Games
Those of us in the embrace of OFSTED will be able to chant the mantra of what makes a good lesson: sharing aims and outcomes with the learners (not on any account to be called students), introductory or recap exercises, lots of question and answer, plenty of activities throughout the session and frequent checks on learning
To facilitate the process emphasis has been placed on using games to keep students active. This has been met with varying degrees of enthusiasm with a leading educationalist, Geoff Petty, taking a positive view:
'There is too much seriousness and not enough levity in most of our lives, so be brave and try using games -----games are universally enjoyed and encourage real attention to the task, and intrinsic interest in the subject matter.' (Petty 2004)
Obviously, if there are interactive whiteboards in teaching rooms then there is plenty of scope for multiple choice quizzes, games such as 'Who wants to be a millionaire?', crosswords and word searches. However, there are occasions when paper based activities may be more appropriate as a change from ILT or as a back up when ILT is not available. The activities chosen below concentrate on helping students remember cases and are useful for recap or revision purposes.
Card matching
This involves a bit of time and effort to draw up but can be used again and again especially if put on card and laminated.
Divide the class into groups and give each group three shuffled 'packs' of cards.
- Pack one = names of cases
- Pack two = summary of facts
- Pack three = legal principle illustrated
Example: The Tort of Nuisance
All the students have to do is to match up the cards correctly.
An alternative and less teacher centred approach is to give one or two examples to the students and then let them make up their own cards and test each other. Working in pairs, the students can be given particular topics to concentrate on using their notes and/or text books.
If you have a smallish group, another way of using these cards is to hand one to each student as they come in at the start of a lesson and let them wander round the room trying to find the student with the matching card. It's probably best just to use two of the packs for this: the names of the cases in one pack with either the facts or the legal principles in the other and to put a strict time limit on the activity. You can then go through all the cases with the whole group.
Cubes
Make a cube out of thin paper and write a question on each of the six sides. The students, in groups can roll the 'dice' and answer the question that comes up. It is best if the questions are open ended so that the game doesn't come to a very quick end! For example, if the topic is voluntary manslaughter in the form of provocation, students can be asked to name a case to illustrate a cooling off period, explain a case that gives an example of a special characteristic and so on.
Word clues
The following activity requires no pre prepared materials, just pens and paper. The students can be put into small teams and marks given for correct answers. All that happens is that you say a word or phrase associated with a case and the students have to try to remember and write down the case name. It works better with some cases than with others but the students find it reasonably entertaining. Questioning can then be used to explore the legal principles involved in the decisions. Some examples follow:
Contract:
- Catching 'flu (Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co 1893)
- Flick knife (Fisher v Bell 1961)
- Bumper Hall Pen (Harvey v Facey 1893)
Tort:
- Decomposed snail (Donoghue v Stevenson 1932)
- Auditors (Caparo Industries plc v Dickman 1990)
- Yorkshire Ripper (Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire 1988)
A variation on this is to start the narrative of a case and let the students finish it and provide the case name.
Examples:
- What happened to a blind man as he was walking along the road? (Haley v LEB 1965)
- A man was taken to hospital because he could not stop vomiting. What happened next? (Barnett v Chelsea & Kensington HMC 1969)
These are just a few examples of what can be done and can take up as much or as little time as you choose. Other ideas on how to stimulate the interest of the students and develop their knowledge and understanding will be very welcome.