Contents
Presenters
Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos – Head of Department, Academic Programmes, The City Law School
Paper
Integrating theory and practice, exposing students to transformative career development opportunities, while allowing them to explore their discipline in its institutional, professional and cultural context, are key themes that my contribution will be addressing; they resonate strongly with the extra-curricular activities and inclusivity sub-themes of the conference.
Taking as its starting point pedagogic scholarship on the (positive) impact of extra-curricular (‘beyond the classroom’) activities (and their inherent challenges) on learning and teaching and the student experience in higher education institutions, the presentation then guides participants through an audio-visual journey of learning through exploration of places and institutions, action, (critical) reaction, self-discovery, and connecting with others. It also invites participants to reflect on how we can overcome socio-economic barriers to access and participation.
The presentation draws on case studies (e.g. Law in Real Life at CLS, and the Beyond the Classroom initiative I designed and led on at my previous institution) to suggest exciting new directions for learning and teaching, and the student experience, taking Law as an illustration, before suggesting ways in which a ‘beyond the classroom’ approach could benefit students at the University more broadly, for example by immersing them in professional environments outside the University (e.g. as part of field trips to industry, governmental institutions, third sector organisations) or enriching their social and cultural capital, sense of belonging and self-confidence, by bringing them together in the context of cultural activities in London (such as attending exhibitions, taking part in immersive theatre or going to the cinema to engage with key debates underpinning their studies) or cross-departmental activities of common interest (such as ‘debating’ for Law and Politics students, or negotiation simulation exercises where Business students work with students in Law).
The presentation offers an analysis of the benefits of a ‘beyond the classroom’ programme that starts by integrating theory and practice, engaging students in experiential learning activities and enhancing career awareness (that equip students with transferable skills and empower them to explore a range of career destinations). The programme then more ambitiously also aims to immerse students in legal, political, economic and cultural London, and create opportunities for a humanised educational environment sustaining meaningful relationships between staff and students. The challenge here lies in injecting aspects of a liberal arts approach into highly professional programmes (like Law or Business), with the aim of investing in building emotional intelligence capital, nurturing critical reflection, gaining in self-confidence and obtaining a cosmopolitan perspective.
Rather than being intended as simple exposition of places and activities that may be adopted in the context of this programme, the presentation will instead prioritise bringing forward and amplifying the voices of students who have previously participated in ‘beyond the classroom’ activities.
Potential questions:
- how can we overcome (financial, logistical, institutional) barriers to a Beyond the Classroom programme?
- how can we guarantee let alone optimise student and staff participation in the programme, in departments with hundreds of students (and high teaching/marking loads)
- how can we marry being the University for the professions with a contextual or cosmopolitan education approach?
References
Egle Dagilyte and Peter Coe, ‘Professionalism in higher education: important not only for lawyers’ (2014) 48 The Law Teacher 33.
Jessica Erickson, ‘Experiential learning in the lecture hall’ (2013) 6 Northeastern University Law Journal 87.
Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology, 42(4), 698–713
Samuel D Museus. “The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model: A new theory of college success among racially diverse student populations” Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (2014)
William M. Sullivan, Educating Lawyers – Preparation for the Profession of Law (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2007)
