UKCLE problem-based learning working group

In 2002 UKCLE gained funding from the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) to support a network of law teachers interested in problem-based learning (PBL). The working group was co-ordinated by Andrew Scott of the University of East Anglia.

The group aimed to:

• explore and compare how law teachers are currently using PBL
• introduce law teachers to the key concepts and educational rationale behind PBL
• provide examples of PBL in practice drawing on other disciplines
• identify future plans and a programme of support events

It considered the following questions:

• is there a clear link between the aims of problem-based learning and the aims of legal education (to include both undergraduate and vocational programmes)?
• how is PBL being used in legal education at the moment and for what purposes (as a tool to support the development of key skills or as a more generic prompt for learning)?
• how is PBL felt and experienced by staff and students?
• what aspects of the law benchmarks relate to PBL, and how can PBL be used to support the implementation and facilitation of the requirements of the benchmark statements?
• what are the main barriers to implementing PBL?
• what might assessment frameworks for PBL look like?
• how can the use of PBL on other professional programmes be transferred and/or adapted for use in legal education?
• how can the working group and UKCLE best support the legal education community in developing PBL?

A half day workshop to launch the working group was held on 23 April 2002, with a second workshop held at the University of East Anglia on 24 October 2003.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010