This document discusses trends in higher education including growing numbers of part-time and international students, concerns about the economic benefits of higher education, and the priority of developing strategic skills. It also covers learner trends toward flexibility and social media use as well as expectations for technology. The document proposes an interdisciplinary teaching strategy using a case study approach and experiential learning model to integrate practical legal topics and address issues like intellectual property.

1. Leicester Institute of Legal Practice Inter-disciplinary learning for the work-based student Caroline Coles [email_address]

2. Current trends Post graduate , part time emphasis Growth in number of part time and work based students Increasing diverse student community, including international Widening participation obligations Growing concern from students about economic benefits of HE ( HEA 2009) Financial climate 75% of 2020 workforce is over 16 years of age now Post graduate review (expected Spring 2010) A. Smith FE experiences (Changing Learner Experience (2009)) Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

3. Intellectual Property The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property 2006 Intellectual Property for engineers project (Roach and and Soetendorp (2008)) Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

4. Higher Ambitions? Business to be more active partners HEFCE’s priority to strategic skills i.e. STEM subjects New Research Excellence Framework (REF) to explicitly assess the impact of research on the economy and society Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

5. Learner Trends Flexibility/Feels like a work environment* Significant social use of Web 2.0 tools** Digital divides**: haves/have nots; Acceptors/detractors Deficit in information literacy** *DMU Student research 2009 **Changing Learner Experience (2009) Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

6. Learner Expectations? General satisfaction with ICT provision and considerable support for use due to time and space flexibility Technology useful for administration and as a repository but Web 2.0 usage remains mainly social Analytical use limited Great Expectations of ICT (2008) Ipsos Mori/JISC Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

7. Leicester Institute of Legal Practice Research findings: Online lectures Wiki Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

8. Inter-disciplinary teaching strategy Leicester Institute of Legal Practice Case study Kolb’s Experiential Learning (1984)

9. Inter-disciplinary teaching tools Building blocks: Practical Minimal statute Creation Exploitation Valuation Tasks: advice to colleague, design brief to consultant, stages in a project plan Toolkit in preparation by European Patent Office Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

10. Discussion:possible topics In your institution or subject area, is inter-disciplinary learning and teaching: Pedagogically valid Achievable in a faculty structure? If it is achievable, what issues do you foresee in designing materials? How does this strategy synchronize with the Higher Ambitions strategy? Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

11. References Changing Learner Experience (2009) Report of the Committee of Inquiry http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/heweb2.aspx Great Expectations (2008) Ipsos/Mori/Jisc http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/greatexpectations.aspx Higher Ambitions (2009) http://www.bis.gov.uk Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning .Prentice-Hall.London. Postgraduate review (expected 2010) http://www.bis.gov.uk/postgraduate-review Roach,J. and Soetendorp, R. (2008) IP in the engineering syllabus.HEA Leicester Institute of Legal Practice