12/9 TAA Webinar – How to Hook Your Audience

In the era of “fake news,” it is critical that research be translated and published as widely and accurately as possible. Among many journalists, however, academics are notorious for their caveats, sub-clauses, and unwillingness to tell a good story. Research experts often find it challenging to engage non-specialist audiences in ways that preserve the rigor and credibility of their work.

Join us Thursday, December 9 from 1-2 p.m. ET for the TAA webinar, “How to Hook Your Audience”, presented by Erica Machulak, PhD., founder of Hikma Strategies. Erica will offer a framework and actionable strategies to write research narratives that inform and engage non-specialist audiences.

12/9 TAA Webinar – How to Hook Your Audience Read More

Benefits and drawbacks of remote faculty writing groups

Four faculty members at Sam Houston State University – Elizabeth Lee, Kristina Vargo, Rebecca Wentworth, and William Blackwell – shared the results of their study on the utility of writing groups. The study included a qualitative analysis of faculty members’ participation and perceptions of faculty writing groups and assessed the potential impact of working virtually.

Participants in the study expected a combination of professional and non-professional outcomes from faculty writing groups.

Benefits and drawbacks of remote faculty writing groups Read More

3 Support strategies for your writing journey

When you think about your emotions as they relate to your writing, what is your first thought? Does your response gravitate to positive emotions of joy or happiness? Or does it immediately lean toward negative ones like stress and frustration?

Erin McTigue shares from her coaching perspective that “emotions are very important in the work we do because it can help gain awareness about why certain projects are being avoided – why certain things are so hard.”

3 Support strategies for your writing journey Read More

Finding your sweet spot

Where is the best place to write? In some people’s mind, they will find an idyllic location. Quiet. All your resources and materials at your fingertips. Maybe a good view. Or a great one; a mountain view or the ocean. No phones. No email. No meetings or interruptions. No needy kids or pets. This place likely exists, but only in the movies.

Back in the real world, mere mortals must wrestle with the reality of the day-to-day challenges.

Finding your sweet spot Read More

Finding time to write: Important, yes! Impossible, no! Reviewing your student assignment practices

The best insurance policy for success in academe is to write (and publish) your work. Yet, you say, where or where do I find the time to write, especially with all the feedback and grading I have to do?

This article is the first in a four-part series focused on finding hidden pockets of time for your own writing. This article will reflect on one aspect of your teaching practice: the assignments you have students complete.

What happens when you hand out your syllabus in that first face-to-face class? The students breeze past your well-crafted course description, clearly written objectives, and inspiring teaching philosophy to one place in the syllabus—the assignments.

Finding time to write: Important, yes! Impossible, no! Reviewing your student assignment practices Read More

UPS, FedEx, and You: Goal setting by deliverables

The beginning of a new academic year is a great time to set intentions and think about goals. Goal setting can seem arbitrary or ambiguous, particularly for large projects that take months or years to complete. What if you thought about your goals in terms of the final product of a semester? Deliverables. Deliverables are the concrete items you will deliver to yourself or others at the end of a period.

UPS, FedEx, and You: Goal setting by deliverables Read More