Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 3 x 1 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Final Report on the Replacement (1,500 words) | 60% |
| Semester Assessment | Oral Presentation on the Replacement | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | Complete 6 formative self-reflective logs. | 30% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Submission of Extended Reflective Placement Report (3,000) | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Apply knowledge and develop an understanding of law/ legal advice/law support functions in practice
2. Apply theoretical concepts to review and enhance practice
3. Identify tasks and problems relevant to the placement organisation and facilitate appropriate outcomes
4. Evaluate their own performance and increase awareness of their own skill profile
5. Use self-assessment and reflection to engage with goal setting and action planning
6. Participate in self- assessment over a broad range of tasks
7. Engage proactively with individuals and groups within the organisation
8. Develop the ability to reflect on knowledge and experience gained on placement
9. Present ideas effectively in both written format and oral presentation
10. Communicate and collaborate effectively with peers and with diverse individuals within the practice setting
11. Develop competence in a wide range of transferable skills, including reading, assimilating, investigating, and criticising complex organisational or institutional systems
12. Acquire perspective-taking techniques i.e. the capacity to understand multiple viewpoints on a given topic.
13. Develop the ability to communicate academic knowledge in a practical setting using modes appropriate to the placement, including oral, written, and electronic communication
14. Acquire legal interpretive, inquiry, and problem-solving skills pertaining to the placement undertaken.
15. Acquire the ability to reflect on the connections between legal knowledge and inquiry skills on one hand, and practical business/workplace outcomes on the other.
16. Acquire an understanding of the role and value of legal knowledge and skills in the world of work.
17. Develop an understanding of how various forms of inquiry employed by the legal community of practice produce valuable real-world insights
18. Acquire an awareness of social challenges faced by vulnerable veterans and or their families.
Brief description
The module places great importance on work experience with ring-fenced opportunities for Aberystwyth law students. It primarily aims to serve as an innovative interdisciplinary platform in which law students experience the ‘law in action’ through placements with third sector organisations. The interdisciplinary components of the module are multilayered, involving different activities. For example, students placed with Cantref This interdisciplinary module aims to provide law students with the opportunity to undertake a law and social justice placement in the final year with signatory organisations to the Ceredigion Armed Forces Community Covenant (CAFCC) (i.e. Cantref or Ceredigion’s Citizens Advice Bureau). The CAFCC is a statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local armed forces community. It is intended will gain insight into Housing law and Criminal law through training and through exposure to real-life case studies involving housing issues and landlord/tenant disputes.
The interdisciplinary nature of this module will deepen the ability of law students to learn transferable skills and gain authentic work experience. It will also enable them to work in multi-disciplinary teams to solve real life problems and enhance their ability to identify and cultivate additional resources and networks. The module’s focus on broader problem solving (rather than strict legal analysis and application) encourages a holistic approach to resolving real-world social issues and defending the rights of marginalized groups spanning non-legal disciplines like social work and mental health.
The module is an excellent way for law students to improve their chances of securing a training contract or pupillage. Practical experience gained on placement as part of the module will make the student stand out from the crowd, and might well make that crucial difference when applying for training contracts or pupillages.
Entry to this module is by selection following application and interview during the preceding semester or as soon as possible thereafter. Only a limited number of students can be accepted: 4-8 students. The module requires a DBS Disclosure check
Content
Placements will generally be arranged by the module coordinator. The module will be delivered over two semesters. Attendance is one day per week i.e. Wednesday for 7 hours. For a placement to be recognised it should be of at least twelve weeks duration (equivalent to 84 hours of placement work i.e. 42 hours per semester).
Preparing and writing the 1,500 word placement report will ordinarily involve undertaking research. The placement report will assess the student's understanding of the project in which they have been involved and their ability to reflect on the outcomes of the placement. The report will take the form of an academic essay on the placement, i.e. not only an account of the tasks completed but an intellectually robust critical reflection highlighting the link between the placement and a relevant area(s) of study.
Students will be advised to structure the report in the following way:
1. Introduction.
A brief account of the nature of the organisation at which you worked: your role and principal duties within the organisation; your weekly schedule and an explanation (if necessary) of any disruptions to that schedule. (300 words)
2. Body.
A critical reflection on your experience of the work placement. In particular, you may like to address the following questions:
- How did the organisation correspond to your academic interests?
- Were your initial ideas about the organisation confirmed by the work placement itself?
- How were you challenged in the course of the work placement, and how did you resolve any difficulties?
- What was your contribution to the goals of the organisation? (700 words)
3. Conclusion.
An assessment of the outcomes of the work placement. Comment on how you have grown intellectually and professionally as a result of the placement. How has the placement changed your thinking about the relationship between your academic interests and the working environment? (500 words)
Reflection is an integral part of the placement. Students are expected to complete 6 formative reflective logs using the ‘journal tool’ provided on Blackboard. Guidance will be provided via an assessment rubric which sets out the criteria and standards for the reflective journal.
In addition to their placement requirements, students will attend seminars on campus which address issues relevant to their placement experiences and their development as future legal professionals. These issues include:
- lawyer/client relationships,
- ethical and professional obligations, and
- access to legal services in rural areas.
Please note that these topics are only meant to serve as examples.
Students will be encouraged to engage with these concepts through listening to guest speakers i.e. members of the legal profession.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Effective use of different communication methods, including the final report, oral presentation and reflective diary. Also oral communication will be encouraged and developed during interactive seminar discussions and in their interactions with colleagues and/or clients in their work placement. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Assessment via the final report, oral presentation and a reflective diary will enhance critical self-reflection and self-awareness. |
| Information Technology | Acquired through the use of a reflective journal via Blackboard and also through activities undertaken during the placement. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Learning throughout the module will equip students with the necessary knowledge, transferable skills, and confidence to succeed in a wide variety of careers including law. The module is very well placed to enhance student learning in these areas, in fact it is the underlying ethos behind the module. |
| Problem solving | In the course of their placement they will have to solve many practical issues which will develop and enhance students critical and practical problem solving skills. |
| Research skills | Research skills will be developed by accessing literature on the aspects of their placement. |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | Placement organisations such as Cantref rely on team work so the module will necessarily enhance team working skills. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6