Update for Faculty of Pure Science

Katherine Linehan

K.Linehan@shef.ac.uk

What Pure Science wants from TASH

• Generic but with clear discipline relevance-departments are submitting 5 ‘topics’ they would like covered.

• Resource embedded into the curriculum.

• Areas of cross-talk identified-are any of these relevant to other faculties?

Tutor facing guides

• Brief introduction to the resource.

• Who is the resource for?

• What does the resource do?

• How is the resource structured to support users.

• Why do students engage with the resource? How can it be promoted/embedded more generally?

Careers - Profiling for Success

Brief introduction to the resource

• "Profiling for Success" is an online assessment package provided by the Careers Service for University of Sheffield students and graduates. It includes two personality type indicators to help students understand themselves and three practice aptitude tests. For each assessment students take, they receive an email with information on their results and helpful feedback. In addition, they can make an appointment with a Careers Adviser to discuss their results in person by telephoning 0114 2220910.  

ELTC- study skills for students with dyslexia

Who is the resource for?

• This resource was designed primarily for students with dyslexia, but it will also be useful for any other students who need some help with their study skills at pre-entry, undergraduate and post-graduate level. As the resource is audio led, and accompanied with graphics and simple bullet points, without dense blocks of text, it will appeal to students with visual and auditory learning styles. The interactive nature of the resource will also appeal to kinaesthetic learners. The resource is designed for self-study at any pace, and therefore will be useful for distance learners and part-time learners, or mature learners who want to brush up on their study skills before and during their course.

TILL-compass resource

Why do students engage with the resource?

• New users are encouraged to engage with the resource at interview stage, then by letter before the beginning of their studies.  They are then reintroduced to it at the departmental induction, and encouraged by programme directors to continue their engagement throughout the first semester.  The intention is to make it central to the experience of new TILL students, and offer a resource they can access at their convenience rather than being tied in to conventional hours of business, a central concern for part-time students.  While it cannot replace the face-to-face personal support that all new students require, it does support this, and provide a common reference-point for different individuals involved in student support.  Feedback from users has indicated that they are happy returning to sections of the resource that they have previously worked through, and that overall it has proved a safe and contained starting-point for exploration of the further resources linked in the resource.

Information skills resource

Dual navigation … your way and TASH’s way

Inner ring – core messages:

• Developing academic literacy …

• and personal (life) skills …

• through active engagement with resource, reflective self-assessment and action planning for future skills development.

Middle ring - Case studies and exercises

• Orientation case studies (e.g. researching housing, transport & entertainment in the Sheffield area; e.g. BMS project design induction task);

• Expectations & personal skills audit (e.g. quizzes & self-assessment tasks; VARK; speed reading, literacy, numeracy & ICT tests; time management calendars & reflective journal?);

• Communication & re-presentation exercises (e.g. essay to poster; abstract to press release; email to professional letter; text to table to graph; argument for the defence into argument for the prosecution …)

Outer ring – generic introductions to topics with signposting to UoS & external resources

Skill UoS online

Academic LiteracyWhat does it mean to be "academic"?

Institutional context

IST = Info Skills Tutorials Understanding assessment

SSDS = Study Skills for Dyslexic Students Library Skills IST

S4L = Skills for Life resources Reading skills SSDS

E@S = Enterprise at Sheffield resources Listening skills SSDS

ELTC = English Language Teaching Centre Note-taking SSDS

MASH = Maths & Statistics Help Referencing IST

Creativity

Exam technique

Populating table under following headings:

• TUOS online• TUOS face to face• TUOS existing materials (n.b. accessibility

issues with MOLE in particular)• TASH commissioned materials (resource

and/or disciplinary exemplars)• External online• External face to face (e.g. outreach, IAG)