What academics say

Team-teaching the topics was enjoyable for the teachers and beneficial for the students. Students received feedback from two people rather than one, providing them with a holistic view of their performance. The class became more manageable and efficient to run. It also helped students feel better prepared for the task ahead and provided the teachers with a sounding board for their ideas.

Considering both programs are relatively new and have been extensively revised in approach and format, scores in the unit evaluations for both units have increased from year to year and students have commented that the support they received in the programs was invaluable. They felt they were able to consolidate their skills for the oral exam and better understand what was required of them in the evidence- based practice assignment.

We have noticed a marked improvement in the academic level of students’ first assessment since the Library staff have been involved in specifically focused classes relating to research and the first assessment task. For academics teaching this unit, we are able to have confidence that the students are receiving instruction in writing skills and then we can focus our attention on legal content. The students found the classes incredibly useful and were very grateful that Library staff were available on an individual basis to provide further instruction.

I would recommend a similar program to my colleagues. Library staff have various teaching skills associated with literacy that can be specifically focused on the needs of our students that we, as academics, do not necessarily have the skills, ability or time to teach.

Students benefit from learning about the types of evidence that is available and where to source it. This type of program reinforces the skills that I am trying to instil in our students to be critical consumers of research evidence. Library staff are skilled, knowledgeable, collaborative and flexible. They readily adapt their services to the needs of specific units that students take.

Every subject we teach requires research skills. For myself, the Library program enabled me to brush up on skills I had let grow rusting. In particular, I found the work on utilising databases for research very valuable. Students saw that incorporating these skills led directly to better grades and by the end of the semester they were more than willing to learn these skills since they saw a direct benefit to themselves.

Feedback via unit evaluations has been overwhelmingly positive with many students noting how important it is to possess such skills and how they believe it has helped them improve as law students.

I am now much more competent in my own library skills. From a teaching point of view, students can no longer argue that they are unfamiliar with the Library’s resources.

The Library session helps first-years with transition issues as they become familiar with the library, its holdings and facilities, and its value as a friendly establishment where students can work together in groups or individually. Students then come to regard it as a place to study rather than to be avoided at all costs. They are generally unfamiliar with large libraries and seem to have accessed their data at school from the web. They are unfamiliar with the value of journal articles. Students in later years of their studies are able to broaden their use of the databases in their research rather than relying so heavily on one. Without exception, the Honours students found the sessions invaluable.

The Library has contributed to skills development as part of the SRP. Students undertaking a research project also need to learn some of the communication skills necessary to be an effective researcher.

I did not have to spend a great deal of time in seminars on skills- based learning and could focus on other aspects of the unit. It means that as students study the theory they are supported with how to practically use it through the library classes. I certainly noticed a dramatic improvement in the quality of student work particularly in their ability to research and apply their research. They are less in the dark about tackling legal problems. Students approach the subject matter more enthusiastically as they have the support network in the Library staff.

Discussing issues presented in assessment items with the Library team has been an excellent reflection tool, and draws out new considerations of skill gaps and different ways to address them. The partnership has taken a student-centred approach, where a programme of workshops for students was developed to enhance their skills based on their individual needs. The Library already offered these workshops. The key role of the faculty was the active promotion of the workshops to students, and connecting them more explicitly with the skills needing to be demonstrated in individual units. The other role the faculty played was to incentivise student participation.

A great student-focused team of staff working in partnership can better facilitate our students’ skill development. Students, whilst generally apprehensive at the beginning, could quickly identify the usefulness and application of the skills being developed, both in terms of repayment in their assessment programme as well as in realising better learning outcomes. Whilst the skills they develop are generally unit-specific, they can very well be applied to other units.