scholarly journals The Potential of Capstone Learning Experiences in addressing perceived Shortcomings in LLB Training in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1390
Author(s):  
Geo Quinot ◽  
SP Van Tonder
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Design Element ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Capstone Courses

Current debates about legal education in South Africa have revealed the perception that the LLB curriculum does not adequately integrate various outcomes, in particular outcomes relating to the development of skills in communication, problem solving, ethics, and in general a holistic view of the law in practice. One mechanism that has been mooted as a potential remedy to this situation is capstone courses, which will consolidate and integrate the four years of study in the final year and build a bridge to the world of practice. A literature review on capstone courses and learning experiences (collectively referred to as capstones) indicates that these curriculum devices as modes of instruction offer particular pedagogical advantages. These include inculcating a strong perception of coherence across the curriculum and hence discipline in students, providing the opportunity for students to reflect on their learning during the course of the entire programme, creating an opportunity to engage with the complexity of law and legal practice, and guiding students through the transition from university to professional identity. An empirical analysis of the modes of instruction used in LLB curricula at 13 South African law faculties/schools indicates that there are six categories of existing modules or learning experiences that already exhibit elements of capstone-course design. These are clinics, internships, moots, research projects, topical capstones and capstone assessment. A further comparative study into foreign law curricula in especially Australia and the United States of America reveals four further noteworthy approaches to capstone-course design, namely problem-based learning, the virtual office, conferences and remedies courses. The empirical study suggests that capstones indeed hold the potential as learning experiences to address some of the challenges facing legal education in South Africa but that further development of this curriculum-design element is required.

Capstone experiences in small MPA programs in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Younhee Kim
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Directed Group ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Paper Model ◽  
Capstone Courses ◽  
Pilot Experience ◽  
Quasi Experimental

A capstone experience, as an exit degree requirement, allows Master of Public Administration (MPA) students to build quasi-experimental practices by applying learned knowledge and skills throughout their curriculum in the United States. Accredited MPA programs have implemented their capstone courses differently to achieve required standards. Small programs have faced more challenges in organizational capacities than big programs. Although no consensus on standard capstone course components has been made, this study intends to discuss feasible capstone formats for small programs by reviewing the relatively small accredited MPA programs. The majority of the comparable programs have adopted the professional paper model with different course structures. In response to the program reviews and the pilot experience, three components are suggested to redesign a capstone course for small programs: faculty-directed; group-based; and project-focused. The capstone pilot experience has confirmed that ownership by the involvement of many faculty and external inputs in designing the course is critical to implement successful capstone experiences for small programs.

scholarly journals Notes On Accounting Capstone Course Design: Contemporary Issues Versus Case Analysis Enhances Student Interest And Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Clemense Ehoff, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Future Study ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Capstone Courses ◽  
Research Findings

This paper presents how the Internet can be used to bring contemporary issues into the accounting capstone course to enhance student interest and learning.  While existing cases have been reviewed and structured, they focus on issues that may not be at the forefront of the items currently under examination and/or debate by the accounting profession.  Based on course development and delivery experience at a major Eastern University, the benefits and drawbacks of using the Internet to select contemporary accounting issues are presented and compared to existing research findings as a basis for future study.   While the focus of this paper is on accounting capstone courses, the concepts and techniques presented can be applied to capstone courses in other disciplines.

scholarly journals Interface of Law and Medicine in Clinical Legal Education: Success story of the Women’s Law Clinic in improving the health of women and ensuring women’s access to Justice in Nigeria

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevwe Omoragbon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Success Story ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Social

<p>Specialist law clinics now operate both in the developed and developing world. The historical background of these specialist law clinics can be traced to the United States. They also abound in South Africa, Europe and are fast emerging in several African countries. It is however outside the scope of this paper to describe the wide variety of specialist law clinic models that exist in other countries.</p><p><br />At present in Nigeria, there are seven Nigerian Universities with law clinics. These law clinics in enhancing the social justice frontier have developed projects addressing specific problems; making them specialists in service delivery, but the Women’s Law Clinic, is the only gender specialist law clinic.</p>

scholarly journals Accounting Capstone Course Design: Using The Internet To Modernize A Graduate Accounting Capstone Course

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Diane S. Bloom ◽  
Clemense Ehoff Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Future Study ◽  
Course Design ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Capstone Courses

This second paper describes how the Internet was used to modernize a graduate accounting capstone course to enhance student interest and learning, and is an extension of an earlier paper that examined a similar approach with an undergraduate accounting capstone course. Course content was developed from contemporary issues and cases obtained from the Internet. Benefits, drawbacks, and feedback from students who completed the updated course are presented as a basis for future study. The concepts and techniques presented in this analysis can easily be applied to capstone courses in other disciplines.

scholarly journals Integrative learning approach in ESP/ELP: Theoretical framework of intradisciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary integration

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (88) ◽  
pp. 179-198
Author(s):  
Gordana Ignjatović
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Integrative Learning ◽  
Structural Framework

In English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Integrative Learning has been used in many contexts as a conceptual and structural framework for designing holistic and authentic learning experiences. This approach encompasses many intradisciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. Given the prominent role of English for Legal Purposes (ELP) or Legal English (LE) in legal education, this article explores the theoretical framework of Integrative Learning approach to ELP/LE curriculum design for academic and professional purposes in tertiary education. The first part of the paper presents the conceptual framework of Integrative Learning in contemporary education, legal education and ESP/ELP instruction. The second part examines the conceptual framework and tenets of different (intra/multi/inter/transdisciplinary) approaches to curriculum design. The third part reviews the tenets of the integrated curriculum, as a structural framework for integration of these diverse perspectives, focusing on the major challenges and multidimensional alignments in ELP/LE course design. As integrative learning offers viable solutions for authentic learning in various academic/professional contexts, the paper aims to encourage cooperation in developing integrated law-andlanguage programs and promoting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary legal education.

Dynamics of Culture and Curriculum Design

2018 ◽  
pp. 1914-1936
Author(s):  
Helen Mele Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Course Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Culturally Responsive Curriculum

The population of the United States of America is becoming more diverse ethnically, racially, and linguistically (Hobbs, Stoops, & Long, 2002). The challenge this poses to faculty of teacher education programs is to edify teacher candidates who are prepared to teach children who might be from a culture other than their own. In this chapter, the author presents a curriculum design model and describes course implementation for exploration of the topic of culture with undergraduate early childhood teacher candidates in a foundations course. Through the course design the preservice teachers are offered an understanding of what is needed to develop the knowledge and skills to be a culturally competent teacher capable of developing a culturally responsive curriculum.

Dynamics of Culture and Curriculum Design

2016 ◽  
pp. 93-114
Author(s):  
Helen Mele Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Course Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Culturally Responsive Curriculum

The population of the United States of America is becoming more diverse ethnically, racially, and linguistically (Hobbs, Stoops, & Long, 2002). The challenge this poses to faculty of teacher education programs is to edify teacher candidates who are prepared to teach children who might be from a culture other than their own. In this chapter, the author presents a curriculum design model and describes course implementation for exploration of the topic of culture with undergraduate early childhood teacher candidates in a foundations course. Through the course design the preservice teachers are offered an understanding of what is needed to develop the knowledge and skills to be a culturally competent teacher capable of developing a culturally responsive curriculum.

scholarly journals Towards a Sound Pedagogy in Law: A Constitutionally Informed Dissertation as Capstone Course in the LLB Degree Programme

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Andrea Bauling
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Degree Programme ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Academic Influence

The LLB degree programme (Bachelor of Laws) should adequately prepare graduates for the demands set by both legal practice and the greater South African society. Law schools are not tasked with producing future legal practitioners, but rather critical thinkers who can engage with the relationship between law and society in a meaningful way, and who recognise their duty to uphold the values of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 when performing their professional duties. Resultantly law teachers should construct learning environments that engage students in ways that help them develop creativity; embedded subject knowledge; and autonomous learning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning skills. A well-structured LLB degree programme should focus on this broader conception of legal education and a dissertation module as capstone course should be closely aligned with this objective. A greater academic influence could result in an academically rigorous degree programme that produces more mature graduates who possess competencies and attributes that exceed that which is demanded of them by legal practice. One way to establish a greater academic influence in a degree programme would be to include a final year dissertation module which demands that students illustrate the ability to think critically. The final year of a degree programme should provide the student with several opportunities aimed at culminating the learning experience and consolidating the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the preceding years of study. Capstone courses facilitate in-depth learning and should be employed to teach crucial skills related to the purpose of the degree. A compulsory dissertation module as capstone course, which embodies the pedagogical approach of transformative legal education, should be included in the revised curriculum of all law schools in South Africa. This dissertation module should demand that students engage critically with the principles of transformative constitutionalism in order to facilitate thinking that goes beyond traditional and conservative constructions of the South African legal system and its purpose. Such a dissertation could develop a student’s metacognitive ability and result in the development of new legal skills, and the sharpening of existing skills. When producing a dissertation a student is learning to write as well as writing to learn. Crucially, the process of disserting also requires legal research skills and the ability to formulate effective research strategies. A law student who is capable of utilising various sources of law, synthesising the information found therein and presenting it effectively is illustrating elements of authentic learning. But this form of authentic learning in will be near impossible to achieve without the active guidance of a willing supervisor. Law teachers perpetuate legal culture and the supervisor-student relationship creates the opportunity to sculpt the culture instilled so that it may have the desired impact on the student. The supervisor could advance this process by empowering the student to construct critical and transformative views of South African law. A dissertation module presented in this manner could produce students who are able to engage with law constructively and who will graduate as responsible citizens and aspiring legal professionals who are excited about inspiring social justice and transformation in their communities. 

Dynamics of Culture and Curriculum Design

2019 ◽  
pp. 343-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Mele Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Course Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Culturally Responsive Curriculum

The population of the United States of America is becoming more diverse ethnically, racially, and linguistically (Hobbs, Stoops, & Long, 2002). The challenge this poses to faculty of teacher education programs is to edify teacher candidates who are prepared to teach children who might be from a culture other than their own. In this chapter, the author presents a curriculum design model and describes course implementation for exploration of the topic of culture with undergraduate early childhood teacher candidates in a foundations course. Through the course design the preservice teachers are offered an understanding of what is needed to develop the knowledge and skills to be a culturally competent teacher capable of developing a culturally responsive curriculum.

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