Transactional learning and simulations: how far can we go in professional legal education?

Transactional learning and simulations: how far can we go in professional legal education? Professor Paul Maharg Glasgow Graduate School of Law

1. the scope of our implementation at GGSL 2. design methodologies 3. forms of collaborative working undertaken by students 4. the experiences of students to date with those of MMO players 2 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

simulations in legal learning…  Are close to the world of practice, but safe from the (possible) realities of malpractice and negligent representation. 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 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 Encourage collaborative learning. The guilds and groups of  hunters in multi-player online games can be replicated for very different purposes in legal education. 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. 3 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

scope of the implementation 4 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

5 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

personal injury negotiation project Administration:  280 students, 70 firms, 7 anonymous information sources  70 document sets, 35 transactions  students have 12 weeks to achieve settlement  introductory & feedback lectures  discussion forums  FAQs & transaction guideline flowcharts  voluntary face-to-face surgeries with a PI solicitor 21 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

PI project: assessment criteria We require from each student firm a body of evidence consisting of:  fact-finding – from information sources in the virtual community)  professional legal research – using WestLaw + paperworld sources  formation of negotiation strategy – extending range of Foundation Course learning  performance of strategy – correspondence + optional f2f meeting, recorded 22 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

statistics Total correspondence 2000/2001 sent by all firms 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 Number 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 25 1 3 5 7 9 29 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

statistics Settlement amounts 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 9&10 15&16 21&22 25&26 27&28 1&2 3&4 5&6 7&8 11&12 13&14 17&18 19&20 23&24 29&30 31&32 33&34 35&36 37&38 39&40 41&42 43&44 45&46 30 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

statistics 900 Correspondence timelines 871 800 700 600 500 406 400 346 310 300 260 224 200 198 197 169 168 155 134 100 95 78 49 43 31 29 30 13 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Week Number 31 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

PI project: (some of) what students learned extended team working  real legal fact-finding  real legal research  process thinking in the project  setting out negotiation strategies in the context of (un)known  information writing to specific audiences  handling project alongside other work commitments  structuring the argument of a case from start to finish  keeping cool in face-to-face negotiations  more effective delegation  keeping files  taking notes on the process...  32 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

PI project: what students would have done differently… ‘In tackling this project I think that our group made two main mistakes. The first mistake we made was in approaching the task as law students as opposed to Lawyers. By this I mean we tried to find the answer and work our way back. Immediately we were thinking about claims and quantum and blame. I don't think we actually initiated a claim until a week before the final settlement. I think the phrase \"like a bull in a china shop\" would aptly describe the way we approached the problem. […] Our group knew what area of law and tests to apply yet we ended up often being ahead of ourselves and having to back-pedal The second mistake we made was estimating how long it would take to gather information. We started our project quite late on and began to run out of time towards the end. None of us appreciated the length of time it would take to gather information and on top of this we would often have to write two or three letters to the same person as the initial letter would not ask the right question.’ 33 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

PI project: what students would have done differently… ‘At the beginning we thought we perhaps lost sight of the fact that we had a client whom we had a duty to advise and inform. On reflection we should have issued terms of engagement and advised the client better in monetary terms what the likely outcome was going to be.’ ‘[…] unlike other group projects I was involved in at undergraduate level I feel that I derived genuine benefit from this exercise in several ways: 1. reinforcing letter-writing, negotiation, time-management and IT skills 2. conducting legal research into issues of quantum working effectively in a group as a group - not delegating tasks 3. at the first meeting and then putting together pieces of work at the second meeting.’ Student comment on the environment… 34 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

design methodologies? 35 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

authenticity as transactional learning Five characteristics in our practice define transactional learning for us as: 3. active learning, 4. based on doing legal transactions, 5. involving reflection on learning, 6. deep collaborative learning, and 7. requiring holistic or process learning. 36 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

role of the simulation Emerging identity as student/practitioner Actual practice reality Ardcalloch simulation 37 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

role of the simulation Emerging identity as student/practitioner Actual practice reality Ardcalloch simulation 38 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

role of the simulation Emerging identity as student/practitioner Diploma in Legal Practice Actual practice reality Ardcalloch simulation 39 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

forms of collaborative working…? 40 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

development of matrix Learning Learning Legal Eagles Community Trust Dysfunctional Friendly Society Barton & Westwood, 2006 53 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

development of learning matrix Learning 20% 41% Trust Barton & Westwood, 2006 12% 27% 54 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

low trust and low learning Trust  Culture Suspicious, blame, independence, me first   Task  Not task focussed; low engagement  Relationships  Victimisation, polarised, abrasive, secrets  Approach  Inflexible, superficial, dictatorial, rigid Barton & Westwood, 2006 Learning 55 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

low trust and low learning Trust “not my place to act as social worker to my team members.” “Teamwork jarring is insoluble – some people are just destined not to work together.” “Basically I would say that our firm was a success although we would have been better as a group of three.” “…this was done for selfish reasons as at the time I had no desire to work with L as tensions between us from the outset were high” “…childlike tantrums…turned into a nightmare” Barton & Westwood, 2006 Learning 56 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

low trust and low learning Trust ‘Personal conflict or basic incompatibilities over interpersonal styles can poison a group.’ (Leonard and Swap 1999 p42) ‘Without trust it may literally be true that it is not safe to talk about particular issues. Over time the relationships will not survive if it is not possible to talk through issues before they do damage.’ (Ward & Smith 2003 p14) ‘…distrust creates destructive conflict among members.’ (Johnson & Johnson1997 p133) Barton & Westwood, 2006 Learning 57 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

high trust and high learning Learning  Culture Inclusive, fair, interdependence, team first   Task  Task focussed: our way; high engagement  Relationships  Open, valued, supportive, honest  Approach  Flexible, organic, consensus, responsive Barton & Westwood, 2006 Trust 58 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

high trust and high learning “the great thing about the firm was that I felt that we Learning all picked up on these weaknesses early on without any conflicts arising” “that doesn’t mean our differences have to separate us…that is precisely what makes us work much better together as a team” “Greater than the sum of the parts springs to mind.” “People were flexible about the work they took on and were willing to try new things.” “…responsibility was shared and that support would be given if someone had a problem.” “The other 2 members of the firm turned up on the negotiation day to lend moral support and share in the Trust outcome” 59 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

high trust and high learning Learning ‘…it is through the medium of the group that a student can immerse himself in the world of the practicum … .learning new habits of thought and action’ (Schon 1987 p38) ‘successful collaborators create patterns of communication appropriate to their relationship and task’ (Schrage 1995 p158) ‘To be part of a group is to share values with the others to some extent. This sharing of values allows certain things to be said which otherwise cannot be said.’ (Ward & Smith 2003 p96) Trust 60 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

Barton, K & Westwood F. (2006) From student to trainee practitioner – a study of team working as a learning experience, Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2006/issue3/barton -westwood3.html 61 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

can portfolio learning be a key assessment of outcomes? Yes, if outcomes are detailed enough, and portfolio is 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 under supervision by tutors, supervisors, training managers, regulatory bodies, etc 62 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

how far can we go? 63 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

future applications… http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/cyberone/ 64 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

future applications…  An entire course can be built within a world, through use of applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc within simulation environments  Experiential learning  Resource- based learning 65 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

the future eduscape…  ‘free’ information portals within personalised spaces, eg LexisONE  law schools servicing alumni through distribution of knowledge objects on the web, in any discipline; personalised CPD for professionals  much, much more flexible learning  Portrait of the Teacher as Designer… 66 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

portrait of the teacher as designer  Shift in traditional role of staff as centre of the knowledge web Knowledge and skills are distributed across webs  Staff spend more time designing online learning with  tutors, postgrad assistants, trainees, student monitors, ie design work using…  resources  simulations  just-in-time learning  salon & masterclass models of group learning … over whole programmes of study.  Within and between disciplines  Within and between institutions internationally  67 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

TLE 2.0: large-scale implementation of innovative technologies  Transactional Learning Environment (TLE) 2.0  Development & use of suite of TLE 2.0 tools in seven transactions across three faculties in Strathclyde University, and in four additional law schools in England, Scotland & Wales Two-year funding by JISC, UKCLE and BILETA.  Dissemination of TLE 2.0 as a fully-functioning  environment, free, to interested parties in HE and FE. Dissemination of evaluation results at conferences and in papers to be published in peer-reviewed journals and as book chapters. Post-project: dissemination of project applications; further  development of TLE; archiving of all project documentation on the project website for a minimum of three years post- January 2008. TLE 2.0 leads to TLE3…  68 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

future tool applications… Ambient, pervasive, intelligent devices… 69 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

eg Social Network Analysis: interaction patterns Maarten de Laat, http://e-learning.surf.nl/e-learning/english/3481 70 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

contact details 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 71 Spelend leren in virtuele werelden, Delft, 27.9.06

Transactional learning and simulations: how far can we go in professional legal education?

0 comments

Notes on slide 1

Favorites, Groups & Events