Musings from the Law Teacher of the Year 2006

In this article from the Autumn 2006 issue of Directions Warren Barr (University of Liverpool) reflects on the surprises and benefits of becoming the Association of Law Teachers’ latest Law Teacher of the Year (LTOTY).

It is, I think, the accumulated weight of many years of looking out across a sea of faces reflecting everything from outright terror to total indifference that has inspired me to try to engage students and demystify the subjects I teach. I teach Property Law, you see, to those who have to be there due to the demands of the LLB syllabus or because, to their eternal disappointment, all other options were full, as well as to the rogue percentage who actually enjoy it.

Where does the Association of Law Teachers (ALT) come in and what is the Law Teacher of the Year award? The ALT, of course, needs no introduction, but my first encounter with the award, was, I am ashamed to say, when I received the nomination. The award is relatively new, so perhaps I can be forgiven – this is only the third year in which it has been presented. The Law Teacher of the Year initiative aims to celebrate excellence in teaching and to identify a UK law teacher who has made an exceptional contribution to law teaching, through innovation, effectiveness and/or student support. The competition is open to all UK law teachers, and requires a written nomination by students or colleagues, which is then judged by a panel of experts to produce a final shortlist. Finalists are then required to give a short presentation on their teaching at the ALT Annual Conference and take questions from a panel of judges and conference delegates. This year the final was held at the 41st ALT Annual Conference at the University of East Anglia. It saw the greatest number of nominations yet received, 24 in all, of which five finalists were selected.

It was very gratifying to be given a platform to talk about my teaching, and also quite unsettling. I found it very humbling to talk to the ALT about teaching quality, given that I felt my audience were much better placed to judge such matters than I was. It was a great surprise to be given the award, given the excellence on display from all finalists. There was some truly innovative and inspired thinking evident, from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Tort Edition, to use of popular media to enliven and popularise difficult concepts of land law, to an evolution of the use and organisation of legal clinics and the inspiration of a tutor who saw teaching law as helping students to reach the stars.

What do I offer which is seen as worthy of this honour? This is something I have thought long and hard about, both when preparing for the final and since winning the award. I do not suggest that I do anything better than anyone else, but there are some things I do differently. It is an holistic approach to teaching, marrying three major elements – delivery, support and assessment, and seeking to be innovative in all three. Space here does not allow a full discussion, but I hope two examples give a flavour of my approach.

In delivery, I have used the advantages offered by presentation software to deliver difficult concepts pictorially in lectures. This information, together with full interactive lecture notes, is then published to the VLE in the law school for students to work through at their leisure. I have also created an online Equity and Trusts skills pack containing information on all aspects of legal study and skills, such as giving presentations or conducting legal research, but specifically tailored to the module. Exercises which involve students in using different parts of the pack appear as part of the preparation for tutorials.

This approach to teaching has only been made possible by the input of a dedicated teaching team, who deserve much of the credit, and by the support of the Liverpool Law School, which has allowed me the time, space and culture in which to seek to enhance all aspects of my teaching.

Taking part in the competition was a very rewarding and valuable experience. I was, of course, very pleased to have won the award (and to trouser the substantial cash prize), but like all good stories it does not end there. My department had an equally substantial prize in mind, but one that did not carry any immediate pecuniary benefits. I start the new academic year in post as Director of Learning and Teaching for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010