Shut Up and Write!

Case study by Manuela Sadik

What was the aim of your project?

The aim of this project was to create a sense of community among the students and staff within UCL’s department of Geography through planned activities. We chose writing-specific activities as written communication is an essential skill that all geographers in the department, from staff to students, must regularly utilise.

What did you do?

We marketed the sessions to the entire department and regularly booked the PhD office (where we hosted them). We also provided the attendants with an array of refreshments. The main activity involved writing in short bursts. Once the participants were settled, we would write for fifteen minutes, followed by a fifteen minute break. This process would repeat four-to-five times.

What were the main successes of the project?

One of the biggest successes of the project was that we managed to attract a diverse group of students, ranging from first year undergraduates to final year PhD students. Many of these students were regular attendees and seemed to enjoy the sessions. Their extremely positive feedback and assessment of the program, outlined in the feedback forms that we distributed, also suggests this. In fact, the sessions were so popular that we added an extra one - conducting four sessions in total instead of the three that we had initially planned. 

What difficulties did you face during your project? What would you do differently?

Our main difficulty was arranging a time that was suitable for staff as well as students. We tried to schedule the sessions to take place when staff would not be teaching (e.g. Wednesday afternoons). However, the sessions still often clashed with teaching committees and open days, preventing staff from attending. Regrettably, this meant that we did not have any staff attend the sessions.

One of the key aims of the program was to foster a sense of community within the entire department. As such, if we were to conduct this project again, we would try to find a way to encourage staff participation. For example, rather than market the event to the department as a whole, we could send the staff and professors a separate message. 

However, we are still unsure of when the best time to schedule sessions would be in order to ensure staff attendance. Aside from scheduling sessions outside of normal hours, Wednesday afternoons are the only other time that there are no teaching requirements. We had considered scheduling some sessions in Term 3, when the teaching load decreases, but reasoned that most students would be revising for their exams and thus may not have the time to attend.

What impact has your project had? On whom?

Some students have informed us that informal ‘Shut Up and Write!’ sessions have been occurring within the department. It is nice that this exercise is no longer limited to only graduate students and that others have taken inspiration from this project. We hope that such sessions continue and that the project has a long-term, positive impact on the department. Perhaps the department could even provide a small amount of funding for such sessions now that we have demonstrated the positive effects they have had on the student body.