The BLASST Cartoons can be a useful resource for engaging with the Sessional Staff Standards Framework , and with sessional teaching overall. Select one cartoon, a few, or use them all for:

Benchmarking or Professional Development workshops:

• As openers or prompts for discussion (see below)
•  For seminars or professional development workshops with sessional staff or for those working with or managing sessional staff

Meetings and formal / informal get-togethers:

• In department / faculty / school or institutional meetings and forums: release one image per meeting for brief or extended discussion
• Print them off and display as an art exhibition (originally A3 images) – invite participants, provide a drink and nibbles, use the prompts and questions below to open discussion

Newsletters:

• Release an image per department/faculty/organisational newsletter

Presentations:

• Use images in presentations when talking about sessional staff and learning and teaching

Activities:

• Ask participants to select/ nominate the image that is most pertinent to their context and ask them to explain their choice
• After identifying issues raised by the cartoons, ask participants to raise issues not covered by the images
• Divide cartoons amongst small groups with each group discussing what the issues illustrated in the cartoon might means for your context – institutional, departmental, school, individually
• Present or develop strategies to address these issues that are specific to your own context, whether at department / faculty/ organisation

Discussion questions:

• What does this cartoon represent?
• What are the related issues?
• Are these issues relevant to our department / faculty / organisation?
• What are we currently doing to address these issues?
• What could we do to address these issues? Who else needs to be involved?