A Law School Game Changer: (Trans)formative Feedback

Bloom, Elizabeth M.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2437060

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…A number of writers (Bloom, 2008;Elbow, 1997;LeClercq, 1999) have expounded on the importance of formative assessment for developmental purposes, as opposed to assessment for gatekeeping purposes. Therefore, feedback, as opposed to grades, is an important part of this process and formed the backbone of the LWP.…”

Section: Training Of Writing Tutors To Provide Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Part of their training included an intensive all-day workshop on the principles of effective feedback along the lines suggested by Bloom (2008) and Elbow (1997). Topics covered included a hierarchy of responses in order of importance, which depended on the student's needs, beginning with a well-justified argument, then focusing on structure and coherence, followed by appropriate tone and style and, only if these had been accomplished, looking at language.…”

Section: Training Of Writing Tutors To Provide Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of integration on learning: An analysis and evaluation of a legal writing project in a South African Law Faculty

Gottlieb¹,

Greenbaum²

2018

PLING

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This article analyses the implementation and evaluation of a first-year legal writing programme which, over a period of three years, was increasingly integrated into the law curriculum of two first-year courses with a concomitant improvement in students' assignment marks, as well as in their and their tutors' perceptions of their learning. It argues that an increasingly integrated approach improves the legal reasoning and writing abilities expected of a first-year law student. The course design focused on the genres required in the law degree along with the underlying cognitive skills of analysis, synthesis, application, evaluation and argument necessary for legal reasoning. Students were required to submit four writing tasks to trained final-year student writing tutors who provided extensive personalised feedback. These ungraded tasks served to scaffold students' subsequent submissions of coursework assignments. External evaluations of the project each year facilitated reflection and informed changes made to the project design. The conclusion drawn is that a particular type of integration that is achieved through 'insider-outsider' collaboration between an academic literacy expert and a law academic may be most effective in achieving the desired outcomes. INTRODUCTIONIn 2014, the Department of Higher Education and Training awarded a Teaching Development Grant to the Law Faculty of the University of Cape Town (UCT) to implement a legal writing project for first-year law students. The grant came in the wake of complaints from law practitioners and academics about the poor literacy skills of law graduates (Bangeni & Greenbaum, 2013;Snyman-van Deventer & Swanepoel, 2013.) The focus of the innovative Legal Writing Project (LWP) was to integrate the teaching of legal literacy skills into the disciplinary content of two first year law courses: Foundations of South African Law and the Law of Persons and Family.Beginning with the background to the project, the paper describes the theoretical approaches that informed the design of the LWP, followed by a description of the project curriculum. The purpose is to determine which of these approaches and which changes made to the project over the three years might have contributed to the significant improvement in the students' grades for their law assignments and to their more positive evaluation of the LWP. The conclusion drawn from the findings is that the increased integration of legal-literacy development into the disciplinary content of law, as well as the cumulative emphasis on critical thinking, might have been two factors that enhanced the positive outcomes of the project. This conclusion is confirmed by the external evaluation of the project. BACKGROUND TO THE LEGAL WRITING PROJECTThe project was structured around the legal-literacy requirements of two subject courses, and focused on explicating the skills required in the course assignments: a case summary, a case note, a problem essay and an argumentative essay. The lectures were scheduled around the due dates of t...

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Section: Training Of Writing Tutors To Provide Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Training Of Writing Tutors To Provide Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of integration on learning: An analysis and evaluation of a legal writing project in a South African Law Faculty

Gottlieb¹,

Greenbaum²

2018

PLING

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Smarter Law Study Habits: An Empirical Analysis of Law Learning Strategies and Relationship with Law GPA

Cooper

Gurung

2017

SSRN Journal

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Non-empirical law school study advice that emphasizes reading and briefing cases and memorizing rules, without frequent self-testing and formative self-assessment leads to a "law school learning trap." Law students fall into a law school learning trap by focusing on memorization of cases and rules for class preparation, putting off "practice" application of the law as exam preparation. Law students and legal educators misjudge the power of testing as a learning tool, and instead rely on non-empirical, anecdotal resources to guide law student study methods. A legal educator teamed up with an educational psychologist with a particular interest in pedagogical psychology, the study of how students learn, to create a unique Law Student Study Habits Survey to better understand how law students learn. Their groundbreaking empirical research from the Law Student Study Habit Survey shows that practice application of the law through self-testing, self-quizzing, and elaborative strategies positively correlates with academic success in law school, while reading and briefing cases, weak critical reading skills, and rote memorization of rules without practice applying the law negatively correlates with academic success in law school. Both legal educators and law students need to incorporate testing and formative assessment as a study and learning strategy to learn each new topic, not just for exam preparation. Self-testing and formative assessment are not only critical for success in law school, but help students develop successful learning strategies for the bar exam and as lifelong learners in law practice.

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A Law School Game Changer: (Trans)formative Feedback

Cited by 2 publications

References 11 publications

The effect of integration on learning: An analysis and evaluation of a legal writing project in a South African Law Faculty

The effect of integration on learning: An analysis and evaluation of a legal writing project in a South African Law Faculty

Smarter Law Study Habits: An Empirical Analysis of Law Learning Strategies and Relationship with Law GPA

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