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Current projects and research

Here you will find papers and presentations that document projects we are currently working on here at NTU and also links to current research in the field of academic writing.

Transitions research: exploring students' prior learning experiences

This project involved surveying new students at Nottingham Trent University to find out about the types of learning experiences they had encountered in their previous studies. It is hoped that the findings from this research will better inform the way that we support new students in their transition to studying in Higher Education. The 2007-08 survey asks students about the types of academic writing, assessment, feedback and tutor support experienced in their previous studies. Whilst the 2008-09 study builds on this data by also asking students about their expectations of Higher Education.

 2007-08 Project

2008-09 Project  ( coming soon)


Other people’s writing

In 2006/07, the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University employed four postgraduate students as writing mentors. They worked in pairs and had regular office hours in two classrooms within the school. The students were given a one-day training workshop and were supported by both the School’s Learning and Teaching Co-ordinator (Christine Hardy) and the Learning and Teaching Officer (Academic Writing) from the Centre for Academic Standards and Quality. Student numbers were relatively low but feedback from users was highly positive. The programme was continued in 2007/08 using one of the mentors and numbers increased steadily as students (and more importantly staff) became more aware of the provision.

The main lessons learnt were:

  • Students did possess the skills to meaningfully contribute in these roles
  • There were limitations associated with the discipline-specific nature of some of the writing problems and student users needed to speak to their tutors in more detail about them rather than a writing mentor
  • Student mentoring programmes take time to be embedded into the learning community
  • Staff need to be involved in promoting the service
  • The process requires administrative support for timetabling, pay, monitoring progress and reviewing service provision.

  Findings and overview of the project.

Click here to watch an interview with the student mentors