Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices

Commentators have questioned whether online instruction is appropriate and effective for practical legal training (PLT), and called for research regarding the incorporation of information and communication technologies (such as online discussions) into PLT. Course evaluations at one PLT site had ind...

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Main Authors: Anneka Ferguson, Elizabeth Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bond University 2012-01-01
Series:Legal Education Review
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.6258
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author Anneka Ferguson
Elizabeth Lee
author_facet Anneka Ferguson
Elizabeth Lee
author_sort Anneka Ferguson
collection DOAJ
description Commentators have questioned whether online instruction is appropriate and effective for practical legal training (PLT), and called for research regarding the incorporation of information and communication technologies (such as online discussions) into PLT. Course evaluations at one PLT site had indicated that students are less satisfied with online discussions than other teaching media. Student satisfaction is relevant to effective learning; satisfaction relates to the affective domain of learning, in which students’ motivation to learn is influenced by their perception of the value of a learning task, and their ability to complete it. This paper reports an exploratory practitioner-initiated study that developed and implemented an online questionnaire to collect data from PLT students in three states, regarding their satisfaction with online discussions. Students’ perceptions of ‘community of inquiry framework’ elements, Marzano and Kendall’s ‘self-system’ factors, and other contextual aspects, were investigated and tested for correlations. The study found student satisfaction with the online discussions was most closely associated with ‘teaching presence’. Students’ satisfaction with student-student interactions was closely associated with ‘self-system’ factors. It is submitted that the PLT lecturer’s role in online discussions should be further investigated to develop and describe evidence-based best practices for PLT.
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spelling doaj-art-5e5b7326767f45aaa8a3c06e636bd9912025-08-20T03:22:31ZengBond UniversityLegal Education Review1033-28391839-37132012-01-0122110.53300/001c.6258Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment PracticesAnneka FergusonElizabeth LeeCommentators have questioned whether online instruction is appropriate and effective for practical legal training (PLT), and called for research regarding the incorporation of information and communication technologies (such as online discussions) into PLT. Course evaluations at one PLT site had indicated that students are less satisfied with online discussions than other teaching media. Student satisfaction is relevant to effective learning; satisfaction relates to the affective domain of learning, in which students’ motivation to learn is influenced by their perception of the value of a learning task, and their ability to complete it. This paper reports an exploratory practitioner-initiated study that developed and implemented an online questionnaire to collect data from PLT students in three states, regarding their satisfaction with online discussions. Students’ perceptions of ‘community of inquiry framework’ elements, Marzano and Kendall’s ‘self-system’ factors, and other contextual aspects, were investigated and tested for correlations. The study found student satisfaction with the online discussions was most closely associated with ‘teaching presence’. Students’ satisfaction with student-student interactions was closely associated with ‘self-system’ factors. It is submitted that the PLT lecturer’s role in online discussions should be further investigated to develop and describe evidence-based best practices for PLT.https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.6258
spellingShingle Anneka Ferguson
Elizabeth Lee
Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
Legal Education Review
title Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
title_full Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
title_fullStr Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
title_full_unstemmed Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
title_short Desperately Seeking ... Relevant Assessment? A Case Study on the Potential for Using Online Simulated Group Based Learning to Create Sustainable Assessment Practices
title_sort desperately seeking relevant assessment a case study on the potential for using online simulated group based learning to create sustainable assessment practices
url https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.6258
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