Catherine Dunham, associate professor of law, and Steve Friedland, professor of law and senior scholar, recently presented at the Learning in Law 2008 conference, held Jan. 3-4 at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
Their session was titled “When technology meets engaged learning: a critique of legal education in the 21st century.” Dunham and Friedland discussed Elon’s engaged approach to legal learning and how the law school is confronting established problems, such as the use of laptop computers and other technology in the classroom and a lack of diagnostic an formative feedback, in new ways.
Friedland’s presentation focused on the advantages of using engaged and active learning methodology in all aspects of legal education. His remarks combined research on the ways people learn with the cognitive and practice-ready objectives of a law school.
Dunham talked about the interface between technology and legal education learning. She presented data to demonstrate how student learning has adapted to modern technology. She also sampled methods faculty can use to actively engage technology-savvy students in the classroom.
The Learning in the Law 2008 conference, hosted by The UK Centre for Legal Education, focused on curriculum design and development in legal education. Scholars and educators from law schools in Europe, Taiwan, Australia and the United States gathered to share best practices and research on legal education. The keynote speakers were Sally Kift, professor of law at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and Avrom Sherr, director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.