Appendix 2 Key to Key Skills Dissemination Event

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Appendix 2 Key to Key Skills
Dissemination Event

• Co-Ordinator for the Durham Award
• Lowry McComb
• Development Officer for the Durham Award
• Shelagh Mernagh

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Aims

• Introduce the Durham Award
• Overview of SHU resource
• Gain familiarity with its use
• Consider its possible use within Durham

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The Durham AwardWhat is it?

• Specially created award which certifies skills
  acquired throughout University career
• Designed to demonstrate skills to employers
• Optional, free, ..

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The Durham Award What does it cover?

• 6 compulsory core skills
• based on National Key Skills criteria
• 6 additional skills

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The Durham Award How will it be assessed?

• By submission of a portfolio
• This is a collection of evidence that
  demonstrates that the participant has met the
  standard necessary
• Advice and guidance on setting up a portfolio
  will be given

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The Durham Award How to gather evidence

• From course work
• From paid work
• From voluntary work
• From societies, clubs, etc
• From personal development
• From prior experience

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The Durham Award How we will help

• Workshops on building your portfolio
• Signposting of opportunities to acquire evidence
• A dedicated web site which will provide
  diagnostic tests, materials, directories of other
  resources
• E-mail/telephone advice line
• Face-to-face advice
• Accreditation and certification

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Post Graduate Key Skills

• Pilot running in physics 4 PhD students this
  year
• Attempting to assess at Level 5
• Part of OU led Key Skills Making Connections
  project
• Looking at assessment issues in employment and
  universities

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Post Graduate Key Skills

• The future
• Link with post graduate training programme in
  Science
• Roll out an larger scale 20 students 2001/2002
• Extend to other faculties? Social Sciences
  initially.

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Key to Key SkillsWhat is it?

• Web based system which
• helps users find out what their skills are and
  also where they need to improve.
• helps users to work better by giving guidance on
  skills
• guides user to other resources

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What is it?

• Themes included are
• Writing skills
• Oral communication skills
• Visual communication skills
• Information skills
• Information technology
• Working with others
• Working with numbers
• Solving problems
• Improving own learning
• Career management

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The Project

• TLTP3 funded
• 2 stages
• Original project March 1998 May 2000
• Continuation project October 2000 September
  2001
• We are partners in the continuation project.

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Project background - Aims

• Took system developed at Leeds Metropolitan (LMU)
  and made it portable to other HEIs
• implementing it at Sheffield Hallam (SHU) and
  University of Plymouth
• Focused on implementation of technology based
  learning rather than development of new products.

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Outcomes

• Tool set allows system to be installed on web
  server
• Templates word processing skills ony to input
  text
• Initial skills check
• SHU content (licensed)

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Continuation ProjectAims and Objectives

• 14 other institutions
• Transfer existing expertise
• Explore models of use
• Explore customisation
• Evaluate these activities
• Implement using a wide range of activities
• Encourage lead staff from partners to disseminate.

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Main ways of using the system

• Pilot identified 4 main uses
• Optional
• Students are informed about the system and use
  it independently if they chose to do so.
• Directed
• Students informed about the system, given a
  formal introduction and directed to parts of it

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Main ways of using the system

• Partially integrated
• The system is an important component of the
  module and is identified with specific parts of
  the module.
• Fully integrated
• System is fully integrated into module delivery
  and is essential for successful completion of
  assessed tasks.