Learning outcomes in legal education

1. Learning outcomes in legal education Professor Paul Maharg Glasgow Graduate School of Law

2. Lawyers and educationalists work together: what should students should be able to do, know, value, appreciate? The process: focuses on essential knowledge, skills, attitudes, values links back, eg to LLB process and content sets expectations of student performance clarifies assessment expectations -- William Spady (1994) Outcome-based Education: Critical Issues and Answers, Arlington, VA, adapted NB: Programmes of study are not essential: outcome statements are distinct from processes of learning and assessment of learning Eg ‘By the end of [X] students should be able to …’ How do you arrive at outcomes?

3. B. Ability to complete legal transactions and resolve legal disputes, including the ability to: • work with clients to identify their objectives, identify and evaluate the merits and risks of their options, and advise on solutions; • establish business structures and transact the sale or purchase of a business; • progress civil and criminal matters towards resolution using a range of techniques and approaches; • deal with various forms of property ownership and transactions; • obtain a grant of representation and administer an estate; • draft the agreements and other documentation that will enable these actions and transactions to be completed; • plan and implement strategies to progress cases and transactions expeditiously and with propriety. Eg Qualifying as a Solicitor, Annex 1…

4. Design-back is critical… David Prideaux (2003) ABC of learning and teaching in medicine: curriculum design, British Medical Journal, 326:268-270

5. … across three types of curriculum …

6. could learn now must learn now should learn now … and three levels of urgency

7. clarity as to what constitutes professionalism for lawyers, students and trainees clearer focus on standards in skills & knowledge more structured but flexible assessments statement of a definite threshold of achievement to be reached by trainees at any particular stage more liaison between partners, eg Law Society, LPC providers, training organisations. firmer basis for professional accreditation later in a practitioner’s career encourage innovation in curriculum design & development What improvements should outcome statements bring?

8. being general, they give little guidance in planning interventions objectives tend to become ‘ad hoc substitutes for hypotheses’ they give the illusion of predicting what ought to happen they imply the idea of ‘teacher-proofing’ the curriculum, thus losing the value of ‘divergent interpretations’ they stop students having their own outcomes they inhibit speculation they have unexpected consequences for universities as institutions, as well as teacher practice Lawrence Stenhouse, Authority, Education and Emancipation, London, Heinemann, 1983, pp 81-2, adapted Disadvantages of outcomes?

9. No – because learning … is neither a product nor a service (though it involves both) is not only a change in behaviour but a change in personal values, attitudes, intellectual positions, cannot be accurately predicted Can outcomes encompass all learning?

10. Eg objective structured clinical examination (OSCE): history-taking diagnosis prognosis for an example of a bioethics OSCE, see www.wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/osce.html Eg transactional learning: active learning. learning to do legal transactions. transaction + reflection. collaborative learning. holistic process learning. But outcomes can enable innovation in teaching & learning …

11. are close to the world of practice, but safe from the (possible) realities of malpractice. enable students to practise legal transactions, discuss the transactions with other tutors, students, and use a variety of instruments or tools, online or textual, to help them understand the nature and consequences of their actions encourage collaborative learning and thinking about the type of professional they want to become students begin to see the potential for the C in ICT; and that technology is not merely a matter of word-processed essays & quizzes, but a form of learning that changes quite fundamentally what and how they learn. facilitate a wide variety of assessment, from high-stakes assignments with automatic fail points, to coursework that can double as a learning zone and an assessment assignment … eg through outcomes-based simulations …

12. For examples of forms of assessment, see US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education: http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/azmec/June%2003%20Newsletter.doc. direct observation or shadowing standardized oral / clinical skills examinations objective standardized exams simulations and models chart-stimulated recall global rating 360 Degree Evaluation OSCE portfolios record review … with practical & innovative assessments

15. methods of teaching and learning materials and resources timetable of study, work-based practice & assessment subject knowledge and skills that are the focus of classes or workshops pre-existing aims & objectives distance, open, flexible and resource-based learning methods staff training – in designing, teaching, facilitating, assessing evaluation methods aligned to professional practice monitoring and accreditation guidelines wider context of curriculum and work-based context communication & partnership amongst all involved parties So what could be affected under outcomes-based professional learning?

30. General outline: Students wind up the estate of a deceased client who dies intestate, via 4 assignments. Students drafted: Initial Writ Estate Valuation Correspondence Forms C1, IHT 200 & supplements a will Resources: no lectures, no exams: instead, tutorials and coursework 50 scenarios virtual collection of the client’s estate online assessment & submission of assignments FAQ online tutor assessment on average, six outcomes per assessment Transactional learning:Private Client project

32. B. Ability to complete legal transactions and resolve legal disputes, including the ability to: • work with clients to identify their objectives, identify and evaluate the merits and risks of their options, and advise on solutions; • establish business structures and transact the sale or purchase of a business; • progress civil and criminal matters towards resolution using a range of techniques and approaches; • deal with various forms of property ownership and transactions; • obtain a grant of representation and administer an estate; • draft the agreements and other documentation that will enable these actions and transactions to be completed; • plan and implement strategies to progress cases and transactions expeditiously and with propriety. Look again at Qualifying as a Solicitor, Annex 1…

33. Yes, if it’s a sophisticated & complex learning tool – for example an e-portfolio, which: is a continuation of undergraduate PDP through to CPD is wholly electronic and wholly embedded in simulation learning activities and actual legal practice contains annotated text and video, graphics, animation, etc draws information from personal, academic and CPD domains evidences transactional learning and reflection has assessment zones, personal zones, confidential zones is wholly the responsibility of the learner-manager, under detailed professional guidelines is in part under supervision by tutors, supervisors, Law Society Can portfolio learning be a key assessment of outcomes?

46. Professor Paul Maharg T: 44 00 (0)141 548 4946 E: paul.maharg@strath.ac.uk Blog: http://zeugma.typepad.com Glasgow Graduate School of Law Lord Hope Building University of Strathclyde 141 St James’ Road Glasgow G4 0LU contact details