General transferable skills: University of Southampton

(Transcript of a section of the General transferable skills report, 1998)

Strategy and target group

Thought very carefully in terms of the learning objectives and skills including the extent to which, and the level at which, these skills are taught, whether they are or can be taught. This includes directly or indirectly and whether they are assessed, directly or indirectly. A comprehensive list of skills (80 or so), emphasising how doing skills can encourage intellectual ability. They also provoked thought as to how they could be developed by each course.

The emphasis though is on helping students to learn rather than teaching. Southampton follow a student centred approach to learning; it is what students know and can do that is important rather than what they have been told (however well) that matters.

Specific skills module or integration of skills?

Integrative including socio-legal subjects as well as straight law subjects. Traditional methods of assessment dominate, however much of the work is centred around the tutorials.

Learning support

Students are provided with detailed documents on how to discuss and answer problem questions in order to better understand the lecturer’s objectives. There Exercises are also being developed where students mark essays and also where they try and find errors in an imaginary judge’s judgment.

Pre-tutor led tutorial

Enhances students organisational skills, interaction with others, communication skills and teamwork. Students are required to discuss and prepare responses to exercises and problems. One student chairs (all students get the opportunity to chair the session) the group and tasks are delegated to other students. Students then attend the tutor-led tutorial to discuss their findings from the group meetings. This develops students management, communication and problem solving skills.

Mooting and presentations

There is a compulsory moot in the first year, developing students problem-solving, presentation, communication and advocacy skills. Presentations and role plays also form part of the tutorials which are occasionally assessed.

Role play exercises

Role play 1 concerns learning ways of arguing on your feet. It involves giving students a few ideas about different kinds of arguments and arguing styles; six styles are identified and placed on a large notice board.

The students are broken up into groups of about six. They are all given a short warning that they are going to argue a certain proposition, which need not have anything to do with the law. The person who is going to argue closes his or her eyes while the others select, from a list on the board, an arguing style. The person who is leading the argument must then start arguing without interruption for two minutes. Thereafter the others may interrupt and present arguments to the leader. The leader must try to develop his or her argument, responding appropriately to the points which are made and to politely develop his or her points.

The outcomes are that the person arguing usually becomes more vocal and sits more appropriately for arguing. He or she is also expected to identify the arguing styles of the individuals in the group. Those contributing to the argument discover they can pick up different arguments by putting themselves into the position of different people or different styles of argument. Before the session they are given other ideas for developing arguments, such as being competent to quickly develop models of different points of view on the subject.

Role play 2 – the deviancy role play. The objective is to get students to have an interpretative understanding of different people, to understand why people may behave in a particular way from their perspective. They are given a list of sources of materials usually written in the first person. They are then required to create a character typical of those they have been reading about. They then return to class and are questioned, as in television interview style by the rest of the group and asked to explain what they do and why they do it. An outcome is a much greater appreciation of the perspective of the deviant and the factors which lead him/her to behave in that way.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010