Using Online Learning Materials With Law Students

RiT Law Project Team Keith Puttick, Chris Harrison, Judith Tillson,

Alison Pope

An Evaluation of the Use of On-Line Systems in the Development of Students’ Research & Research-

Related SkillsProject TeamKeith Puttick

Christine HarrisonJudith TillsonAlison Pope

Caralyn Duignan (Lexis)Barbara Gerken

(Sweet & Maxwell)Stephen Gomex (Pearson)

Daniel Greebberg (Thomson Router/WestlawInsight

Our Project

Focus

Evaluating students’ the use of on-line systems as a teaching and learning resource, and whether, and to what

extent, a more structured approaches to their use will improve the quality of students’ work; enhance research and related skills (reflection, analysis, etc); and respond

to the demands of the legal services market

SkillsSkills & assessment A particular focus is on skills, particularly the development, deployment, and

assessment of research and research-related skills (including assessment aspects).

Introduction

Are among the on-line systems

we are looking at

PLC On-Line, Jordans Family,

Pearson

Lexis Library, Westlaw, Sweet and Maxwell

Why?

RIT PROJECTOur Aims & Objectives

• To ascertain what effect a more structured approach to the use of online tools (OLTs) may have on the quality of students’ learning experience; the development of research/research-related skills; and their achievement, and employability

Aim

• To help inform future interventions, and the design of tasks, delivery and assessment in modules & awards

• At the end of Year 2, as per the project action plan, continue the evaluation, improve interventions, and extend to L4, 5

Objectives

RESEARCHYEAR 2:

Modules

• Initially, just Level 6 electives• Modules Employment/Equalities; Commercial Law & Consumer

Protection; Social Welfare Law & Practice. Supported by Blackboard, tracking of work, and use of ‘journal’ records

Commerci

al

• Commercial Law – Law of Sale and Consumer Protection• Semester 1: Problem based assignment• Semester 2: Research based assignment

Employment Law

• Employment & Equalities: Assessed workshops (mark informed by preparation and ‘contribution’); assessed, research-based assignment

• Social Welfare Law: assessed workshops and research-based assignment

Commercial Law – Law of Sale and Consumer Protection Journal

Comparison between use and non-use of journals for Portfolio Assessment for Consumer Protection law

Journals (31) No Journals (17)1st 9 (18.75%) 02.1 7 (14.4%) 4 (8.33%)2.2 15 (31.25%) 7 (14.4%)3rd 0

6 (12.5%)Fails 0 4 NS

Results breakdown over past three years

2014/15 2013/14 2012/131st 9 6 102.1 11 16 52.2 22 9 153 6 11 4Fail 0 4 8______________________________ 48 46 42 Pattern: appears to be an effect on the 2.2/3rd level.

Changes 2015-16

• Journal reflection carried out within all workshops.

• Journal reflection exercise to be made a mandatory part of the summative assessments.

• Introduce Mylegalexperience exercise into workshops at the end of semester 1 to help with assessment preparation.

Employment/Equality & SWL Methods and Results

Reflection

• The focus was on research and reflection skills, and improving opportunities to deploy them assisted by formal requirement to complete individual online journal entries using blackboard tool

Tutorials

• Semester 1: Journal entries helped to inform tutors of levels of engagement with pre/post-workshop tasks, assisted by an assessment regime rewarding preparation, attendance, contribution (‘PAC’) (20%)

Assessment

• Semester 2: no workshop mark for ‘Equalities’: instead a focus just on monitoring preparation for a summative exam, offering the facility of comparing performances between the semesters

The Contract of Employment Journal

Employment/Equality & SWLFindings to Date

Sem 1

• Greater usage of on-line systems, assisted by excellent introductory session by Lexis Nexis tutor. Marked improvements in quality of workshop contribution helped by assessing PAC (worth 20% for 15 Credit, 10% for 30 Credit)

Sem 2

• Less attendance/preparation in Semester 2 where there was no mark for workshop participation, attendance, contribution perhaps supporting the case for assessing PAC. Similar considerations/outcomes with SWL (also no PAC mark)

Results

• Overall marks in Employment/Equality very good, with significant proportions of 2:1s and 1sts. The obvious comparator is with SWL where results not at such a high level.

Changes in 2015-16

Composition of the SWL and Employment & Equality cohorts the same or v. similar.Yet results in E & E better at all levels. Responses?• Extend same assessment regime to SWL in 2015-16:

then monitor the effects, results, etc• Make other improvements, eg clearer guidance/

requirements on journals work

Other Issues & Challenges?Improving students’ technical know-how, and increased usage of legal sources, materials, etc may improve the quality of the learning experience, but…This, in itself, does not translate into better skills, and opportunities to develop them, in other respects. Eg•The use of materials (eg case analysis): an element in wider self-organised learning , but a vital component in assessed work. Hence the on-going importance of Information Literacy standards for the project•Presentation skills•Team-working: a key transactional Law skill

Building on Research Skills

Improved assessment is vitalInstead of just focusing on formal assessment as a summative, end-of-programme function detached from programme activities - we need to use it to support for better in-course, more student-centred activities.Rewarding workshop/small group activities As part of an incremental approach to developing skills this improves participation, attendance, and contribution – but we also need to ensure that opportunities to deploy and improve skills are brought into the sessions: along with the technology…

Planned Improvements Examples

In Employment & Equality•IT-enabled/enhanced activities in Workshop 2 drafting exercise: undertaken in small groups, assisted by systems in new Brindley Learning Spaces (using Smart Kapp)•IT-enabled moot, with teams’ access to Wolfvision Cynap while preparing presentations, respondses, and concluding statements

https://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/euap/

Project Blog

MyLawFirmExperience

Level 4 and 6

Home Page

• an overview of the simulation context

instructions for students to complete some activities

useful forms/documents for further practise or preparation.

Journey through the simulation

Cases

• case summaries

Get Advice

• useful checklists and videos

Journey through the simulation

Activities 1 and 2

will use MCQs focusing on identifying legal issues and legal research. These will be automatically graded, feed through to the gradebook and provide instant feedback.

Activities in the simulationThe activities, increasing in difficulty, aim to help

students achieve the learning objectives for the topic:

Activity 3

Activities in the simulationThe activities, increasing in difficulty, aim to help

students achieve the learning objectives for the topic:

Activity 4

provides a model answer for Activity 3 with questions to encourage students to reflect on their answer in Activity 3

Activities in the simulationThe activities, increasing in difficulty, aim to help

students achieve the learning objectives for the topic:

Simulation tools for student and lecturer use

Communication tools:Email: allows students to contact members of their class directly

Chat: allows students to communicate instantly with other class members who are online

ClassLive: allows students to join a live discussion led by their

lecturerDiscussion Board: allows students

to contribute to threaded discussions on various class

topics

Simulation tools for student and lecturer use

Lecturer tools: Assignment manager: allows lecturers

to assign activities to students to be completed by specific deadlines and

customise activity questionsGradebook: all quizzes, tests and homework, feed into an automatic

gradebook which provides lecturers with an ‘at a glance’ view of individual

students as well as their class as a whole. Allows lecturers to view

strengths and weaknesses amongst other things.

ConclusionsRevisit journal usage & use of

‘tracking’ systems

Review 2015-15 results & work-in-progress

Modify program

me content

and assessme

nt, including reflective

skills work

Agree L4, 5

‘extensions’. In 2016 share

results SU/

externally

Thanks for your kind attention!

Thanks for your kind attention!

References & Information• JISC 2012 Developing Digital Literacies• http://phoebe-guidance.conted.ox.ac.uk/• http://mivanova.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/start-pages-as-environments-for

-self.html• www.raceonline.2012.org• http://www.susskind.com• RiT Project: https://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/euap/ • Meet the Team:

https://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/euap/project-aims-and-objectives/meet-the-team/

• Enquiring Minds: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/research/iils/minds/