Writing Retreat
Session Chair
Leilani Arthurs, University of Colorado at Boulder
The design of this retreat uses Lave and Wenger's (1991) community of practice theory to create a structured retreat for sustained writing. Participants will engage in dedicated writing time with the purpose of progressing with writing projects in a supportive and collegial environment. The writing retreat will provide participants with a distraction free setting to write and the opportunity to speak to and seek feedback from other writers. Participants should arrive with a writing project in mind and a strong desire to significantly move the project forward within the time allotted by the retreat.
The retreat will work best for participants when they: (a) focus exclusively on writing, (b) define specific goals and sub-goals such as particular sections of a paper/chapter or a particular number of words to write, (c) define and discuss content and structure for writing sub-goals, (d) take stock of your achievement of sub-goals throughout the retreat, and (e) discuss your writing-in-progress for mutual peer support during the retreat.
To prepare for the retreat: (a) decide on a writing project such as particular sections of a paper/thesis/dissertation, (b) read the Murray & Newton (2009) article, (c) begin to plan your writing tasks, and (d) download and save to your laptop the materials you will need during the retreat.
What to bring to the retreat: (a) laptop, (b) power cable, (c) power strip, (d) extension cord, and (e) relevant papers or notes.
Writing Retreat Schedule:
EER 2023 Writing Retreat Schedule (Acrobat (PDF) 81kB Jun30 23)
The writing retreat is structured following the example described by Rowan and Murray (2009)1 and benefits from lessons learned following retreats held in 2019, 2020, and 2021, as well as an ongoing writing circle that evolved from these retreats.
1Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009). Writing retreat as structured intervention: margin or mainstream? Higher Education Research & Development, 28(5), 541-553. Download or view the PDF: Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009) (Acrobat (PDF) 755kB Jun28 23)