Welcome to TASH!

Introductory project briefingJuly 17th, 2008

What issues does TASH address?

• A widely-perceived need for students to enhance their academic skills;

• range of student backgrounds;

• diverse student and institutional expectations;

• known availability of good resources;

• variable student engagement;

• striking a balance between generic and subject-specific skills;

• avoiding the deficit and hypodermic models.

Issues and solutions thus far

• Student engagement - horses to water 

 

• Tutor engagement - more horses, more water 

 

• Generic and subject-specific resources and skills 

 

• Covering a range of perspectives and approaches to learning - is TASH trying to do too much?

• Student participation in design process 

 

• Embedding resource in institutional processes 

 

• "Seven sk/hills" framework, and "disciplinary examplars" 

 

• Open-ended structure - creating a framework into which other developments can fit - continuing evolution of the project

The TASH project core team• Chris Stokes - Medicine

 • Kath Linehan - Pure Sciences

 • Linda Gray and friends - Engineering 

 • Tim Herrick - Arts

 • Willy Kitchen - Social Sciences

 • Louise Woodcock - keeping a hand on the purse-strings

 • Steve Collier - doing the technicals 

 Then a whole host of colleagues (including you?) contributing specific resources, ideas, contacts, etc....

Any questions?

Photo by maxgiani

Ways of keeping in touch

• Future meetings - next one Tuesday16th September

• Blog and LeTS pages:

http://tashdiary.blogspot.com/http://www.shef.ac.uk/lets/projects/genericskills.html

• Email or personal contact:

t.herrick@shef.ac.ukw.kitchen@shef.ac.uk

Welcome to TASH!

Second project meetingJuly 17th, 2008

What we'll be doing this afternoon• 14.00-14.30: The "seven sk/hills" framework, and where

resources might fit

• 14.30-15.15: Small group work on skills resources and pedagogies

• 15.15-15.45: Coffee and sharing results from the small group work

• 15.45-16.20: Whole group discussion on the skills and resources we've identified

• 16.20-16.30: Closing remarks - next steps.  (TH and WK will remain after this point for individual discussions)

Seven sk/hills framework

• academic literacy• personal and inter-

personal skills • problem solving and

data handling • analytical skills • written

communication • oral and other

communication • reflective learning

Developing the skills framework

• With your square post-its, add specific skills that you think are included within the seven skills;

• With your rectangular post-its, add University of Sheffield resources that support student development of these skills;

 • Use whiteboard markers to comment on the categories

and the framework itself - what does it leave out?

Whole group discussion

• What works?  What doesn't work?

• What gaps in resources have we identified?

• What gaps in our "seven skills" model have we identified?

• What are the issues for TASH that have emerged?  In particular, how will we be able to maintain a necessarily light generic core, whilst catering for sufficient specific diversity?

What next?

• One volunteer per skills set to blog discussions and huddleboard image;

• Volunteers to write tutor-facing pages/guides; pro-forma template to follow by end of July; drafts by end of August; buy-out/-in time available;

• Ongoing review by core team - watch blog, generic skills website, and email inbox ... and just get in touch if you want to talk (including now).

Ways of keeping in touch

• Future meetings - next one Tuesday 16th September

• Blog and LeTS pages:

http://tashdiary.blogspot.com/http://www.shef.ac.uk/lets/projects/genericskills.html

• Email or personal contact:

t.herrick@shef.ac.ukw.kitchen@shef.ac.uk