A Pilot Project of 8 lessons across Social Studies: Thinking Actively in a Social Context: (TASC)

Abstract

The members of the Social Studies Team were concerned about the high level of student dependency on staff for their learning, and many students seemed to lack the ability to take the initiative. This seemed to be particularly the case when teaching at A level (studies undertaken post 16 years).

Through the support of the Farmington Institute, I was able to begin an enquiry into how other schools in both the primary and secondary sector were addressing this issue, and was introduced to the TASC Framework by Marie Huxtable, the Senior Educational Psychologist for Bath & North East Somerset, UK. The team within which I worked decided to introduce the TASC Framework into our teaching in the hope that this would contribute to developing the skills of learning independently and interdependently. This paper describes the learning journey made by staff and students.