Contributing Towards Building a Culture of Writing at UTM
The Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy has officially launched the second volume of its annual journal showcasing first-year student work – Writing for University and Beyond: A Journal of First-Year Student Writing at UTM. The journal is a faculty-run project that showcases various genres of student writing, from personal essays to academic papers. It highlights the diversity of student work in our first-year courses: ISP100 Writing for University and Beyond and utmONE Scholars Seminars.
The multiple dimensions and numerous layers of student involvement make the journal unique. Students contribute towards the journal as authors, co-editors, assistant editors, and reviewers. In many cases, a student may be able to experience and contribute towards multiple roles, allowing them to gain holistic insights regarding the review, editing, and publication process.
Further, the journal serves as a small group experiential learning piece where students are guided through the publication process and engage in hands-on learning. Not only do student authors have the opportunity to publish their own papers, but they also get the chance to be mentored by a faculty member. Together, they undergo a series of revisions to allow student authors to adapt their work for publication, thus extending what they have learned in their courses to an authentic context.
ISUP’s journal contributes towards building a culture of writing across campus and disciplines through its “writing about writing” approach to pedagogy. It encourages faculty, staff, and students to critically reflect upon their conceptions of writing, their relationships with writing, and their unique and subjective approaches to writing. Moreover, the close collaboration between faculty and students provides a novel and rewarding experience for everyone involved as they work together to create something beyond the course from which future students and writing studies practitioners alike will benefit.
