. :). I must be an awful writer :).
Friday, February 19, 2016
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Every once in a while I find a new journal that I really like. A client of mine found just such a journal a few days ago, and passed it on to me. I really, really like this journal, which seems to privilege articles that focus on the practice of teaching. Wow, a practical academic article! Who would have thunk it! Do check it out. Read the author's guidelines. Can you think of an appropriate article that you could write? I bet you could.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)