Welcome Judges

'The Write Shift: Rethinking Academic & Creative Writing

Nomination Description

In the English speaking University of American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Perrotis College, certified by Cardiff Metropolitan University and by NECHE, first year students attend six modules; I plan, structure and teach ‘Introduction to Composition’ ‘Introduction to Academic Writing’, ‘Public Speaking & Business Communication” throughout the winter-spring semester of each academic year.

My fields of expertise – Academic ESL Teacher, Soft Skills Trainer, Certified Accredited Coach – are my educational tools towards a differentiated teaching approach, indicating that academic studies can be a process that:

• Breaks the stereotypical theory/lecture-based teaching
• Unleashes the learner’s potential
• Develops soft skills for their academic and later on professional career. Therefore, my goals in teaching the above modules are the following:
• To motivate students for an academic journey into writing – a prerequisite for their studies.
• To engage them to the process of research, to instill love for ‘tangible’ books and for libraries.
• To expose them to proper use of technological tools – such as AI – aiming at turning them into digitally literate students that will exploit technology to their benefit instead of using it to replace their brain.
• All the above are taking place through the following indicative methodologies always in a teaching environment that has the form and content of a workshop:
• Motivation is activated:
• Through a task partly guided (visit to the library)
• Through freedom of choice: they select an academic book of their choice
• Through engagement: active academic research within the library, not through the web. Through this process:
• They develop familiarization with academic research tools – library, books.
• They activate and practice soft skills: networking, communication, critical thinking, engagement, asking questions, solving problems, making research, taking initiatives, making decisions.
• Engagement:
• The books are used in many different ways. Primary Purpose:
• Actively engage the students to the use of academic form-style of language. Since it is a book of their academic interest they have the willingness to browse it, read it thoroughly, and extend their research in other fields.
• They are engaged in different writing tasks in the classroom or outside in the greenery, on a weekly basis, based on their book
• Paraphrase extracts of their choice from the book
• Summarize an extract of their choice
• Critical analysis of challenging ideas
• Presentations of certain parts
• Track, isolate and use academic vocabulary using www.glosbe.com as a research tool
• Put into practise their own skills-talents in writing ( e.g: a student from Switzerland made his own drawing reflecting his own perspective for academic writing)
• Work in teams to produce a full essay (from the title to its analysis)
• Structuring one paragraph as teams (not each student a different part of the essay) THUS:
• The purpose of producing written language is always accomplished through constant exposure in variable written tasks that entail freedom of choice and promotion of self-confidence
• Technology Exposure:
• Use of their laptops in the classroom – AIM:
• Learn the methods and practice the tools of academic research
• Learn the process of evaluating the validity of a source
• Learn the process of selection – develop skills to activate selection criteria for resources