Teaching with emotional intelligence: delivering ethical lawyers and humane social workers through the VLE

In their paper Debbie Stringer (Open University) and Odette Hutchinson (Aston University) outlined their experiences developing ethical lawyers and humane social workers using the affective domain in teaching law and ethics.

The session was blogged on Zeugma.

It is likely that good educational practitioners make use of the affective domain on a daily basis, but they either do not realise this or do not appreciate its importance. Using examples and illustrations from a range of pedagogical models this workshop showcased contextual and interdisciplinary approaches to the affective domain in a blended learning environment.

The contrasting approaches taken by two law teachers at two different institutions – one seeking to teach humanity via an accepted value system to social workers, the other to teach ethics to lawyers – were compared. Due to cultural differences between the two professions a different method of engagement with the affective domain is required in order to achieve the same result, the internalisation of the value system accepted by the profession they wish to join and by society. Blended and woven pedagogical approaches are used in distinct areas in order to facilitate students achieving both cognitive and affective learning outcomes, with an interdisciplinary flavour that could be used in other areas of law and teaching.

The session took for granted the inherent benefit and viability of teaching ethics, preferring instead to focus on what has proven successful.

The workshop aimed to:

• disseminate ideas and good practice
• demonstrate how concentration on learning in the affective domain can lead to enhanced cognitive learning
• promote discussion and offer support and suggestions to law teachers who wish to integrate learning in the affective domain into their practice

About the presenters

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Debbie Stringer is a senior lecturer at the Open University Centre for Law. Her main research interests are in pedagogy, particularly the manner and emphasis of teaching law to social work practitioners. Having been a solicitor in practice for a number of years she then became an author at the Open University via a traditional university, where she taught vocational law at postgraduate level.
 
Odette Hutchinson is a lecturer at Aston Business School. Her main research interests are medical law and the provision of legal education for health and social care practitioners. Odette previously worked at Birmingham City University, where she chaired the teaching and learning research group.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010