Unit information: Writing as Inquiry in 2014/15

Unit name	Writing as Inquiry
Unit code	EDUCM0021
Credit points	10
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Reed
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Introduction to Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Education
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

• Establish writing strategies as legitimate research sites
• Provide opportunities to experiment with writing and difference
• Explore aesthetic, evocative and poetic validities in experimental research writing
• Develop skills and confidence in both crafting and critiquing written texts

Intended Learning Outcomes

It is anticipated that upon completion of this unit participants will have:

• Developed a knowledge and understanding of writing as a method of inquiry and of narrative ethics and aesthetics
• Identified, evaluated and experimented with a range of writing strategies in terms of research process and progress as well as ‘product’
• Demonstrated and situated their own developing writing style(s)

Teaching Information

Teaching and learning opportunities will include tutor and student presentations, guided critical close reading of indicative texts, seminars, small group work, VLE and workshops.

Assessment Information

• 1. Formative presentation (15 minutes) Presentation/critique of writing as inquiry approaches

• 2. Summative assignment. Either an essay of 2,000 words or a multi-modal assignment of 1, 000 words plus equivalent digital/visual text or video-paper. The choice between summative assessment options will be negotiated with the Unit Tutor

Reading and References

• Cixous, H (2004) The Writing Notebooks of Helene Cixous, London: Continuum
• Clough, P (2002) Narratives and Fictions in Educational Research. Buckingham: Open University Press
• Etherington, K (2002) Narrative ideas and stories in disability, in K.Etherington (Ed) Rehabilitation counselling in physical and mental health, London: Jessica Kingsley
• Richardson, L & St Pierre, E (2005 3rd ed) Writing: A method of inquiry, in: NK Denzin & YS Lincoln (Eds) Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
• Speedy, J (2008) Crossing the borders between fiction and researching: Narrative Inquiry and Psychotherapy, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan
• Sparkes, A. (2002) Telling Tales in Sport & Physical Activity: A Qualitative Journey. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics Press