Flipped Learning in Criminal Advocacy Skills Training

The Law School of the Law Society of Ireland is the sole centre for solicitor education in the Republic of Ireland. This paper details a flipped learning intervention undertaken in 2015 in a practical legal skills module ... [ view full abstract ]

The Law School of the Law Society of Ireland is the sole centre for solicitor education in the Republic of Ireland. This paper details a flipped learning intervention undertaken in 2015 in a practical legal skills module for trainee solicitors. Flipped learning is an emerging concept in higher education, which seeks to invert the traditional role of classroom-based instruction and learner-based practical application of knowledge; instruction is made available online in the learner’s personal space, and subsequent classroom sessions transform into active learning environments. This research observed and evaluated the effect of that flipped learning.

The Course Manager who designed and delivered the course and her faculty at the Law School had observed that by the conclusion of this legal skills module, trainee solicitors exhibited a ‘gap’ in their knowledge; notably that they were not fully able to integrate their learning from all aspects of the module and apply their learning in an end-of-module practical workshop, which takes the form of a mock criminal trial. Two flipped resources were created – an interactive video lecture and an exemplar movie of a mock criminal trial. Trainees engaged with these two resources online in advance of participating in their own mock trial in the end-of-module workshop.
Both trainees and the tutors who facilitated the workshop were evaluated and also participated in focus groups and interviews. The findings of the evaluations, focus groups and interviews show a positive effect on trainee knowledge and application following this flipped learning intervention. Tutors, who have facilitated the end-of-module workshop for several years, noted an improvement in trainee integrated knowledge as demonstrated in advocacy role-play, in comparison to previous ones. Trainees reported benefits of their flipped learning experience and are open to further implementation of this model elsewhere in the curriculum. This flipped learning intervention is the first of its kind in solicitor skills education in Ireland and this paper seeks to add to a growing body of literature on this topic.

Keywords: ICT; flipped learning, professional legal education, practical legal skills, trainee solicitors, Law Society of Ireland