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Higgins, N et al --- "Field trips as short-term experiential learning activities in legal education" [2012] LegEdDig 37; (2012) 20(3) Legal Education Digest 15


Field trips as short-term experiential learning activities in legal education

N Higgins, E Dewhurst and L Watkins

The Law Teacher, Vol. 46, No. 2, 2012, pp 165-178

In 1881, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that ‘[t]he life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience’. Yet despite this early emphasis on the importance of experiential learning in legal education, law schools continue to be criticised for ‘lack of attention to practice and inadequate concern with professional responsibility’, and continue to be heavily reliant on ‘a single, heavily academic pedagogy’. Law schools are under ever-increasing pressure, both from within the legal profession and from outside influences, including law firms, to provide some form of interaction with the real world, in order to develop knowledge, expand skill sets and transform attitudes and values.

Many schools of law will encourage students to visit local courts; indeed, many will organise such a visit, and certainly in the UK, there is a growing culture recognising scholarly engagement with the community, particularly with a community of practice. In addition, there are well-established programs in many law schools whereby students can undertake internships, pro bono work or summer schools, but these differ in intent and content from the present study.

This particular field trip was, therefore, undertaken as a short-term, intensive, organised trip to specified legal institutions in Dublin, with a view to allowing law students to take a step into the ‘zone of proximal development’ of various possible employment futures.

Field trips have been categorised as a form of short-term experiential education. Experiential education can be defined as ‘education (the leading of students through a process of learning) that makes conscious application of the students’ experiences by integrating them into the curriculum’ and ensures that the ‘learner is directly in touch with the realities being studied’.

Short-term experiential education requires ‘students to integrate course material with a brief excursion to observe or participate in a related social phenomenon’. Beirsdorfer and Davis define a field trip as ‘part of a day, a day long, or a weekend long excursion; it can be a simple guided tour to an area of interest, or it may include the conducting of an active research oriented (inquiry type) field project’. The study of law as a living discipline, which requires law students to interact with institutions, legal professionals, colleagues and judges, is well suited to the use of field trips as a means of contextualising acquired academic legal knowledge.

A review of current literature on field trips from other disciplines (e.g. the social and natural sciences) reveals a myriad of advantages to be gained from such activities. Field trips can have substantive benefits for undergraduate students in assisting them to make important connections between the theoretical knowledge learned in the lecture theatre and real life, ‘at a depth that cannot be gained through books and lectures alone’ and aids in the understanding of abstract concepts.

From a pedagogical perspective, students can benefit considerably from the active learning environment of the field trip, as it alters the classroom climate, the learning processes and can impact on the enthusiasm of the lecturers for the particular subject. Students and lecturers that have undertaken field trips together often reflect on the experience as one that brought faculty members and students closer together, thus creating a more supportive learning environment.

However, one of the most significant benefits of field trips is the transitional impact on students. Field trips, particularly those aimed at the application of theoretical knowledge in a professional environment, can facilitate very effectively ‘the transition between undergraduate education and the workforce, subsequent courses in the discipline and post-baccalaureate schooling’, as well as exposing undergraduates to potential employment opportunities, developing their social skills and defining their professional goals.

The main disadvantages of field trips identified in the literature arise from the methodological and logistical issues concerning the preparation, performance and follow-up to the field trip. The ‘administrative road blocks’ of the logistics, transport, insurance, ethics, access to the field trip site, cost, lack of support from the school administration and time burdens on both the students and the instructors are the most common concerns facing those engaged in field trip development.

On 3 March 2011, Dublin City University, School of Law and Government in cooperation with the Socio-Legal Research Centre organised and delivered the inaugural ‘Living the Law Tour’ for 20 (10 male/10 female) first year undergraduate law students. The students were taken on this tour as part of their first year module, ‘Foundations of Law and Legal Research’ and were chosen to participate on the basis of their results in their first semester examinations.

The students met with the members of staff who organised the tour a week before the event to discuss the purpose of the field trip, the logistics and what they should be looking out for on the tour. Students were given a ‘Living the Law Tour Pack’ which contained detailed information on the format of the tour, the institutions that they would be visiting and the persons with whom they would be engaging.

The tour began at 9.30am at the Law Society of Ireland, the professional training body of solicitors in Ireland. The students met in a group and were given a short introduction to the Law Society of Ireland. The students were then taken to the main lecture theatre where they attended a lecture that was being delivered to trainee solicitors on the subject of criminal litigation. The lecture was delivered in an unusual style with four criminal law expert solicitors taking questions from the trainee solicitors and answering them in a very practical way. The lecture tied in with subject matter that the students were learning in their criminal law theory class in Dublin City University (DCU). The students were then gathered together for a careers seminar delivered by the Careers Officer in the Law Society on how to become a solicitor, the program of study and the career options available after the course. The students were very interested in the practical elements of becoming a solicitor including the examination requirements, the costs and the potential for travel after the course was completed and all of their questions were welcomed and answered.

After the Law Society of Ireland, the tour progressed to the Four Courts to see the High Court and the Supreme Court in action. Students had a short tour of the historic buildings followed by a visit to the Supreme Court where they sat in on a bail hearing. Students also got an insight into the more informal side of the judicial system by watching barristers negotiate on behalf of their clients in the corridors and outside the courtrooms.

The introduction to the courtroom and the role of the barrister was a very good prelude to the next stop on the tour – the King’s Inns, which is the professional training school for barristers in Ireland. Once again students were given a tour of the celebrated building where the trainee barristers study and were given a very enlightening and entertaining tour by the Under Treasurer of the Inns in which she described in colourful detail the life of a trainee barrister in the Inns, the customs and practices of trainee barristers and what the Inns expected from its students. The Dean of the School of Law also then took the students to a lecture theatre to explain the very practical requirements of becoming a barrister, including examination requirements and the cost.

The final stop on the tour was a reception at A&L Goodbody solicitors, one of Ireland’s premier and largest corporate law firms. The students were treated to a very warm reception by the firm, were given a tour of the offices and had an information session facilitated by the trainee recruitment section. Solicitors at various stages of their career in the firm spoke to the students about their training and areas of work. The session also focused on the essential characteristics of a trainee solicitor, the importance of participation in extra-curricular activities in university, and the preparation of an impressive curriculum vitae.

After a long and tiring day for both students and lecturers, the tour dispersed but met the following week for a feedback session. Students were also asked to complete a post-field trip survey. The feedback session and the survey gave the students the opportunity to really consider the benefits of the trip, the impact on their legal education and their career plans. It was hoped that the survey would uncover the attitude changes engendered in the students by the field trip and ascertain an insight into the benefits of field trips as part of the law curriculum.

While this was a time-consuming and logistically difficult event to organise, it was hoped that the empirical evidence would reveal that the educational benefits would outweigh any of the challenges that were encountered.

All of the students stated that they enjoyed the field trip and various reasons were provided for this enjoyment. The most common reason was the impact on their career options and direction for the future. Students also indicated that the field trip had given them the ‘motivation to enter the legal profession’. Contextualisation of the ‘primarily conceptual content of the lectures’ was also indicated as a very important feature of the tour. Development of student and lecturer bonds was also recognised by the students as a positive outcome of the tour.

In relation to the impact that the field trip had on informing the students about the professional options available to them post-graduation, the students once again found the field trip to be very informative in providing information as to how the professional education systems work, the practicalities of training to be a solicitor or a barrister and the realities of life as a legal professional. Students commented:

[T]he necessary training and education for both professions is quite different ... which gave me a sense of the work that needed to be applied during my time in DCU.

I found that the relevant content of your CV extend beyond mere academic achievements (though they of course cannot be ignored).

Interestingly, students once again tended to focus on the practicalities of private practice including the hours of the work, the variety of work that would be undertaken, the team work involved, the opportunities that are available for students, the demanding nature of the work and, in the case of A&L Goodbody, the very impressive office environment that they may be able to work in. Students commented:

It is demanding work and requires a lot of effort and training. I also learned about the kind of areas large firms can specialise in.

It’s more of a team environment as opposed to working as a barrister which is very much independent.

Students benefited greatly from the trip to the Four Courts, in particular, watching the Supreme Court case. From simply viewing the court structure students learned about the roles and functions of the legal professionals, the formality attached to the court process and even learned some procedural rules relating to the appeals function of the Supreme Court. From a legal skills perspective, 78 per cent of students stated that they had learned a lot about legal advocacy, what makes a good advocate and the importance of interaction with the judges (even if this interaction was negatively perceived). Of great importance from an educational perspective was that students also did not find the court rooms intimidating as they first envisaged and this inspired confidence in them. One student commented:

I learned what it was like to see the Supreme Court in action. It was particularly interesting to see the interaction between the judges and the barristers. Also I learned the placement of the various figures in the courtroom.

Sixty seven per cent of students found that the field trip did not alter their career choice. Of those 67 per cent, however, some did note that the field trip had introduced some uncertainties but overall they were sure that they were making the right choice for them. 33 per cent of students found that the field trip had radically altered their career selection, in many cases from solicitor to barrister and vice versa.

One of the objectives of the field trip had been to develop student confidence in engaging with the professional institutions and in visiting court. After the tour 100 per cent of students expressed an increase in confidence in dealing with the legal profession and in attending court hearings. Simply ‘knowing the layout of a building or what to expect in a law society lecture’ was of immense benefit to the students. One student commented:

Yes, I considered visiting the Four Courts before but I backed out as I did not want to enter the wrong courtroom or some other silly mistake! I now feel more confident about going again.

One hundred per cent of students were confident that this should be offered again to first year students and that the students would obtain similar benefits as they had. Students recognised the motivation that the field trip had produced in their colleagues and how it had inspired them to work harder.

Students reported that the field trip had provided them with a greater insight into the profile of a professional lawyer and the importance of developing their curriculum vitae beyond the academic field. While noting the importance of academic achievement, the students found that involvement in other activities such as moot court competitions was a very important aspect of the legal profession.

The authors are aware that the sample size is restricted. However, the results obtained are so overwhelmingly consistent that it is possible to distil a number of very important principles.

First, the use of field trips in legal education is beneficial from a number of perspectives: as a motivating tool for both study and extra-curricular activities and as a means of contextualising legal theory and focusing the students on career options and possibilities. One of the most significant benefits is also the de-mystification of the legal professions and the courts. The field trip acted as an empowering tool for students and assisted them in gaining ownership over future learning experiences.

Secondly, the trip encouraged the development of other very important skills in the students, some associated with legal education and other more general personal skills also. The students witnessed advocacy in action in the Supreme Court and realised the importance of moot court activities in the university setting. Other skills, such as curriculum vitae development and improved confidence in dealing with legal professionals were also advanced during the field trip.

Finally, the field trip also had some unintended consequences. The students on the field trip reported that it had been a very important bonding experience with other students in their class whom they had not had an opportunity to meet and get to know during the busy law school term. Also, the students observed that their relationships with their lecturers improved during the trip and they were now more confident in approaching them for help and guidance in the future.

Field trips provide students with an opportunity to observe the law in action, contextualise their legal theory and develop important legal and personal skills. Confucius once wrote: ‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand’. Field trips create an opportunity for students to ‘do’ law. This research reveals that this element of ‘doing’ does, in fact, increase a law student’s ‘understanding’ of law, legal professionals and their role as a student of law.


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