From the Director of the Pymble Institute

I was recently reflecting on the time I spend writing. I seem to write a lot! Fortunately, I thoroughly enjoy writing and often offer to be the one to ‘write something up’ which probably comes from my inclination towards research. In their very helpful guidebook, The Craft of Research, Booth, Colomb and Williams (2003) conceptualise writing as “thinking in print” and point to the presence of the reader as fundamental to helping “writers see their ideas in the brighter light of their readers’ expectations and understanding” (p. 14). This leads to being able to “write with others in mind” and elicits writing which is “more careful, more sustained, more attuned to those with different views” (p. 15). Some people may not see this step in writing as important – the one where what we want to say melds with those who might be reading.

I’m sure many researchers will relate to this. Our various audiences could be colleagues in our context, colleagues in very different contexts, students, parents, research students and more. Writing was a topic I raised at Pymble’s recent Research Conversations afternoon. I opened the gathering with a reflection on writing in research. We considered how research and writing slow you down, give you time to think, require focus and presence and push your thinking further. The process of writing is often challenging but teachers who research are bringing a salve to their brains through the formal processes of writing their research up, or down! Whichever way it goes, writing is important in educational research as others pick up your points and consider it in their contexts.

Dr Don Carter and Dr Joanne Yoo (UTS) are educational researchers who are also interested in writing and how teachers write. They have published recently about teachers’ writing lives in a chapter entitled, ‘Developing teachers’ writing lives: A case study of English teacher professional learning’ (2022). From lists and emails, to student reports, references and programs, teachers write a lot. But how often do teachers have opportunities in their professional lives to write in ways that are extended, sustained, critical and reflective? Carter and Yoo (2022) point out that teachers much more frequently ask their students to complete this type of writing than they do themselves. There is usually not the right opportunity to do so, the right audience does not exist and the purpose may not be there.

Engagement in action research, post-graduate studies and writing for a range of journals can provide this opportunity. Embarking on a project, from action research through to PhD level, provides the ideal opportunity to write and to get much better at this skill. Writing is thinking made visible. It’s also a process with gradual steps along the way which open your own world to deeper thought. If you are a researcher, be sure to look for opportunities to write and to learn more about your identity as a writer along the way.

Schools and universities interested in reading about Pymble’s journey with the development of our research centre, specifically in relation to our ethics committee, student journal and student conference can read more here in a paper I’ve just published with the Australian Education Research journal: School-based research centres: One school’s exploration.

References

Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G., & Williams, J.M. (2003). The craft of research. The University of Chicago Press.

Carter, D., and Yoo, J. (2022). Developing teachers’ writing lives: A case study of English teacher professional learning. In A. Goodwyn, J. Manuel, R. Roberts, L. Scherff, W. Sawyer, C. Durrant & D. Zancancella (Eds.), International perspectives on English teacher development: From initial teacher education to highly accomplished professional (pp. 215-225).