Are we using technology for technology's sake? An evaluation of a simulated employment exercise

In their paper Amy Musgrove and Vicky Thirlaway (Leeds Metropolitan University) considered a pilot study evaluating the use of a virtual learning environment to foster employability and problem solving skills via a simulated employment exercise in criminal law.

Download Amy and Vicky’s full paper (Word file, 11 pages, 70 KB) at the bottom of the page, and read the blog posts on the paper on Zeugma and the Simshare project blog.

In an ideal world we would like to offer our students the opportunity to work in a law clinic – we firmly believe that the contextualisation of knowledge in a real world environment promotes student engagement and encourages active learning. However, resources (financial and spatial) mean this is not a realistic prospect, so we have tried to find a different way of providing this kind of experience for our students.

Students on our criminal law module work on a simulated case.in a virtual ‘office’. They work in online groups of four supervised by a staff member, who releases evidence (such as witness statements and audio files of police interviews) and tasks, and sets deadlines for completion over a two week period. Students post answers on a group discussion board and receive regular feedback. The aim is to expose students to the reality of life in a legal environment where the salient information is not contained in a single document, and to encourage them to piece together the relevant facts from a variety of sources. The case culminates in the submission of a formal memorandum summarising findings and recommended advice to the client.

Our paper considers a number of pedagogical issues, in particular the role of group work and the validity of feedback provided during the preparation of summative assessment. It also considers whether the use of technology and practical skills offers any real benefit to the students’ understanding of criminal law, as well as the advantages and disadvantages which emerged from the project for both students and staff.

Karen Barton (University of Strathclyde) reports:

Taking what some would consider a risky approach to address the problem of a rising fail rate, Amy and Vicky described their well thought out redesign of the learning, teaching and assessment strategy for a criminal law module. Rather than just simply bolting on a technology enhanced addition, a new assessment regime was introduced, including formative and summative approaches, along with group work, discussion fora and online MCQs.
 
While some colleagues were concerned about a loss of academic integrity, at the end of the module tutors and students alike were very positive about the experience, and the final results for the module showed an increased number of students achieving higher marks overall, with a reduction in student marks at the low end of the scale.
 
This was a good example of law teachers thinking clearly about student engagement, feedback and learning and taking steps to address all these aspects in an imaginative and effective way, and using technology where appropriate to achieve their aims.
 
Far from an example of technology for technology’s sake, Amy and Vicky showed us how simulation can enhance learning in law with positive results.

About the presenters

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Amy Musgrove and Vicky Thirlaway are senior lecturers in criminal law at Leeds Law School and joint module leaders for the subject across all law courses. Both are Faculty Associates for assessment, learning and teaching, and are currently working on projects to evaluate and enhance the use of technology for assessment, and feedback.

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Last Modified: 9 July 2010