Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

It is important for law students and legal professionals alike to have an understanding of the rule of law, of legal and human rights, and of how citizens can be protected by the Australian system of law and government. It is important to appreciate that many people in society face challenges accessing justice and enforcing their rights. This unit encourages you to think critically about the Australian legal system and access to justice issues. It also encourages you to consider the positive professional role of lawyers in upholding the rule of law.

Aims

This unit aims to give you a contextual understanding of the rule of law, its operation in practice and how historical, political, economic and social factors can impact on the legal system. It will assist you to understand the role of lawyers in the legal system and how you can develop a positive, client-focused practice framework upon which to operate as a legal professional.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Think critically about how our current system of law and government protects the legal and human rights of people in Australian society (GC1 and 2);
2. Appreciate the difficulties that some people face in accessing lawyers and courts due to political, economic, social and other factors (GC1 and 2);
3. Think critically about how the legal system can accommodate the specific needs of people from different groups within society such as women, children, Indigenous people and those from a variety of cultural backgrounds (GC1 and 2);
4. Identify the role of law reform in ensuring that the law remains abreast of social change (GC1 and 2);
5. Appreciate the holistic role that lawyers play in assisting people to resolve their legal problems and how legal professionals can develop skills in the adversarial and non-adversarial representation of clients (GC1, 2 and 6);
6. Appreciate how you as a future law professional can develop a positive, client-focused practice framework (GC6);
7. Start to develop your oral communication skills and your ability to work independently and manage your time effectively (GC3 and 5);
8. Learn about the place of resilience programs in the legal profession (GC7).

Content

The material covered in this unit includes:
1. The rule of law and human rights
2. An introduction to the role of legal professionals, and ethical and resilient legal practice and theory;
3. Access to justice.

Graduate Capabilities
Your understanding of the unit content and development of skills will assist you to acquire the following law graduate capabilities:
GC1. Discipline Knowledge;
GC2. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Research;
GC3. Effective Communication;
GC5. Work Independently and Collaboratively;
GC6. Professional, Social and Ethical Responsibility; and
GC7. Characteristics of Self-Reliance and Leadership.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is a combination of content and skills that will develop your graduate capabilities. Therefore the unit is taught through a combination of face-to-face lectures (held in week 1, 6 and 13); discussion forums to allow you to practise and develop your communication and legal problem solving skills (tutorials for internal students and online discussions for external students); and online materials (to enable you to start evolving into an independent learner).
Study Guide/Interactive Workbook
The study guide/workbook is central to your learning in this unit. It guides you through the readings for each week and provides you with activities to assist in your understanding of the key concepts of the unit content. These readings and activities should be completed prior to the lecture and tutorial each week as they form the basis for interactive discussion. One of the aims of the workbook is to assist you in adapting to studying law at university.
Lectures
In this unit face-to-face one hour lectures are held on campus (and audio-taped) in weeks 1, 6 and 13. The lectures in weeks 2-5 and 7-12 are delivered only on-line by Podcasts. The lectures for all weeks are accessible by audio tape, are available through the unit's Blackboard site and are supported by PowerPoint presentations.
Online Materials
Online learning and teaching resources to support student learning are available via the Blackboard site for this unit.
Discussion Forums
One hour tutorials are timetabled for internal students for weeks 2-12. This unit does not have tutorials in weeks 1 and 13.
For external students, asynchronous online tutorials will be held via an online discussion board.
Your learning in the discussion forums will assist you to understand the unit content by allowing you to relate your previous life experience to your learning, apply unit concepts that you have learned to real world scenarios, and discuss feedback and seek additional support if required. The discussion forums will also provide an opportunity to explore the theories and principles you have learned in greater detail, through engaging in discussion with fellow students and your tutor. The discussion forums will assist your reflection on your learning (as described in the feedback section below), and your development of basic academic skills, understanding of academic practices and expectations of study time.
External Attendance School
There is no external attendance school for this unit.

Assessment

In this unit you will be graded on a scale of one to seven.

Overview of Assessment:

Internal Students:
Summative assessment will be based on your discussion in tutorials, a poster presentation, and an end of semester closed book examination.

External Students:
Summative assessment will be based on your discussion online, an online poster presentation, and an end of semester closed book examination.

Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Law Faculty Assessment Information see the Blackboard site for this unit.Feedback on the development of your understanding of unit content and of the skills taught is provided through:

• The face-to-face tutorials (internal students) and a criteria sheet;


• Online discussion board (external students) and a criteria sheet;


• Individual written feedback on your poster provided by a criteria sheet;


• Generic feedback on the poster placed on the unit's Blackboard site;


• Generic feedback on the examination placed on the unit's Blackboard site; and


• The option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team by appointment.


• Examples of completed assessment items from previous years will be available on the unit Blackboard site.

You should reflect upon the feedback on your assessment in this unit (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Blackboard) for the purpose of identifying:

• gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the legal principles;


• inadequacies in your analytical methodology;


• strategies to improve your problem solving, oral and written communication skills in further assessment; and


• areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB.

You should record your work, the feedback and your reflection, noting your strategies for improvement, in your Student ePortfolio. This links with learning outcome 8.

Assessment name: Poster Presentation
Description: Both internal and external students will work in groups of up to four on the design of a poster. The theme of the posters will be "Access to Justice". Students will select their own topic from within that theme for the development of the poster using PowerPoint tools with a focus on issues and concepts covered in the unit. A poster presentation will occur in week 13. Internal students will present their posters at a presentation event held on campus in the Law library. Student teams will briefly orally explain their poster to the teaching staff assessing the posters at the event. External students will present their posters by uploading them to a presentation area on the Blackboard site. Student teams will briefly explain their poster in writing to the teaching staff assessing the posters online.
Relates to objectives: 1-8
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Online Discussion Forum
Description: If you are an external student, participating in discussion in the online discussion board is an important aspect of your learning in the unit. Therefore 20% of your marks in the unit relate to online discussion. Discussions will be guided by the activities for each week in the study guide/workbook. Your performance will be assessed according to the assessment criteria provided via the Blackboard site.
Relates to objectives: 1-8
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Weeks 2-12

Assessment name: Examination
Description: The examination is designed to assess your understanding of the unit content covered across the semester.
Relates to objectives: 1-8
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Central Exam Period

Assessment name: Discussion Forum
Description: If you are in internal student, participating in discussion in tutorials is an important aspect of your learning in the unit. Therefore 20% of your marks in the unit relate to tutorial discussion. Discussions will be guided by the activities for each week in the study guide/workbook. Your performance will be assessed according to the assessment criteria provided via the Blackboard site.
Relates to objectives: 1-8
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Weeks 2-12

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Prescribed Materials
Stephen Bottomley and Simon Bronitt, Law in Context (Federation Press, Sydney: 4th ed, 2012).
Recommended References
Patrick Parkinson, Tradition and Change in Australian Law (Lawbook, Sydney: 4th ed, 2009).
Blackboard site
Online resources for this unit are available on the unit Blackboard site.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 11-Oct-2012