During November 2015 sparqs and the Higher Education Academy Scotland hosted a series of four subject-specific workshops exploring successful learner transitions.
The events aimed to facilitate dialogue and new links between educators and students from local universities, colleges and schools. Developed in partnership with local organisations and widening participation networks, the events provided a unique supportive environment to share practice and ideas, form new networks and engage with current and prospective students. Learners were supported in exploring their experiences and sharing what they hope and expect this next stage of their education to look like.
The subject-focus and dates/locations of the four workshops were as follows - see the individual event pages via the links below for further information. The target audience was school pupils and college and university students; academic and teaching staff involved in relevant subject areas.
- Health Sciences – Friday 20th November 2015 – Edinburgh
- Creative Industries – Tuesday 24th November 2015 – Dundee
- Engineering – Wednesday 25th November 2015 – Aberdeen
- Social Sciences – Monday 30th November 2015 – Glasgow
The hashtag for all four events, for use on Twitter, was #LearnerTransitions
The workshops are part of a project being delivered by sparqs and HEA to bring together learners and education professionals from schools, colleges and universities, in support of the ‘Student Transitions’ Enhancement Theme and Curriculum for Excellence. The events aimed to encourage dialogue on pedagogy, practice and learner experiences and expectations between all those attending.
As part of the project, sparqs will produce a toolkit incorporating the session plans to allow other organisations to replicate the workshops. This will subsequently be available via the sparqs resource library along with an evaluation of the project and the research completed around the pedagogy of engaging diverse groups of learners and practitioners.
For further information on any of the events or the overal project, please contact Phil McGuinness, sparqs Development Consultant – phil.mcguinness@sparqs.ac.uk – 07469 354 245
