Dr Susy Menis, Lecturer in Birkbeck’s Law School, teaches a Get Started Law Taster course, which aims to give people without experience of studying at a UK university an opportunity to try out a university level course. In this blog, she shares her approach to teaching, what she wants learners to achieve, and why she enjoys teaching the course so much.
Dr Susy Menis outside Birkbeck’s Malet Street building
What is the Get Starter taster course, and who is it for?
This is a freebie short course run by Birkbeck once a term. Currently, it offers tasters in law, criminology, and computer science. This initiative is targeted to welcome those who may feel excluded from taking a step into higher education.
How did I get into the delivery of the Law taster?
I had set up an artwork exhibition at Stratford Public Library with the help of the Access and Engagement team; then, the Coronavirus hit us. Subsequently, I could not turn down their plea to deliver free online content to a target audience. The first Law taster occurred in June 2020 on Collaborate; I was told it sold out.
Online delivery so early in the pandemic wave, panic?
No. During my PhD studies, I taught and designed content for Kaplan Open Learning on behalf of Essex University Online. I was also an associated lecturer at the Open University remote LLB programme, and in 2017/18, I created a blended-learning option module for the Birkbeck LLB. Still, I needed content, and I knew that a ‘transfer’ of in-person learning materials into an online context is not what relevant pedagogy advises. Hence, I felt under pressure.
So, how did I approach this?
I reminded myself of the two principles I had followed in my teaching and that I applied the Certificate HE Legal Studies (I re-designed it from scratch in 2018 as its new programme director): 1. less is more, and 2. active learning. These need to be matched with the right level of delivery, and the first taster’s cohort set the threshold: Union members and Reps between 30+ to 50+ years of age (now we have younger students, too) and a majority of up to level 3 formal qualifications (few on 5 and 6). Subsequently, I added another principle: 3. recognise adult learners’ prior knowledge.
My taster is delivered yearly on Teams across four weeks, and now I alternate between two different contents. Last year, the taster was about ‘The curious case of the “flick knife”’ and concerns legal reasoning. This year’s topic was ‘Common law and legislation in practice: the case of theft’, and it looks at the interplay between legislation and judicial precedent.
What do I want learners to achieve?
The overarching learning outcome I want the students to achieve is a ‘transformative learning’ experience. ‘Transformative’ could range from the emotional sense of and practical achievement of attending a course, contributing to class discussion, and being heard to learning something new and the cognitive satisfaction of its application in context.
Learning is scaffolded and focuses on bit size depth of knowledge, emphasizing critical thinking and application. Each week’s learning builds on a short, recorded lecture. The live sessions are teacher-led, but the students bring the knowledge we work with. To this end, I avoid ‘lecturing’; I ask open questions, we reflect, and concepts are illustrated through students’ application to scenarios.
My final thoughts
Recent pedagogical scholarship recognises the significance of the teacher’s social presence and learners’ motivation in online learning, and this taster allowed me to reflect on the grounding of my practice. My main conclusion is that this has been a transformative experience for me too, not least because I was struck by the dynamic collaboration between the students and me and how much they said they got out of it. I am looking forward to the next cohort 2024/25!
Here’s some recent feedback from attendees of the course:
“Reflective skills for sure, reasoning skills, reading complex information!! Really, I enjoy very much all of the sessions!!”
“Miss Susy, and to the whole management team thanks a ton for putting together this awesome law taster. It was truly memorable & I won’t forget it anytime soon. Your efforts made it extra special, I really appreciate it”
“The Law Taster journey has been an absolute bliss with you”
“Absolutely adored today’s session. Thank you so much for making it so interactive”
“I like the cases and the incisive way Susy teases out the legal logic and principles to make us understand more simply”
Further information
