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The case for time turners – the practicalities of being a new law lecturer

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 43; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03069400903004251

1943-0353

Jessica Guth,

Law in Society and Culture

Abstract A time-turner is the device used by Hermione Granger in JK Rowling's Harry Potter books to turn back time so she can attend more than one class at the same time. They should, I believe, be standard issue for new law lecturers. This paper examines the practical day to day activities and my attempt to balance teaching, research, administration, training courses and other activities as a new law lecturer as well as maintaining a private life that is not wholly dominated by work. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Chris Gale and Dr Ruth Lamont for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. I am also grateful to the participants at the Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 for a helpful discussion on a related conference paper. Any errors or omissions remain my own. Notes 1T. Birkhead, “Summer Off? Not Likely”, THES, 4 September 2008, www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=403405§ioncode=26 (accessed 6 June 2009). See also J. Guth and F. Wright, “Women in the Higher Education Sector – Confronting the Issues for Academics at the University of Bradford”, 2008 Research report, www.brad.ac.uk/management/lawinbrief (accessed 6 June 2009). 2T. Birkhead, supra n. 1, www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=403405§ioncode=26, p. 1, (accessed 6 June 2009). 3J.M. Lang, On Course (London, Harvard University Press, 2008) at page 3. 4J. Biggs, Teaching for Quality Learning In Higher Education (Buckingham, SRHE/Open University Press, 1999) at page 23. A full discussion about the literature on curriculum design, assessment and related issues is beyond the scope of this paper but interested readers may like to refer to J. Moon, The Module and Programme Development Handbook (London, Routledge, 2002); N. Falchikov, Improving Assessment through Student Involvement (London, Routledge, 2005); D. Bould and N. Falchikov (eds), Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education (London, Routledge, 2007); P. Ramsden, Learning to Teach in Higher Education (London, Routledge, 2003); S. Toohey, Designing Courses for Higher Education (Buckingham, The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press, 1999). 5See Lang (2008), supra n. 3; Moon (2002), supra n. 4, Biggs (1999), supra n. 4. 6See Moon, supra n. 4. 7Our students receive a workbook containing the lecture outlines for the semester at the beginning of the course alongside a tutorial booklet containing tutorial exercises and a manual containing general course information. 8See for example P. Race, The Lecturer's Toolkit (London, Kogan Page, 2001) or Lang (2008), supra n. 3. 9D.A. Bligh, What's the Use of Lectures (Jossey-Bass, 2000), at page 147. 10See King (1973) cited in Bligh (2000), supra n. 9 and H. James in this issue. 11F. Cownie, Legal Academics (London, Hart Publishing, 2003) and Lang (2008), supra n. 3. 12Race (2001), supra n. 8 and Bligh (2000), supra n. 9. 13Lang (2008), supra n. 3 at page 64. 14Bligh (2000), supra n. 9 at page 230. 15Cownie (2003), supra n. 11, at page 125. 16T. Brabazon, The University of Google (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007) at page 9. 17Lang (2008), supra n. 3 at page xii. 18Race (supra n. 8) cites some good reasons to give lectures but generally my positive view of the use of lectures seems to run counter to the general current debate. 19G. Gibbs et al., 53 Interesting Things to Do in your Lectures (Technical and Educational Services Ltd, 1984). 20See H. James in this issue. 21 Supra n. 8. 22Finkel, Teaching with your Mouth Shut (Portsmouth, Boynton Cook, 2000). 23G. Brown and M. Atkins, Effective Teaching in Higher Education (London, Routledge, 1988). 24 Supra n. 3 at page 252. 25 Supra n. 8 at page 171. 26Student bursaries also depend on a satisfactory level of attendance although not, it seems, on a satisfactory level of engagement. 27 Supra n. 8. 28G. Gibbs and T. Habeshaw, Preparing to Teach (Bristol, Technical and Educational Services Ltd, 1989). 29 Supra n. 16 at page 1. 30A. Bradney, Conversations, Choices and Chances: The Liberal Law School in the Twenty-First Century (Oxford, Hart, 2003). 31 Supra n. 3. 32See J. Guth “My Conversations, Choice and Chances: Becoming a Law Lecturer in the 21st Century” (2008) JCLLE 6:1 41–54. 33Biggs (1999), supra n. 4. 34I am not keen on the term “best practice” because it insinuates that there is one right way of doing things and all other methods fall short of that ideal. However I use the term here deliberately because I did often feel that the PGC portrayed “best practice” as the only good way to teach. 35Brabazon (2007), supra n. 16 at page 6. 36 Supra n. 16 at page 1. 37 Supra n. 30 at page 199. 38Bradney (2003), supra n. 30.