Incorporating Experiential Learning Techniques into Modern Law Curricula: The Case for Moot Courts and Mock Trials (original) (raw)

Simulated courtroom trials: a challenging learning activity

South Florida Journal of Development

In this paper we report a learning experience taught by lecturers in Procedural Law at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). This innovative experience comprises the simulation of courtroom trials in the field of Procedural Law and is taught to first-year undergraduate Law students taking the Introduction to Procedural Law course. These simulated courtroom trials, which aim to provide students with practical experience, are highly satisfactory in terms of the students’ acquisition of theoretical and practical skills. Implementing this learning experience at the beginning of the degree enables first-year students to quickly become familiar with all aspects of real trials and the practices employed in courts and tribunals. Moreover, the students improve their oral skills by conducting a simulation of oral proceedings and their writing skills by drafting a report on their simulated courtroom trial

Mock Trial Simulation in Teaching Syariah Law of Evidence at Faculty of Law, UKM: A Blend of Traditional and New Methods

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2016

The Syariah Law of Evidence is one of the syariah courses in the combined civil and syariah LLB programme at the Faculty of Law, UKM. A revamp of the curriculum has seen practical mock trial been embedded in the course. The mock trial trains students on correct methods and techniques to submit evidence in civil and syariah criminal trials. This is in line with the aim of the faculty to have a practical balance between theories and practices in its legal curriculum. Mock trial simulation in teaching law of evidence is both an in-vitro and vitro practical experience extremely important to the students. It simulates practical skills of evidence submission in trials. Mock trial teaches students of crucial roles of proper evidence in syariah courts trials. This paper critically examines challenges faced in the teaching and learning of this course. All arguments and findings in this paper rests on a qualitative design, using methodologies of critical and content analysis, field interviews and observation for data verifications. It simultaneously explores possible ways of overcoming these obstacles in ensuring relevancy of the syariah course in ensuring marketability of the graduates.

The Place and Efficacy of Simulations in Legal Education: A Preliminary Examination

2011

The American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes once famously said that “[t]he life of law has not been logic; it has been experience”. This paper examines the experiential learning technique of simulation, particularly the use of moot courts and mock trials, in the context of legal education. It provides an overview of extant literature along with an outline of the current place of simulation activities in Irish legal education and the results of a project carried out to examine the efficacy of simulation activities as a teaching and learning tool. The development of formal legal education and the place of mooting within both academic and vocational training are considered within this paper. The combination of the literature review and the findings of the study carried out in the authors’ institution lead to the suggestion that experiential learning techniques, such as moot courts and mock trials, ought to form an integral part of modern law curricula, both in this jurisdiction and in ot...

Comparing Judicial Institutions: Using an Inquisitorial Trial Simulation to Facilitate Student Understanding of International Legal Traditions

PS: Political Science & Politics, 2009

This article proposes a new role-playing exercise for public law courses: a mock-trial simulation using the European inquisitorial system of trial procedure. By exposing students to an alternative method of conducting a trial, numerous pedagogical benefits can be obtained, including stimulating critical thinking regarding the potential inefficiencies in the American trial system. The article provides an overview of the inquisitorial trial system, and also sets out the procedures for conducting the simulation and conducting assessment.

Training for Legal Practice – Towards Effective Teaching Methodologies for Procedural Law Modules

Obiter

Procedural laws play an important role in legal practice through their use in the enforcement of the substantive rights of members of the public. Civil procedure, criminal procedure, and the law of evidence are the building blocks whereby matters are presented in court. Legal representatives, representing members of the public, should therefore be skilled and professionally trained in procedural laws. Due to their importance, students should not only have a thorough and foundational theoretical knowledge of procedural laws, but also the necessary practical skills in applying their knowledge to practical scenarios, which should be instilled as part of the teaching of procedural modules. The inherent methodological content of conventional teaching methodologies applied when teaching procedural law modules, i.e., the Socratic and case dialogue methodologies, however, prove to be inadequate in transferring the required skills and practical training. Several constituent parties in the le...

Students’ performance and perceptions of mock trials as a teaching and assessment activity over three years at two institutions

Pharmacy Education, 2024

Background: This study aimed to evaluate students' performance and perception of a mock-trial teaching, learning, and assessment activity over three years at two institutions. Methods: A mock trial (courtroom-style debate) implemented over three years (2017-2019) in a first professional year (P1) course at two institutions offered active learning in literature critique and evaluation, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, professionalism, and self-awareness. Student teams researched, prepared, and debated controversial topics as counsels, witnesses, or jurors for alternate mock trials. Descriptive analyses evaluated judge and juror trial scores and the 2019 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) survey. Results: The mock trials involved 319 student participants (Programme A: 136; Programme B: 183). Faculty-judge scores ranged from 83.3% to 97%, while student-juror scores ranged from 87.5% to 100%. Most student groups in all programmes reported comparable faculty-judge scores and student-juror scores, irrespective of trial positions (pro or con) or topics. The TAM survey assessed 96 student participants' perceptions of Blackboard Collaborate for peer collaboration in 2019. Items assessing students' attitudes toward mock trials reported an average rating above 5 on a 7-point Likert scale. Conclusion: A three-year retrospective evaluation of students' performance and perceptions of mock trials at two institutions demonstrated the effectiveness of mock-trial innovation and the feasibility of cross-institutional student engagement and faculty collaboration.

Trying Saddam Hussein: Teaching International Law Through an Undergraduate Mock Trial

International Studies Perspectives, 2006

Efforts to enhance the quality of teaching and better engage undergraduate students have resulted in a noticeable shift toward active and problem-based learning techniques. This essay examines a multi-week, in-depth simulation designed for my upper-division international law course in which students assumed roles in a mock war crimes trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. It seeks to accomplish three goals. First, I wish to provide ideas for those interested in moving away from lecture-oriented teaching techniques and toward a more interactive, hands-on experience for their students by outlining an example of a successful, undergraduate mock trial. Second, I hope to make the case that mock trial exercises are especially suited for the international law classroom. Finally, the essay provides practical advice to instructors by exploring a number of issues involved in designing, running, and assessing a mock trial.

Law Teaching on Trial: The Expectations and Experiences of First Year Canterbury Law Students.

Canterbury Law Review , 2015

This paper reports the results of two online surveys focusing on the expectations and experiences of students enrolled in first year law papers offered in 2014 by the School of Law at the University of Canterbury. The results from these surveys make up the first phase in a planned longitudinal study of the participating students. A survey of School of Law teaching staff was also carried out. Students participating in the study shared many common characteristics and, for the most part, reported high levels of engagement in, and satisfaction with, their law school experience. There was a high degree of correlation between the responses of students and academic staff to questions directed at students’ teaching and learning experiences. Most students reported overall levels of mental wellness either consistent with or better than the general population over the entirety of their first year of study. There were few significant gendered differences in students’ responses. Although the findings of this phase of the project are prima facie positive, further work needs to be done to determine the make-up of the small minority who reported a different and more negative experience.