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The UK Centre for Legal Education: Enhancing Learning in Legal Education
Ann Priestley
Legal Information Management / Volume 3 / Issue 3-4 / December 2003, pp 177 - 178
DOI: 10.1017/S1472669600002097, Published online: 31 July 2008
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1472669600002097
How to cite this article:
Ann Priestley (2003). The UK Centre for Legal Education: Enhancing Learning in Legal Education. Legal Information
Management, 3, pp 177-178 doi:10.1017/S1472669600002097
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The UK Centre for Legal Education
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This article outlines the key points of the presentation by Ann Priestley, UKCLE
Information Resources Developer, at the 34th BIALL Annual Study Conference in
Cardiff, for the benefit of those who were unable to attend. The presentation outlined
the work of the Centre, focusing on the aspects of its activities of most relevance to
BIALL members.
Last year we ran seminars on the role of the external
W h a t is UKCLE and what does examiner and access to law, as well as workshops on
it do? learning and teaching topics such as using computer-aided
assessment and learning outcomes and assessment. For
those who cannot be present, we aim to generate resources
The UK Centre for Legal Education (UKCLE) is the LTSN from events in the form of papers and case studies. Recently
subject centre for law. LTSN, the Learning and Teaching we have been concentrating on roadshows, where UKCLE
Support Network, was set up by the Joint Funding Councils staff or a representative deliver a tailored programme to c
in January 2000 to promote high quality learning and one law school. Two of the most popular topics are
teaching and transfer good practice across disciplines. It is e-learning and plagiarism. As well as LILI, our annual
made up a generic centre and 24 subject centres. conference, we also run a regular Vocational Teachers
UKCLE is based in the Law School at the University of Forum, for teachers on vocational programmes.
Warwick and continues the work of the National Centre for
W e have published seven longer manuals and are c
Legal Education (NCLE) and the Law Technology Centre O
currently commissioning smaller quick guides, in our
(LTC). Our mission is to provide law teachers and law
teaching resource note series. Our newsletter, Directions, is u
schools throughout the UK with resources, expertise, O
published in September and March. One copy of each
information, advice and support to make the delivery of legal
publication is sent to each law school librarian and all
education more effective, and to enhance the quality of
publications are also downloadable from our website.
learning and teaching experiences and practices for staff and
The UKCLE website includes a directory of UK legal -o
students.
education as well as 'mini-sites' on key themes. Our events
UKCLE has three core areas of activity -
calendar and news pages collate information from many
sources and are offered in RSS format. You can keep up t o
1. A programme of seminars, workshops and depart- date with additions to the website and the latest events and
mental roadshows. news by subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter. -5
2. The collection and dissemination of effective practice, UKCLE has funded 13 research projects, including web-
via publications and the UKCLE website. based resources on feminist perspectives and teaching C
3. Research into legal education, including funded projects. ethnic minority law and longitudinal studies of law students. o
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Ann Priestley
Several projects address the relationship of legal to the goal of creating a 'one stop shop' for law teachers.
CO education to the profession: (To coin an over-used phrase!)
We are also eager to increase our collaboration with law
I 'Practitioner perspectives on legal education and
training', undertaken by Andy Boon (Westminster), is
librarians. This could work in two ways:
an in-depth study of the recipients of legal education 1. From us to you, in supporting the teaching of legal
'Preparing black Caribbean students for the legal research skills - UKCLE can offer sessions on learning
profession' looks at the key issue of widening parti- and teaching techniques, such as teaching large groups.
cipation to the legal profession and is being undertaken On the same theme, the 1999 NCLE publication
O
by a team at London Metropolitan University 'The LPC: Teaching legal research' by Peter Clinch (Cardiff)
what do solicitors' firms require?' - this project is being remains one of best sellers, and we can look at
undertaken by UKCLE Research Fellow Amanda commissioning a second edition.
Fancourt. Amanda has interviewed solicitors' firms of 2. From you to us, in contributing to our resource bank -
all sizes for their views on the LPC, the City LPC and the from our workshops on e-learning we have become
potential need for other tailored Legal Practice Courses. aware that many academic law librarians are on the
front line in developing innovative applications, in
Currently we are offering smaller-scale funding for the particular in integrating library resources with VLEs.
development of specific resources, aimed at encouraging Case studies of innovative ICT applications being
sharing of, and commentary on, effective practice, and are developed by law librarians can be added to the ICT
calling for case studies on a range of themes, including section of our website.
teaching ethics, employability and linking teaching and
research. A final area of personal interest is the development of
UKCLE is working towards ensuring a coherent information literacy skills. We have not found a high
UK-wide approach to legal education by developing and awareness and usage of internet-based resources among
sustaining relationships with a range of partners. We offer our community, other than the core datasets. This is an
support to cognate organisations and networks and work increasingly important area of work in order to ensure that
closely with the four subject associations. law firms' recruits have the skills they expect.
We provide the Secretariat for BILETA, the British and UKCLE is hosting an event in November in conjunction
Irish Law Education and Technology Association, which was with SOSIG to promote this area, and hopes to raise
set up to support the use of ICT in legal education, and are awareness within law schools of the need for information
a partner in the JISC Legal Information Service, which skills for both staff and students, calling for a close co-
provides information and advice about legal issues to the operation between academic, library and staff development
academic community. people in curriculum design and delivery.
Current information work and Looking to the future
scope for collaboration The Learning and Teaching Support Network is to become
part of the proposed Higher Education Academy from
At the risk of preaching to the converted, it is becoming I January 2004, formed by a merger with the Institute for
increasingly clear that the role of the academic law librarian Learning and Teaching (ILT) and the Higher Education Staff
is changing fast. For UKCLE the issue of liaison with the law Development Agency (HESDA).
department is key, in particular over legal research skills It is unclear how this will work in practice, and how the
training. We are a partner in the Lawpaths project, led by role of the subject centres will change, but we have been
0)
Sarah Carter of Kent. Lawpaths is a three year project to assured that the subject-based approach to the
0) develop a resource bank of materials to support the learning enhancement of learning and teaching will remain.
I and teaching of legal information research skills in
universities and colleges.
It is still early days for UKCLE and the LTSN as a whole,
but gradually the initiative is developing from the necessary
We are working with the SOSIG team to bring our first stage of creating the infrastructure and raising
z resources and those of the Law Gateway together in a single awareness to a second stage where our target audience is
c
o interface. We are also looking at promoting usage of the more deeply involved and — I hope - knowledge sharing and
SOSIG Grapevine and My Account features, which allow brokerage can truly commence.
IS users to customise SOSIG into a tailored information I hope this brief overview has given you a better idea of
I
"rt
service. As a result the UKCLE resource bank will be
enriched by a searchable database of resources and teaching
material on substantive law topics, taking us a step further
the work of UKCLE and how you might get involved. Please
contact the author if anything here has sparked your
interest.
M
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