Transcript Slide 1
Helen Barker, Emma Edwards, Jatinder Virdee
University of Wolverhampton, School of Legal Studies
Effective Legal Study
Background
Level one, semester one module
Almost 400 students
LLB, CJ, Law Joint, Social Welfare Law
A core team of four members of staff
Outcomes
Define what it means to be a student studying in
legal subject areas in higher education
To outline academic expectations and conventions
for legal studies
To address employability issues
Our approach
Shorter lectures
Longer, more frequent, smaller group seminars held
in computer labs
Group discussion
Subject-specific tasks
Feedback and reflection
Why e-portfolio?
e-portfolio is pivotal to the module
Introduced in week one
Accessed and developed every week
Used to make initial links with personal tutors
Formative assessment - introduction of a blog in
September 2009
Summative assessment - CVs submitted and online,
personal feedback provided
Tool to support students’ studies, not a bolt on!
Rationale
Significant amount of work being produced on e-
portfolios – case studies, best practice
Online learning shifts focus “from teachers teaching
to learners learning and from students as passive
recipients to active creators of knowledge” (Condie
and Livingstone, 2007, p.339)
Do not assume all students are prepared / interested
(Gibson, 2001)
“Wear four hats” (Maor, 2003)
Rationale
Continuing professional development
Implementation within the profession
Research conducted with law firms – Higher
Education Academy projects
http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/research/projects/eportfolios4
.html accessed 13 May 2009
How does it work?
A webfolio template is created and students make a
copy
Gateways groups established
Students submit to a gateway at the beginning of the
module. All subsequent work is automatically
uploaded.
Link to example
The benefits
Enables us to meet University’s blended learning targets!
Opportunity for formative feedback and early summative
assessment
Reflection encourages students to take responsibility for
their studies (Morgan et al, 2006)
Allows them to see how far they have come
Plan ahead for the future
Opportunities for ePDP
Encouragement to maintain and refer back to for other
modules
Issues
Student / staff engagement requires attention
Marking workload “The assessment of portfolios
adds significantly to teachers’ workloads”
(Klenowski, 2002, p.86, cited in Scrivens, 2007)
Large classes are more difficult to manage and
require significant planning
Monitoring / feedback is key
Recognise the diversity of the group
Has it worked?
Over 100 students completed an anonymous, online
questionnaire
86% felt that the module was either very useful or of
some use in developing their academic skills
64% felt the e-portfolio had either been very useful or
of some use in supporting their studies
Top three topics the students found most useful:
Using Westlaw / Lexis – 43%
Using the e-portfolio – 32%
Referencing – 26%
Student comments – what did
you find most useful?
“The skills that you learn because it can be applied
to all sorts of modules and different backgrounds
and not just the law sector.”
“I enjoyed using the eportfolio and looking at
employability..”
“Learning and understanding how to use eportfolio
as it means that there is somewhere were all of my
experience and other activities done in uni can be
stored”
“Excellent introduction to studying law”
Student feedback – what was
least useful?
“e-portoflio, because I do not think I will need it in the
future.”
“I didn't really find using the eportpolio useful
because it hasnt been really explained to me and its
purpose and use and how it fits into helping me pass
my degree”
“referencing- difficult, confusing, not enough time
spent on it”
“I cannot think what part i did not enjoy and find
useful”
Moving forward
Engagement early on in the course is vital
More detailed explanation of the rationale for using e-
portfolio?
Link to other modules?
Implementing the e-portfolio:
lessons
Consider how it will be managed
Train staff to ensure that they are engaged
Invest time in training students
Pilot and test! Take a proactive approach (Richards,
2006)
Overall:
Attendance improved
Engagement increased
Fewer problems with using the e-portfolio as increased contact
time
Increase in submission of assignments
Any questions?
References
Barrett, H.C. (2005) White paper: researching electronic
portfolios and learner engagement. The reflect initiative:
Researching electronic portfolios: Learning, engagement,
collaboration, through technology
Condie, R. and Livingston, K. (2007) Blending online learning
with traditional approaches: changing practices. British Journal
of Educational Technology. 38 (2), pp.337 – 348
Gibson, I.W. (2001) At the intersection of technology and
pedagogy: considering styles of learning and teaching. Journal
of Information Technology for teacher education. 10 (1), pp.37
– 61
Klenowski, V., Askew, S. and Carnell, E. (2006) Portfolios for
learning, assessment and professional development in higher
education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.
31(3), pp.267 - 286
References
Maor, D. (2003) The teacher’s role in developing interaction
and reflection in an online learning community. Educational
Media International 40 (1), pp.127 – 137
Morgan, J., Rawlinson, M. and Weaver, M. (2006) Facilitating
online reflective learning for health and social care
professionals. Open learning:The Journal of Open and
Distance Learning. 21 (2), pp.167 – 176
Richards, C. (2006) Towards an integrated framework for
designing effective ICT-supported learning environments: the
challenge to better link technology and pedagogy. Technology,
pedagogy and Education 15 (2), pp.239 - 255