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NINE STEPS TO BECOMING
A HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE ACADEMIC WRITER
Sally Jensen, PhD, ACW Founder
In this blog series you will learn to nurture a daily
writing habit, challenge common assumptions, overcome procrastination,
eliminate distractions, use a timer, set SMART goals, chunk your project
into small tasks, track progress, and establish accountability.
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VIRTUAL
WRITING ROOM
Friday, September 14, 2012 - Friday,
December 14, 2012
ACW is offering a 12-week virtual daily Writing Room,
and we are offering it free to those who sign up to work with a
dissertation or faculty coach for three months. To be eligible for this
offer, you must sign up to work with a coach by September 7, 2012, and
begin your coaching by September 14, 2012. Those of you who are currently
working with an ACW coach also are eligible for this offer.
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SETTING
OUT ON YOUR DISSERTATION JOURNEY: FINDING YOUR TOPIC
Kat Malinsky, EdD, ACW Dissertation Coach
Thursday, September 20, 2012
In this teleseminar you will take inventory of your
vision in preparation for your dissertation journey, choose a preliminary
research focus, evaluate your topic's "goodness," and begin to
narrow your research topic.
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FINDING
YOUR TRIBE: DEVELOPING A WOMEN'S ACADEMIC SUPPORT NETWORK
Moira Killoran, PhD, ACW Director of Coaching
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Have you found an academic tribe that will support you
on your academic journey? This teleseminar will help you understand the
role of mentors, sponsors, and peer supporters. You will learn how to
deepen your relationships with colleagues to find the support you need.
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Carina Vocisano,
PhD
ACW Consultant and Coach
I am a new coach and consultant at
Academic Coaching and Writing. I also am a salsa dancer, a painter, and a
recovering chocoholic! I have taught courses in counseling and mental
health at several universities and colleges in the New York area, and I
became a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Southern
Connecticut State University in 2002. My research program focuses on the
working alliance between client and counselor, and my research involves
understanding the characteristics of counselors that predict change in
therapy, including clients’ achievement of goals and symptom reduction.
For this newsletter I want to share two
tips I learned on my tenure trek:
Ask faculty at your college or
university about their tenure stories. This
may help you understand the decisions made by the tenure and promotion
committee. I recall being upset by a decision made by the tenure and
promotion committee to deny tenure to a colleague. A discussion with this
faculty member about his teaching provided me with some hints about the
committee’s decision. The faculty member spoke with a sense of superiority
when discussing students and blamed them for his poor teaching evaluations.
He said, in effect, that the students were not very bright and, therefore,
they couldn’t understand the content of his lectures. I have learned that
this tendency to blame one’s students is often a sign of poor teacher
training and a lack of willingness to reach out for help with teaching.
Stay fully engaged and
inspired as a person and a faculty member! Mark
Twain said: “Don’t let your schooling interfere with your education!” This
applies to being a faculty member as well. While academia can be exciting
and life affirming, it also can be a bureaucratic and life-draining
experience. As a result, build connections to help yourself feel engaged and
inspired. Many of your interests outside your discipline can be
meaningfully connected to your research and teaching. For example, I love
yoga, and so I looked for ways to connect yoga with psychology. The field
of mindfulness connects these two disciplines, and when I began integrating
mindfulness into my teaching, I learned that students are fascinated with
meditation and its benefits for people suffering from depression and
anxiety.
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Nyasha Junior, PhD
Assistant
Professor, Howard University School of Divinity
Nyasha (www.nyashajunior.com) is in her
fourth year of the tenure trek at Howard University. ACW applauds Nyasha
for being awarded the prestigious Association of Theological Schools
Faculty Fellowinsip. She will be on leave for the academic year to to work
on her book. We asked Nyasha to share a few tips on navigating the tenure
trek.
Tenure Trek: Mentoring
Luke had Yoda. Plato had Socrates. Annelle
had Truvy. Who is there for you?
My advice: First, figure out what you
need. Then find a mentor.
Identify specific information
needs. Think about nitty-gritty information that you cannot get
from a guide book written for new faculty. How are student evaluations used
(officially and unofficially) in your department? What are some tips for
writing a successful grant application for MoneyBags Foundation?
Seek out a particular person. Who
might possess the information that you need? Do not expect one person to
have the answers for everything. For example, if you are new to teaching
large lecture courses, you may ask a colleague who is famous for teaching
such courses. Figure out the best way to contact her and make a specific
request. Hello Dr. Hot
Shot, your Yarn Rolling course is legendary on campus. I am teaching
Hamster Running 101 this year for the first time, and I would like to talk
to you about strategies that you use in teaching a large lecture class.
Keep in touch. If
someone helps you, follow up. Hi
Dr. Big Wig! Our conversation on the skinny jeans phenomenon was quite
helpful. My paper has been accepted for this year’s Association of Hipster
Studies Annual Meeting. I will let you know how the presentation goes.
Also, publicly acknowledge how helpful Dr. Big Wig was. Win-win!
Take it slow. If you
want a mentor, you need to have many brief conversations. If the
first conversation goes well, have another. Most people like to be asked
for their expertise. See where things go. Don’t push it. Something may
evolve organically. Use the force, Young Skywalker!
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aims to build
the ACW community by sharing the experiences of academic writers.
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