Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education ISSN: 1759-667X

Issue 27 April 2023

Writing Circles: developing learner self-efficacy and agency
through peer review activities

David Busby
University of Bath, UK

Cathy Malone
University of Leeds, UK

Abstract

‘Fear and anxiety are the enemies of learning’ (Gibbs, 2014).

This paper outlines evaluation of practitioner research into a writing development

intervention used with a group of international students studying at Masters level in a UK

university. The research was motivated by our understanding that academic writing is a

task which provokes significant anxiety for students. Our methodology was informed by

evidence in the literature pointing to the utility of group learning and giving and receiving

peer feedback. We aimed to explore the extent to which structured writing analysis and

facilitated group feedback activities (conducted through writing circles) influenced student

perceptions of confidence in academic writing. Our thesis was that instruction in identifying

and noticing elements of effective disciplinary writing combined with writing circles cycles

of review and redrafting would lead to an improvement in measures of confidence in

academic writing. We examined the impact on students through interviews in addition to

pre- and post-intervention questionnaires which assessed self-confidence, anxiety and

self-efficacy. This paper presents a clear, practical solution to the difficult problem of

increasing students’ confidence in undertaking academic writing. Our results indicate a

positive impact on overall confidence in academic writing, increased perception of agency

and a decrease in anxiety. The findings align with a large body of research which indicate

the positive impact on students on being given opportunity to give and receive feedback

on their work. This case study demonstrates the value of writing circles as a simple

practical activity that acts as a generative frame for student activity. It affirms value of

interdisciplinary practice sharing.

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Keywords: writing circles; student anxiety; academic self-efficacy; peer review.

Introduction

If, as Gibbs says, “fear and anxiety are the enemies of learning” (2014), then an

examination of student feelings is both legitimate and pedagogically necessary in order to

create conditions for learning to occur. The central premise here begins with an

acknowledgement that while challenge can be a positive, indeed essential, aspect of

learning, anxiety in the classroom has a debilitating effect on learning or skill acquisition.

At the same time, we recognise that writing at university is for many students an anxiety

provoking activity. The relationship between these co-related concepts of confidence and

anxiety is not one of simple binary apposition. Research that explores in a classroom

context how anxiety and concepts of self-efficacy and confidence are related, suggests a

fundamental link between learner anxiety focused on writing and a whole variety of factors,

including negative past experience, limited reading skills, time, tutor expectation, concern

about the opinions of peers, language competence, and cultural attitudes and approaches

to writing (Cheng, 2004; Huang, 2014; Genc and Yayli, 2019). The learner’s self-

perception as a writer, the writing context and the task set can result in negative emotions

and have an adverse impact on the planning and writing process (Atay and Kurt, 2006;

Jahin, 2012). Self-efficacy, the belief in the potential to succeed, for example, to plan and

write successful assignments is an essential element of self-confidence and agency

(Bandura, 2006), and is an important quality in reducing anxiety with academic writing

(Huerta, et al. 2017). This may be especially true in a post-graduate Higher Education

Institution (HEI) context where writing tends to be conducted in isolation and requires a

high level of self-discipline. Self-efficacy can also contribute to motivation, aspiration and

performance in academic writing and may be linked to the learner’s past experience of

feedback (Martinez, Kock and Cass, 2011). This may suggest therefore, that classroom

activities which encourage self-efficacy should result in greater agency and improved

confidence. As academic writing is largely positioned as a self-managed activity (Huerta et

al., 2017) the learners’ belief in their own abilities and potential are essential.

The research problem we were interested in exploring concerned the extent to which

feelings of confidence and self-efficacy can be influenced via instruction and practice of

writing skills. We examined this question through a practical action research project. As

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Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 27 3

practising teachers and applied linguists working in adjunct support roles, our focus is very

much on the intersection of theory and practice. We work broadly within an academic

literacies perspective (Lea and Street, 1998) that foregrounds the specificity of disciplinary

ways of knowing. Equally important to the theory we draw on are the wider practitioner

accounts that provide clues as to optimum delivery and we briefly outline some of the key

elements of classroom practice that informed our thinking

: the value of exemplar analysis; the importance of group instruction; and use of writing

circles as a set of practices adapted for teaching. A writing circle is a creative writing

practice where writers come together to share drafts, read each of other’s work and then

the group moves to providing constructive and supportive feedback to each participant.

Groups generally work collaboratively at any stage of the writing process from prewriting to

reviewing and collaborate through structured reading, commentary and group discussion.

They have proved quite a flexible tool and have been applied developmentally with

children (Vopat, 2009), with doctoral students (Caukill, 2017), trainee teachers (Roberts,

Blanch and Gurjar, 2017) and with academic staff (Pasternak et al., 2009). As a teaching

tool they offer a low-risk, authentic and co-operative form of peer review activity which

encourages peer collaboration. Successful writing circles used in teaching contexts should

involve learner choice and decision making. For more detail on the mechanics of running a

writing circle see Malone et al., (2020).

We will start by outlining the practical details of the intervention and its scope, then we will

move to outlining the methodology used, with reference to the literature which informed it.

Results from this small project indicate that attention to mechanics of text, combined with

opportunities for peer review and redrafting of current papers led to increased self-

confidence, self-efficacy and reduction in anxiety among this small cohort. We set out

some of the practical implications of these findings, chiefly concerning the balance and

timing of activities and the importance of working in different modalities across a group.

Background

Anxiety and Academic Writing

A certain amount of challenge is seen as central to learning: Hattie describes “challenge

and feedback” as “two of the essential ingredients of learning” (2009, p.24). However, the

student experience of academic writing at university appears to be one that provokes a

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significant amount of anxiety and a concomitant lack of confidence and self-belief, with

potential impacts on student wellbeing and performance. The distinction between task

focused distress and positive challenge and attention is both very personal and the focus

of ongoing research. However, it is clear that the learner’s emotional state and subsequent

effect on their cognitive ability has been linked to the quality of the writing produced (Uzun

and Topkaya, 2018). Low self-confidence has also been shown to impact negatively on

learners’ self-efficacy resulting in vulnerability, poor performance, and leading to

procrastination or avoidance of writing tasks altogether (Cheng, Horwitz and Schallert,

1999; Cheng, 2004).

Looking specifically at international students for whom English is a second language (as

these were our focus cohort), they are very likely to feel challenged and anxious when

working with the complex content, ideas, lexis and language in academic writing (Zhang,

2019) that they are expected to produce while studying in higher education in English

speaking countries. Such anxiety may lead to low self-confidence and a reduced sense of

agency, resulting in lower quality writing and lower grades (Cheng, Horwitz and Schallert,

1999; Huerta, et al., 2017), thus perpetuating a sense of powerlessness and concern

when tasked to write assignments.

International students may have specific needs concerning academic writing in a higher

education context. Anxiety with academic writing can also result from various types of

feedback, from both teachers and peers, which can affect motivation (Tsao, Tseng and

Wang, 2017). Research of multilingual contexts has indicated that problems with language

and unfamiliar classroom cultures and activities, such as group work and group

discussion, can inhibit how learners convey ideas in the second language and contribute

to activities. As a result, their potential or self-efficacy may be supressed as the learner

senses a lack of recognition of their expertise and knowledge, which may become a

source of anxiety, resulting in the inability to produce well-reasoned ideas (Kim, 2011).

However, anxiety focused on academic writing is not limited to any particular student

group. The research cited here indicates a complex relationship between overall

measures of confidence, self-efficacy, and student performance; this research also

suggests, if the relationship is bi-directional, there is an opportunity to improve confidence

through focusing on the mechanics of writing and developing these technical features of

writing.

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Peer Review

It has been suggested that peer review writing activities can make a major contribution to

improving learners’ sense of empowerment and self-regulation, thereby improving their

confidence, self-efficacy and agency (Lee, 2017). Arguably, the most common means to

develop learners’ understanding of writing style and genre is tutor feedback. However,

there may be little sense of student agency in this feedback process as tutors control the

format and language in which the feedback is delivered (Lee, 2008). In contrast, review

and feedback on writing from peers can be more compatible with learner language levels

and learning needs (Rahimi, 2013). Through discussion of writing and the development of

skills among peers, learners may become better able to review and assess their own

writing and thereby become increasingly independent and self-regulated, (Lundstrom and

Baker, 2009; Lee, 2017). Many authors and practitioners have thereby concluded that

peer review activities should be encouraged as learners can benefit from differing

approaches, styles, and levels of competence in writing, and may be well-equipped to

provide the necessary support to develop each other’s writing output (Min, 2005). Lee

(2017) outlines multiple benefits to the peer review of written work, including: raising

awareness of the reader; developing a better understanding of content, organisation,

appropriate language and genre; providing a social-interactive environment with

scaffolding and support between peers; and the facilitation of second language acquisition.

Research has also shown that both reviewer and reviewee may benefit from the peer

review relationship (Lundstrom and Baker, 2009; Kim, 20011; Nicol, Thomson and Breslin

2014).

Group Learning

Collaborative learning theories indicate that “feedback from peers has the potential to

contribute to learning, which is considered a socially and collectively constructed activity”

(Yu and Lee, 2016, p. 463). The benefits of peer review, therefore, can include the

negotiation of meaning, promoting collaborative learning, encouraging social support and

scaffolding, and facilitating independence in the learner by reducing reliance on tutors (Hu

and Lam, 2010). There are also benefits for the peer reviewer in developing the skills

required to critically evaluate and comment on peers’ academic writing, and the ability to

identify issues surrounding organisation, argument and logical gaps, could potentially

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empower the learners as better writers and reviewers of their own writing (Lundstrom and

Baker, 2009; McConlogue, 2015; Huisman, et al., 2018).

It is possible to argue that it is only when learners provide effective feedback that peer

review of writing becomes meaningful. Studies have shown that learners who are not

provided adequate support to make the peer review process a constructive, positive

discussion are likely to find the experience unsatisfying (Berg, 1999). This suggests the

need for training learners in the required skills and expertise in order to deliver effective

feedback to peers (Rahimi, 2013). Feedback that is vague and open to misinterpretation

can have a negative impact on the peer review process. Therefore, providing learners with

the skills needed to provide effective feedback and giving them instruction in appropriate

responses will not only enable them to generate more effective and specific feedback but

also build their confidence when evaluating peers’ writing (Min, 2005; 2006; Rahimi, 2013;

Lee, 2017).

Intervention

The study consisted of a writing intervention, the impact of which was measured via a pre-

and post-intervention questionnaire (see Appendix 1) measuring levels of confidence with

academic writing, sense of agency with academic writing, and attitudes towards

collaborative peer review activities. The intervention was provided in the form of eight two-

hour academic writing classes embedded weekly in the students’ main subject, with the

entire cohort of approximately 60 students split across three classes. While all students

completed the questionnaire in the first class, only thirty-seven (61.5%) completed both

pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Students were subsequently invited to

participate in semi-structured interviews; seven students came forward to participate. The

questionnaire and interviews were focused on student awareness and understanding of

themselves as learners in line with participatory action research methods (Freire, 1976;

Reason and Bradbury, 2001). Results from the interviews were transcribed and repeatedly

analysed and discussed by the authors to identify common themes (Clarke and Braun,

2017) in light of our reading of the literature on anxiety and self-efficacy in classroom

contexts.

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While we acknowledge the challenges of tutor-led research and the influence of teacher

researcher on student respondents (see Talmy 2010 for critiques of the way qualitative

interview data is used), our focus as action researchers involved in participative research

meant we prioritise student self-perception and their accounts of their development.

A series of writing circle activities were developed, aimed at maximising opportunities for

peer review of on-going academic writing. While we wanted to draw on the benefits of an

authentic peer-led task where responsibilities were shared with peers and use writing

circles to increase student engagement, we also wanted to combine a writing circle with a

tutor-led input. In this way we adapted Vopat’s (2009) model, where each session followed

a theme (for example, how to structure a paragraph) and input was provided via a tutor-led

presentation focused on analysis of exemplars before moving on to collaborative peer

review. A series of writing circle sessions were planned which focused on the topics listed

in Table 1 and followed a regular format as outlined in Table 2.

Table 1. Topics of writing circle sessions.

Week

number

Academic skills input Writing group activity Intended learning

outcomes

By the end of this session

students will be able to…

1. Understanding the task

and structure

Groups develop

questions about

texts/writing. Writing

task set here.

identify macro features

of academic style, with

a focus on

organisation of writing

and referencing

conventions.

2. Reading and note-

taking to writing

Joint construction.

Students complete

writing task as

homework.

select appropriate

reading materials.

use notes to support

an argument or

discussion.

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3. Paragraphs Structure

and planning

Students analyse a text

for paragraph moves

and signposting.

Students review first

drafts of writing task.

write a simple plan

4. Critical reading to

critical writing

Understanding

description, analysis,

criticality + critical

reflection

Students analyse a text

for criticality and use of

sources. Students

review drafts of writing

task.

identify critical

analysis particularly

authorial stance

5. Coherence and

Cohesion: making

writing flow

Students analyse a text

for use of cohesive

devices. Students

review and edit drafts of

writing task.

recognise how to use

signalling and linking

devices to make

arguments and

information flow in

academic writing.

6. Critical writing

(paraphrasing +

combining

sources)/academic

integrity

Students analyse a text

for academic integrity

and synthesis.

Students review notes

from reading for

assignments.

integrate sources of

evidence into texts

build on using sources

to develop voice and

criticality.

7. Ensuring

criticality/voice/language

– Building an argument

Students analyse a text

for criticality and

development of an

argument. Peer review

of plans/paragraphs

identify critical

analysis in academic

writing

construct simple

argument in own text

8. Five principles of

academic writing:

Accuracy,

appropriateness, clarity,

informed, concise

Peer review of

paragraphs/drafts

provide constructive

feedback to a peer

based on discussion

of assignment plans,

notes and first drafts

of paragraphs.

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Table 2. Format of exemplar analysis and writing circle.

1. Tutor Input Exemplar analysis

2. Exemplar

Analysis

Learners (in small groups) were given a section of an article

(linked to their degree topic) that had been altered to match

the session’s theme (for example, the paragraph structure had

been poorly arranged).

3. Discussion &

Writing Task

Provided with discussion prompts, learners worked

collaboratively to identify the problems and then reconstruct

an improved version of the text.

4. Comparison

key features

of effective

writing

Learners compared their improved text with the original and

were encouraged to notice and discuss similarities and

differences between the two.

5. Read and

Review: 2

stars and a

Wish

Groups discussed and reviewed each other’s writing (which

could be in any form, such as rough notes, or first draft

paragraphs). This stage included a task, for example, ‘two

stars and a wish’: two things that the peer reviewer liked and

one thing that could be done differently, to give the learners

clear parameters for discussion.

6. Plenary

Discussion

and recap

The class ended with whole group discussion of some of the

key points from the peer review.

Aims

The aim of this combination of activities was to develop assessment and feedback literacy

and support the transition from exemplar analysis to independent production of writing.

The activities were designed to prioritise active student engagement and maximise

collaborative student writing and peer discussion through the design of activities that a

student would not be able to complete alone. The initial activity was to explore an aspect

of disciplinary writing. The writing circle focused on peer review through which learners

would articulate their understanding of academic writing. Through this combination of

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activities, we aimed to develop understanding of specific features of writing and ultimately

ability with academic writing, reduce any anxiety, and develop a greater sense of self-

efficacy and agency.

Participants

The participants were all female, adult, Chinese students, studying a one-year, full-time

post-graduate (PG) degree in education at an HEI in the UK. All participants were using

English as a second language and had a diverse experience of academic writing prior to

attending the course, from attending international schools in their country of origin, to

completing foundation and undergraduate courses in the UK, with some completing a ten-

week pre-sessional course at an HEI in the months leading to the start of their PG course.

Methods

This project was a practical action research project which involved a reflective process of

progressive problem-solving integrating research, action, and analysis. The research

problem at its simplest is that students experience learning to write within their discipline at

university as anxiety provoking, and this anxiety is a barrier to learning. We were

interested in exploring the extent to which feelings of confidence and self-efficacy can be

influenced via instruction and practice of practical writing tasks applied to disciplinary texts.

Results

Comparison of pre- and post-intervention self-report data

Table 3 shows results for student attitudes to anxiety, agency and peer work in academic

writing, comparing student perspectives pre- and post-intervention. The total number of

respondents was 20 (all female).

Table 3. Student attitudes to anxiety, agency and peer work in academic writing: a

comparison of pre-and post-intervention data (n=30).

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Topic/ Question Agree

strongly

Agree Neither Disagree Disagree

Strongly

Anxiety/confidence in academic

writing

I am confident about writing my

assignments.

+3% +25% +16% -35% -10%

I feel nervous when I think about

writing my assignments.

change

-19% +6% +6% +6%

I feel anxious about academic writing. -13% -10% +10% +6% +6%

I am worried about the quality of my

academic writing.

change

-10% +13% -3 No

change

I am concerned about writing

academic assignments.

-15% -6% + 19% No

change

Agency in academic writing

I can express my ideas clearly in

academic writing.

+3% +19% +10% -32% No

change

I am confident I can edit and improve

my own work.

+3% +6% -13% +3% No

change

I know what I need to do to improve

my own writing.

+6% +10% +3% -16% -3%

I understand where my writing needs

to develop.

+6% +6% -13% No

change

I am aware of my own strengths and

weaknesses in academic writing.

change

+29% -16% -13% No

change

Peer work and Academic Writing

I am confident I can give feedback to

my peers on their writing

-6% +32% -13% -10% -3%

I am happy to share my ideas with

my peers

No change

I can learn from discussing writing

with my peers

+32% -6% -22% -3% No

change

I can see the benefits of sharing

writing with my peers

+3% +13% -6% -6% -3%

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There was a reduction in a number of negative emotions connected to academic writing;

lack of confidence, anxiety and concern. The biggest change is a development in self-

belief concerning ability to express themselves with clarity. The final section of questions

indicate that this intervention had a positive influence on student understanding and

valuing of discussion with peers, and a similar increase in confidence in their ability to give

feedback. These self-report measures are broadly indicative of a reduction in negative

feelings associated with academic writing, increase in agency and an increased

appreciation of the value of peer work, and a more detailed examination of student

interview data appears to corroborate these findings and student quotes are provided as

illustrative examples.

Interview findings

In the interviews, the student comments largely aligned with the overall findings of the

questionnaire. One student mentioned the reduction in negative emotions related to

academic writing when asked generally about the impact of the study:

‘I am not afraid of writing an academic essay any more. Writing circles actually inspire

me a lot when starting to write an essay’.

Others described how they ‘became more confident’ and were ‘not so afraid of the

academic writing’. There was also mention of how this intervention led to ‘feeling more

control with writing’.

A number of students elaborated on this connection between technical knowledge of

writing, skill improvement and feelings of confidence:

‘The text analysis activity is a good way for me to practice the knowledge I have

learned’.

I can learn from reading other

students’ work/ writing.

+10% -16% +10% No

change

-3%

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‘[The intervention] really help me to have a better understanding of how to write [and]

practice which truly help me to become a better writer’.

‘Writing circle helps to improve my writing in organizing my thought into written

words’.

The benefits of reading each other’s drafts was frequently mentioned positively:

‘Peer reviews can be inspirational. As regular readers, peers give intuitive and

effective feedback’,

Within the comments concerned with peer review, a number of students mentioned the

positive affective aspect of peer review and how it improved class dynamics by

establishing group trust:

‘I know that group quite well … people won’t plagiarise your work. So, you have a

good relationship … people don't judge … it depends on the classmates you'll get as

well, I think my classmates were quite nice’.

The reciprocity of support was key for learners:

‘I can get some ideas from others so and others can also help me…You can just help

each other to get to know each other's ideas and help each other’.

Students also mentioned the value of a peer reviewer’s perspective, their ability to

comment on your writing and the ideas as a knowledgeable informant:

‘My writing also to looked by my classmates, and they gave me really good

suggestions’.

‘I can learn from other people's ways of thinking not only their writing but their ways

of thinking how they approach the assignment question maybe in from a different

angle’.

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‘You're likely to learn something that you don't have in your writing for from your peer

writing and your peer writing just keeps you an inspiration’.

‘They are classmates … and everyone has some, some common mistakes or

something. And it's okay we just look at each other's and we share our opinions’.

‘I feel like in the kind of the peer feedback ... I can learn from what others have done’.

For some students, peer review seemed to prompt deeper reflection on their own work:

‘It will help you reflect. Did I do that, the same in my essay, it usually helps.’

While for others peer review marked a development in their editorial skills:

‘She didn't have a topic sentence in the first position of a paragraph so I just reminded

her’.

Discussion

Findings for this intervention study were largely positive, although there are obvious

limitations to the generalisability of the findings given the small size of the cohort and the

fact that the interviewees were self-selecting. This small total number of respondents

needs to be borne in mind in interpreting these results, in order not to overestimate the

significance of the percentages shown. Given the small sample size, the percentage

figures are indicative of trends reflecting changes in this particular cohort. While wary of

overgeneralising from these results the figures do reflect some interesting broad patterns

in changes of thinking in this group of students.

Acknowledging the multiple limitations, if we examine these findings in light of research

then overall, results indicate engagement in a series of writing circles appeared to alleviate

some of the more negative feelings associated with academic writing and there are initial

indications of some improvements in agency and self-efficacy. Overall, the interview

confirmed the benefits of experience of writing circles resulting in the reduction in negative

emotions related to academic writing, initial tentative expression of a connection between

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technical knowledge of writing, skill improvement and feelings of confidence, and

numerous benefits to devoting class time to detailed peer review as a platform for writing

work.

Anxiety

The first group of questions focus on nerves, worries and anxieties around academic

writing. These results indicate an overall reduction in negative emotions associated with

academic writing. It is worth noting, our results indicate the relevance of the intervention

and are consistent with previous literature showing an initial high anxiety baseline.

Academic writing at university is a task that provokes anxiety, worry and concern.

Comparing pre- and post-intervention self-report measures indicates a reduction in these

negative emotions and a related increase in overall confidence associated with academic

writing.

Agency and self-efficacy have been linked with learner self-regulation and motivation, goal

setting and positive behaviours and greater academic success (Zhang and Ardasheva,

2019) and there is some indication of these for learners in the writing circles activities. The

learners expressed more control and understanding of the academic writing process

suggesting the motivational and decisional processes key to developing greater self-

efficacy (Bandura, 2002) and appear to be better able to exercise choice in the application

of the writing techniques modelled through writing circles, which is an essential element in

agentic learning (Lindgren and McDaniel, 2012).

The peer review process appears to have been beneficial for learners in that they were

engaged in sharing good advice on writing and, whether by receiving or providing this

advice, were displaying their improved understanding of academic writing (Ngar-Fun and

Carless, 2006). As a result, learners were in the process of moving from being ‘other

regulated’ to becoming ‘self-regulated’ and better able to face the challenges of academic

writing independently (Lee, 2017). The findings show that there was a good sense of

collaboration, trust and reciprocity, which are essential qualities of peer review activities

(Ludemann and McMakin, 2014; McConlogue, 2015) as without this, learners are likely to

reject the advice from peers (Ngar-Fun and Carless, 2006). There were clearly benefits to

both the reviewer and the reviewee in the writing circle activities which would inform the

reviewees’ understanding of problems in their writing and help the reviewers learn through

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the feedback they provide, therefore giving both parties a sense of control over their

writing (Nicol, Thomson, and Breslin, 2014; Huisman et al., 2018). That is not to say that

all participants found the peer review activities an easy process as anxiety was expressed

when the reviewer felt their writing was weaker than that of their peers. It is essential,

therefore, that any programme of peer review begins with training the learners to become

effective reviewers, focuses on the skills required to analyse texts in detail and develops

awareness of how to learn from good models of writing. This will improve any trust issues,

build confidence, allow learners opportunities to articulate understanding of good writing

and provide greater motivation for the review process through exposure to a range of texts

(Kim, 2011, Ludemann and McMakin, 2014; McConlogue, 2015).

There is some evidence from the findings that a degree of anxiety remains for these

learners, especially regarding time-management and use of English, both of which can be

said to impact on the learners’ critical reading and synthesis of sources. It is possible to

argue that a more flexible timetable for assignments could help these learners in the

future, and it can be surmised that the learners’ confidence in discussing academic writing

and future goals indicates a reduction in anxiety overall.

Conclusion

This study was undertaken to find a practical means to address student anxiety focused

on learning to write within a discipline. While we experienced some success that students

attributed to this intervention, this small study demands we re-consider how best to

address academic anxiety and consider the need to address this pedagogically rather than

therapeutically. We would propose that this use of writing circles is a successful model of

interdisciplinary practice that provides a frame for independent student development. As a

set of classroom practices writing circles prioritise active student engagement and high

challenge. This study has shown how peer review activities used in writing circles can

enable opportunities for learners to achieve agency with their academic writing through

analysis of model texts and collaborative tasks. The findings suggest that the writing

circles structure, moving from tutor input, to peer discussion of a text, to peer review and

opportunities for collaboration and sharing good practice, promote independent student

development. Writing circles offer a rich constellation of learning activities, an intense

combination that supported a number of students move from anxiety to engagement. A

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methodological implication of this study is that to fully appreciate and understand the

benefit offered by such activity cycles requires more research fully grounded in the

classroom (or wherever we encounter our students) that acknowledges and recognises the

messy complexity of teaching and learning.

The balance of activities and timing appears to be crucial. Whereas more typical

approaches to peer review activities involve learners discussing finished work, writing

circles focus on ongoing writing and this allowed for closer analysis of specific features of

disciplinary academic writing on a lesson-by-lesson basis. In practical terms, working on

live texts (prior to submission) may allow for a more granular level of analysis and may

make it easier to identify aspects needed for development. This finding, that the timing of

the pedagogical input is crucial in determining the efficacy of the peer review process, also

aligns with recent meta analyses of use of exemplars (To, Panadero and Carless, 2021).

As we emerge from the pandemic, we would suggest that as a community there will be

more focus than ever on identifying cycles of activities such as this that offer students

opportunities to develop increased agency and confidence, and we would like to suggest

writing circles for your consideration.

Acknowledgement

This project was submitted for doctoral study at the University of Bath and was also the

product of a collaboration across the University of Bath and Sheffield Hallam University,

supported by an ALDinHE grant 2020-21.

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Author details

David Busby is Head of Digital and Academic Skills, at the University of Bath. Interests

include teaching academic study skills/EAP, Developing writing skills for HE, Second

Language Teacher Education and Learner Agency and Self-Efficacy.

Cathy Malone is an Academic Development Consultant at Leeds University. With a

background in TESOL, Cathy has published on academic literacy development in HE and

associated embedded learning development initiatives. Cathy has particular interest in

working collaboratively with students and the uses of feedback to drive learning.

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits

unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author

and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Journal of

Learning Development in Higher Education (JLDHE) is a peer-reviewed open access

journal published by the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education

(ALDinHE).

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Writing Circles: developing learner self-efficacy and agency through peer review activities
Abstract
Introduction
Background
Anxiety and Academic Writing
Peer Review
Group Learning

Intervention
Aims
Participants
Methods

Results
Comparison of pre- and post-intervention self-report data
Interview findings

Discussion
Anxiety

Conclusion
Acknowledgement
References
Author details
Licence