Le Brun, M J --- "Professional Development for Judges: Adopting an Holistic Approach" [2004] LegEdDig 44; (2004) 13(1) Legal Education Digest 16

Professional Development for Judges: Adopting an Holistic Approach

M J Le Brun

[2004] LegEdDig 44; (2004) 13(1) Legal Education Digest 16

12 J Judicial Admin 2003, pp 202–215

This article describes how workshops and conferences can be enhanced by the provision of online learning. Although it focuses specifically on the professional development of judicial officers in Australia, it addresses broader concerns that may be of interest to continuing legal educators and trainers. The opportunity is taken to consider how the Australian judiciary can make better use of modern technology to enhance the professional development of judicial officers.

If one reviews education in law in Australian universities and many professional development programs, one can see striking parallels. There is an almost unchallenged assumption that experts in their field can teach effectively; that only experts in their field have anything worth teaching; that education in law is about transmitting information; and that education is best imparted by way of traditional face-to-face lecture.

It is quite remarkable that only recently have universities acknowledged that subject-matter expertise is not a guarantee of teaching ability. This approach to teaching and learning law and to professional development in general contrasts with what has been happening in some university law schools and in some professional development programs in Australia and overseas. In universities in Australia and abroad, academics are now encouraged to obtain teaching qualifications. In CLE programs, rather than simply using conference and workshop time to transmit information, some institutions have devised programs which engage individuals actively in their professional development.

The National Judicial College of Australia (NJCA) was established in 2002. The role of the NJCA is to provide professional development to judicial officers in Australia. This article outlines the types of professional development programs that the NJCA can offer, explains why it plans to develop online learning to complement its face-to-face professional development programs, and describes the approach to online learning that it plans to adopt.

Much of judicial education, at least until quite recently, in jurisdictions such as Australia, England and the United States has focused primarily on the use of conferences and seminars as the main mode of professional development. In line with this approach, there are a number of activities that the NJCA can promote. It can offer workshops and round-table discussions alone or in collaboration with other judicial education providers. These can include: (1) workshops on specialist topics for a generalist audience; (2) workshops on specialist topics for a specialist audience; (3) workshops that blend generalist and specialist topics for a mixed audience; (4) workshops held in Australia offered by overseas experts; (5) workshops held in Australia offered by overseas experts that are modified and offered locally by participants; (6) workshops held overseas offered by overseas experts in another discipline; (7) a national judicial orientation program; and (8) an orientation program for new magistrates.

Despite the centrality of workshops, seminars, conferences and round-table discussions in professional development programs, these modes of delivery share a number of characteristics that can limit their capacity to be fully effective learning environments. Not all conferences and workshops effectively draw on the power of individual, team and small group-work to best effect. When they do, they often rely overly on syndicates/small groups, thereby making little or no appropriate use of individual and team work and of techniques such as brainstorming.

There is often a failure to draw on and incorporate participants’ prior knowledge. This means that not all conferences and workshops: (1) draw directly on participants’ prior knowledge and experience when adult learners make use of their knowledge and experience to ‘scaffold’ new knowledge; and (2) consider how the participants can prepare for the conference/workshop, thereby getting the most benefit from the experience.

There is often also a failure to integrate and use resources, sequence topics and structure programs. (1) Many workshops provide static hardcopy materials that are to be read before, during or after the workshop. In the author’s experience, participants seldom work directly with the materials during the workshop. (2) Not all conferences and workshops are structured so that all participants engage actively in learning early in the workshop and throughout the entire workshop. (3) Not all programs are designed so that participants interact with each participant in a meaningful way. (4) In general, the sequencing of topics can be important in enhancing learning and establishing an appropriate workshop environment.

Drawing on the role of reflection and evaluation in learning is often missing from programs. (1) Not all conferences and workshops are designed so that participants have an opportunity to reflect on and digest what they are learning in the workshop. (2) In the author’s experience, few conferences give participants adequate opportunity to put into practice what they have learned. (3) Few conferences and workshops evaluate the impact of the educational program on the participants. (4) Few conference and workshop facilitators/teachers investigate the problems that participants encounter in putting into practice what they learned in the workshop when they return to the Bench six months later, for example.

Another shortcoming is the failure to continue with professional development. Very few conferences and workshops are designed so that participants can deepen their knowledge and skills once the program has ended.

Below are canvassed some of the activities that the NJCA may wish to undertake to address some of these limitations. Online learning resources can be designed by the NJCA that: (1) supplement face-to-face activities; (2) can be used during workshops; (3) supplement hardcopy and other online resources; (4) and can act as stand-alone modules. The prototype website that the NJCA has adopted in principle for the presentation of its online learning activities is described below. To date, the NJCA has decided to offer its online professional development as an integral part of a centralised website.

The online program modules will be supported by the ‘Training Trainers’ site which will be available for use by those who help the NJCA prepare its online and face-to-face professional development activities. Helping judicial officers become more effective ‘trainers’ of their peers presents a cost-effective and efficient training approach to professional development.

The ‘Promotions and Housekeeping’ division of the site contains two sections. The ‘In-house Activities’ site will contain information about the internal workings of the NJCA, enabling, for example, the members of its board to contact one another with ease. The ‘Promotions’ section of the site will be the place for the demonstration of high-end IT developments that will promote the work of the NJCA. Although this site will be open to the public, its use may be limited to those with high-end computer access.

There are, however, a number of barriers to the full embrace of online learning by all judicial officers in Australia today. Although anecdotal in source, these include: (1) products and design; (2) training and technical support; (3) attitudinal barriers; (4) design limitations and misunderstandings. Despite these barriers, it is predicted that the online learning environment will become part of the fabric of professional development for judicial officers in Australia as more judicial officers are appointed who use computers with ease.

Since professional development for judicial officers will be undertaken primarily by judges themselves, in order for the NJCA to succeed with its online education plans, judicial officers will need to contribute actively to the development of online learning resources. The ‘Training Trainers’ section of the NJCA website will provide some basic assistance to those who offer to create online learning resources.

The time appears to be ripe for the expansion of judicial education in Australia with the continuing successes of the educational arm of the Judicial Commission of New South Wales, and with the establishment of the NJCA and the Judicial College of Victoria both in 2002. Nevertheless, the success of the NJCA and, in particular, the future of its online professional development program, will depend directly on the interests of the judiciary in the work of the NJCA and on the willingness of judicial officers to contribute their time and energy as producers of online learning modules, workshop facilitators and users.