What is TASC?

Thinking Actively in a Social Context is a concept that was devised by Belle Wallace, Past President of NACE. The thinking skills framework encourages, supports and empowers learners. It provides strategies for lifelong learning.

TASC is designed to frame our thinking and structure problem - solving activities. The skills being developed will become embedded into the learner's and teacher's repertoire.

TASC promotes key principles and human capacities to maximise the development of chiuldren's learning:

• Intuition and feeling
• Memory
• Imagination
• Logical thinking
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• Speaking and listening
• Social skills
• self esteem
• Reflectiveness

Why TASC?

It:

• Meets the expectations of 'Excellence and Enjoyment' and works within the National Curriculum
• Supports 'Every Child Matters' agenda - children in centre
• Provides opportunities for 'Pupil Voice'
• Involves children in the planning, delivery and assessment of their own learning
• Impacts on attitudes to learning
• Enhances social and emotional learning
• Can bring whole school, community and home learning together 
• Engages all learning styles and abilities
• Develops a rich, interactive learning environment
• Gives purpose to learning
• TASC builds on what you do already
• It's FUN

How can we use TASC?

With children:

• Plan a problem-solving day to explore the whole wheel at once and go through all stages
• Focus on one aspect of thinking and problem solving - one segment per session
• Cover the wheel in a single lesson as an introduction then expand each wedge in depth
• Design a unit of work and weave TASC into one curriculum area
• Plan a cross-curricular block of work based on a central theme or problem

With adults:

• As a staff development tool for teaching and learning
• For school development, subject action planning, policy making and problem solving
• As a vehicle for INSET