” Becoming Well Read is one of the most enriching , friendly , and thought-provoking academic communities I ' ve been part of . There is a real passion for sharing ideas and a thirst for collaboration , making it a supportive and generative community of people committed to enhancing academic reading practices . Thank you , Angela and the BWR community more generally .”
The sustained traction of Becoming Well Read reveals the continuing significance of those discussions for professionals and academics supporting students ’ reading practices . The word cloud created during the symposium ’ s registration , once again confirms reading as a ‘ wicked problem ’ ( Rittel & Webber , 1973 ) for our community , both for those at the periphery and at its centre . potential of paper scrolls to improve teaching and learning in higher education . Another delegate from BWR21 , Dave ' s exciting and playful work on text mapping has inspired teachers across all educational sectors , and his use of scrolls sits at the heart of our Academic Reading Retreats . He is a regular collaborator in the UK with Sandra Abegglen , Tom Burns and Sandra Sinfield with whom he has published papers in the Journal of Learning Development in HE , and generously shares both his personal and professional experiences of reading . You will see the influence of Dave ’ s text mapping technique in our third paper from Alison Leslie ( Leeds University ), Putting the map into mapping : applying map reading skills to mapping paper text scrollswho applies the map-reading metaphor to the scroll , developing a creative approach to support postgraduate students with their reading challenges .
Ryan Arthur ( Birkbeck , University of London ) provided delegates with a lively and inspiring debate on the ethics of ‘ shortcuts ’ in academic literacies , captured in our fourth paper , To hack or not to hack – The ethical dilemma of teaching reading hacks to students , which seems particularly pertinent to current debates in the sector concerning artificial intelligence and academic integrity . It also challenges us to consider our approaches to academic literacy in terms of accessibility , inclusion and diversity .
Addressing that problem , our abstracts and papers capture a range of responses and reflections . In our first paper , Reflecting forward : Perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of academic reading within Higher Education , Charlotte Stevens ( The Open University ), Rachel Lee ( Keele University ) and Jane Saville ( University of the West of England ) opened the symposium by asking , “ Has 2021-22 been a good year for academic reading ?” Their collaborative reflection , built on pledges made at BWR21 , provides an excellent illustration of the Becoming Well Read experience as well as fascinating data and analysis that captures the barriers and aspirations of our community .
Dave Middlebrook ’ s Keynote Provocation is captured in our second paper , Rethinking the Book : The argument for researching the
Our final two papers are focused on one of the BWR22 sessions , Rachel Gippetti ’ s cut-up poetry workshop , Encouraging Engagement in Academic Reading by Destroying the Source . Here we are able to present a reflection from both the facilitator and a delegate , providing a more rounded picture of the experience and the learning from this workshop , which should provide readers with both food for thought and inspiration . First , you will find Rachel Gippetti ’ s ( Arts University , Plymouth ), Weird liberation : The importance of disorientation and resistance within a cut-up poetry workshop and beyond , a reflection advocating the potential of ‘ strangeness ’ for strengthening learning ; next , our third and final reflective paper from Helen Hewertson ( University of Central Lancashire ), Reflection on BWR workshop ‘ Encouraging Engagement in Academic Reading by Destroying the Source ’, which focuses on Rachel ’ s use of poetic inquiry to develop a deeper understanding of journal articles . Helen ,
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