Learning in Law Annual Conference 2008: (Dis)integration...designs on the law curriculum

Reports and links to papers on community at Learning in Law Annual Conference 2008:

• Lifelong learning: engaging students and teachers in legal education – Claire Macken (Deakin University, Australia) read report below
• The SIMPLE project: an update – Paul Maharg (Glasgow Graduate School of Law) and Patricia McKellar (UKCLE) find out more about the SIMPLE project

Lifelong learning: engaging students and teachers in legal education

Claire described Deakin University Law School’s Law Essentials project, aimed at putting law graduates on track to their chosen career and equipping them with the skills they need to be lifelong learners.

With large numbers of non-graduate school leavers as well as students in rural and regional areas studying off campus, lecturers at Deakin are faced with diverse skill sets and a wide range of problems, issues and concerns. For many students law school is a struggle to balance life/work/money with their studies, to know what to do and where to start. Some first year students have had limited exposure to the discipline of legal study, while later year law students are often disillusioned, worrying about the career paths their law degree might offer and how to get a job in a competitive environment. Law teachers have difficulty balancing law lecturing, research and service to the university, in addition to mastering new technologies, increased course administration and trying to improve teaching to larger classes and more diverse groups of students.

Law Essentials is based on the concept of a lifelong learning cycle, beginning with pre-entry into law (either by school entry or individual inquiry), through first year law, mid-year, penultimate and final year law programmes to law alumni and staff. It consists of a website and resources in five categories:

1. Learning Law – equipping students with the skills they need to successfully learn law – the ‘how to’ of learning, reading, understanding, summarising, researching, quoting, writing, time management, organisation, motivation, teamwork and collaboration.
2. Law in Practice – engaging students in how the law operates in practice and the importance of legal training, equipping them with the practical skills they need to succeed after graduation, by advice and practical legal skills training.
3. Law is a Pathway – reassuring students that a degree will take them wherever they wish to go, and that experience and opportunities are open to them both during and after their law studies.
4. Law in Context – providing the ‘big picture’ with information on the discipline of law, setting expectations early by engaging with the school’s careers counsellors, providing first year law support programmes and linking students to people who can help, involving law alumni and the legal profession in mentoring and buddy programmes, as judges in competitions and in giving seminars.
5. Law Support – providing tools for staff, easy access to university-wide information and forms, stronger links to the wider teaching community, a central area for research and teaching collaboration, hints for law.

The law school is holding an inaugural ‘professionals week’ in August 2008. Born from the Law Essentials concept, Professionals Week 2008 will provide a supportive, friendly and motivational learning environment and culture fostering student learning, engagement, ethical behaviour, success and satisfaction. In the spirit of collaboration Professionals Week is open to all students and staff in the Faculty of Business and Law, members of the business and law professions, alumni and careers advisors.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010