Engaging First
Year Law Students in Online Law School
I have been teaching law almost exclusively online at CQUniversity, Australia, since 2011. Prior to that I taught
face-to-face lectures and seminars in both Australia and the UK. Earlier this year I was asked
to share with colleagues my best practices for engaging first year students in
law in the online learning space. I share some of that work here in the hope
that it may be useful for those currently transitioning to the online teaching
format.
By
way of background, the law degree at CQU is fully online. We have no face-to-face
(on campus) students, and both our staff and students are geographically
dispersed across the country (and occasionally the world). Our meeting and
teaching spaces, for the most part, exist solely within the virtual world of
Zoom videoconferencing and Moodle (our University wide Learning Management
System). Our Legal Clinic subject is also run in the virtual space as part of an
agreement with a regional Community Legal Centre.
As
a coordinator of two first year subjects in the online law degree, I have a
unique opportunity to facilitate and encourage a positive transition to law
school for our students. It is widely recognised that “first year students have
special learning needs by virtue of the social and academic transitions they
are making.”[i]
Law students in particular are documented as being susceptible to distress and
depression as they “struggle over ways of thinking, speaking and performing” in
the law school environment.[ii]
The well
documented demands and difficulties of studying by distance and online are also
inherent to the CQU law student experience. Additionally, our student cohort are
predominantly mature-age students with competing demands on their time. It is
rare to see a full time student enrolled in our program who does not already
have multiple existing work, family and/or personal commitments competing for
their attention. The benefit, however, is that students choose our degree for
its flexibility in delivery methods.
In light of current world events,
lecturers are no longer hard pressed to find lists and advice on how to
transition their curriculum online and foster engagement amongst online
learners. One might assume that online learners – particularly those who sign
up for online courses – are intrinsically motivated to study, learn and engage.
What we find, however, is often the opposite. Like our colleagues delivering face-to-face,
we continually encounter students whose learning is largely driven by
assessment and a desire for good grades.
In my experience, there is no magic formula that will
guarantee every student will become an engaged, active learner. However, one of the keys to fostering engagement, and fostering
your chances of increasing
engagement, is creating a sense of connectedness that is conducive to
development.
Making students feel welcome, heard and included
One
of my primary goals each year is to make students feel that their presence and
development in the class matters – to ensure they feel welcome, heard and
included.
Research
consistently refers to the importance of increasing social connectedness and
student engagement in improving law student well-being[iii].
As Nehme explains, “First-year law
students are learning how to study independently and may find themselves in a
foreign, intimidating environment. In an online class, such students may be out
of their element because they are expected not only to understand the relevant
concepts but to critically analyse them in a faceless and arid environment.”[iv] The
research into online learning indicates that isolation is a significant contributor
to student attrition: put simply, online learning can feel impersonal and
lonely. My experience is that a greater provision of classroom support (in both
synchronous and asynchronous forms) is required to help transition students
into the online learning environment. Both lecturer and student need to work
hard to bridge the gap created by the computer screen.
Some practical techniques I incorporate into my
subjects to help remove these barriers include:
-
Writing a brief weekly message every Monday which
is posted to the top of my Moodle site and emailed out to students. This message
introduces the topic for the week, where it fits in to the “big picture” of the
subject, along with a short dot point list of activities called “things you
might like to do this week.” Based on feedback from students, the weekly
message helps keep students engaged and up-to-date. Often, if I am late sending
it out, students will contact me asking if I will be sending a weekly message!
-
In my Tort Law subjects
I create an asynchronous social forum on the Moodle site called the “Torte Café.”
I use this forum to share memes about studying, students use it to form their
own study groups and post less formal and non-content driven conversations.
Similarly, an Icebreaker activity is set up for students at the start of term.
This is one of the simplest, yet arguably most favoured, activity by students.
Almost every student participates. The icebreaker gives students the
opportunity to offer up a contribution to the class at a time that is
convenient to them without the fear of having to demonstrate an understanding
of content. As with the Torte Café, this helps reinforce to students that our learning
space is a place of collegiality.
-
Students are encouraged to reflect on and post
about their learning styles/preferences as part of a Learning Diary reflective assignment.
This task has multiple benefits. Firstly, it allows students to become familiar
with their own learning personalities. Secondly, it allows me to identify the
needs of students and adapt my instruction and support to their needs. I work
hard to observe student behaviour, personalities and needs which in turn helps
me tailor the educational experience to each student cohort and also individual
students.
-
In a general sense, I offer positive
reinforcement when I see them working hard, celebrate their “lightbulb moments”
and offer reassurance when I see them succumbing to self-doubt. Students are encouraged to help each other out,
share their study tips and techniques, and identify any particular skills they
are bringing to the class that might not be readily apparent (e.g., IT skills,
research skills, time management skills).
I
also support students’ wellbeing through anecdotes and sharing of personal
experience (as student and practitioner) to help build their resilience
and internal motivation, and to transition away from a grade-based
determination of self-worth. I emphasise that academic grades do not determine their worth
as a person, nor do they always accurately capture their current abilities, nor
do they have to determine a student’s future abilities. In the words of
Danielle LaPorte: "absolutely everything is progress."[v].
I find this is a particularly helpful approach for those students
juggling many hats whilst at law school; for those who suffer from
perfectionism, “imposter syndrome” or what I refer to as the
“constant comparison syndrome”; and for those who simply feel overwhelmed
(particularly at the grading process).
-
I provide
personalised, recorded audio feedback to each student in response to their court
advocacy task. Audio feedback can convey tone more effectively than written
feedback and students respond positively.
-
I am also fortunate enough to have access to
student data analytics within my University. This allows me to identify
students with minimal or no engagement with the Moodle site and resources.
Within the first few weeks of term, I make a point of reaching out to those
students to see if anything is impacting their studies and offer to help. This
early intervention approach often prompts students to make important decisions
about their study load (allowing them to avoid academic or financial penalty). Students
often respond with a sense of relief that they have not been forgotten and that
they do not have to face difficulties alone.
Encourage
student confidence and transformation
Personally, I
love learning and education, and I want students to also walk away from my courses
with the enthusiasm and skills of lifelong learners. First
year law students often become very focused on rote-learning the law and
searching for the “right answer.” They do not yet understand that success in
law school is about becoming a whole package of knowledge, skills, personality
and adaptability:
Knowledge of the law --> Mastery of core skills --> Self-management
This
holistic approach to learning law is scaffolded into the activities and discussion points in my first year
subjects. In Australian legal education,
reflective practice is a core skill embedded in the Bachelor of Laws Threshold
Learning Outcomes for promoting students’ self-management skills.[vi] As part of a reflective Learning Diary assessment
written during the term, my students complete a self-confidence questionnaire
in week one, self-rating their confidence across a range of 25 skills and
competencies relevant to the online study of law. Students are also required to
set three goals for the term. At the end of Term 1, students revisit these
goals and their original confidence ratings, and reflect on any changes. At the
end of the year, students again review their goals, revisit their original confidence
ratings, and reflect on their changes. The Learning Diary brings the relevance
of skills and competencies and self-management into the process of learning law
that might otherwise be overlooked or ignored.
As Leo van Lier points out, learning something requires that one notices it in the first place: “This
noticing is an awareness of its existence, obtained and enhanced by paying
attention to it.”[vii] The Learning Diary provides a platform for
fostering students’ confidence in identifying and acknowledging things they do
well, and things that go well, in their learning. Students regularly observe increased
confidence across some or all of the skills and competencies. Importantly, the
Learning Diary helps students document their personal growth and transformation,
which has a positive effect on their learning.
Be the teacher you wanted and needed as a student
My third goal or reminder for anyone in a teaching
role is to be the teacher you wanted and needed as a student.
Almost every one of us has had a teacher who
positively influenced our life or created a class environment that really
stoked the passion for learning. Much of what I do is a direct reflection of my
most engaging and supportive teachers; I have even adopted some of their
techniques. For me, being the teacher I needed as a student means “bringing the
enthusiasm,” being authentic, personalizing my learning space, and setting
clear expectations at the outset.
Each week I try to be
enthusiastic, approachable and sincere in my capacity as teacher, which in turn
positively feeds the student response and engagement within the subject. I find that students respond positively when
they feel you are as invested in their development as they are. I also personalise my learning space with the class motto “We love Tort
Law” (imagine a school teacher decorating their classroom if you like). Every
time my students log into the class Moodle site, they are greeted with a
colourful reminder of our motto. For the record – and using a technique from
one of my most engaging university lecturers – we also chant this motto in our
Zoom sessions throughout the term. It can add some light relief to some of the
more difficult topics.
Early on in my career I was very self-conscious that
my age and gender might be perceived by students as a lack of authority. I
often over-compensated, which translated to an overly formal and stiff approach
to instruction. I was terrified of giving the wrong answer or making mistakes
and not “knowing enough.” It was after I
participated in a masterclass for distance education that I started to see the
value in owning your experiences and showing up in ways that reflect your personal
ethic. Being authentic really does makes you more personable and approachable. In
showing up authentically, I also embody the very principle I set for my students
- you don’t have to be perfect to show up.
[i] S Kift,
‘The Next, Great First Year Challenge: Sustaining, Coordinating and Embedding
Coherent Institution-Wide Approaches to Enact the FYE as ‘Everybody’s Business’
(Proceedings of the 11th International Pacific Rim First Year in Higher
Education Conference, Hobart, 30 June − 2 July 2008) 4.
[ii] C Sharp;
M Bond; T Mundy; K Murray and J Quilter, 'Taking hints From Hogwarts: UOW's
first year law immersion program' (2013) 6 (1/2) Journal of Australasian Law Teachers Association 127-139.
[iii] See,
for example, L S Krieger, ‘Human Nature as a New Guiding Philosophy for Legal
Education and the Profession’ (2007) 47 Washburn
Law Journal 247; and above n ii.
[iv]
M Nehme, ‘E-Learning and Students’ Motivation’ [2010] Legal Education Review 11 (http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/LegEdRev/2010/11.html)
[vi] Rachel Field and James Duffy, ‘Better to Light a
Single Candle Than to Curse the Darkness: Promoting Law Student Well-Being
Through a First Year Law Subject’ (2012) 12 Queensland
University of Technology Law and Justice Journal 133, 145-6.
[vii] L van Lier, (1996) Interaction
in the language curriculum. Awareness, autonomy and authenticity. Longman,
London, 11.
Guest blog author Anna Farmer joined the CQUniversity School of Business
and Law in 2010 as a Lecturer in Law.
She is the First Year Coordinator for the fully online LLB programs and
teaches Torts. She was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of
Queensland in 2004 and is the Vice President of the Central Queensland
Community Legal Centre in Rockhampton.
Her current research interests include the transitional and transformational
learning of first year law students; online teaching technologies and clinical
experience. Anna has received multiple commendations in the CQU Student Voice
Awards for Educator of the Year and Distance Educator of the Year. In 2017 she received a Vice-Chancellor’s
Award for Exemplary Practice in Learning and Teaching.
