Supporting Students in the Publishing Process: A Blended Learning Approach
Date
2023-04-27
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Abstract
This presentation will describe the development and assessment of evidence-informed learning resources for graduate students on the topic of academic publishing. Students pursuing graduate degrees are under increasing pressure to publish, often to bolster their career prospects, or to enhance their university’s profile (1). Although both disciplinary mentors and academic librarians have developed learning resources to help students advance their knowledge and skills about academic publishing, these resources are not always based on a robust needs assessment and may not meet students’ actual learning needs (2–5). In response, the research team conducted focus groups with graduate students to understand what they wanted to learn, and how they wanted to learn it. We found that students are eager for a blended learning approach to this topic that uses online resources to address information gaps at the point of need, combined with more personalized and relational learning spaces to support community and well-being. We will describe how we are responding to student feedback with an online multimedia guide as well as exploring opportunities for learning communities for academic publishing support. We expect that this session will be useful for academic staff, librarians, and others who work to support graduate students’ learning, and for graduate students seeking to learn more about publishing. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore some of the resources already created as part of this project, and to brainstorm with the research team on how to further integrate these concepts into existing learning supports.