Abstract

This project will use superhero films and the superhero universe to engage students with their law studies and help them transit from high school to university learning. Law schools traditionally teach law in discrete subject areas with students gaining analytical skills as they progress on their studies. This project will reverse the traditional method of teaching law, beginning with a holistic view of the law and breaking it down into the subject areas they will study. The students will first view high-quality animated videos to introduce them to the issues they will consider in their law studies and the overlaps and interactions between them. They will then have flipped classes (Wolff & Chan, 2016), where they will be required to identify the areas of law involved in superhero films, begin to analyse the legal issues, and consider how the law should deal with these issues. These sessions will be student led, with the possibility of the same superhero scenarios being analysed as containing different legal issues by different groups of students. It is submitted that, strangely, the superhero universe provides a more realistic introduction to real legal issues than traditional teaching scenarios may.

Lutz-christian Wolff & Jenny Chan, Flipped Classrooms for Legal Education (Hong Kong: Springer, 2016).

Brief write-up

Project objectives

The project funding provided a research assistant who prepared materials to support the animated videos. The project had two objectives – to engage students with the law and to introduce law to them in a holistic form rather than as separated fragments. The project used superhero films to engage students with their law studies and help them transition from high school to university learning. Law schools traditionally teach law in discrete subject areas with students gaining analytical skills as they progress on their studies. This project reversed the traditional method of teaching law, beginning with a holistic view of the law and breaking it down into the usual categorisation of subject areas. The students first watched high-quality animated videos to introduce them to the issues they will consider in their law studies and the overlaps and interactions between them. They then had flipped classes, where they were required to identify the areas of law involved in superhero films.

Activities, process and outcomes

The materials were prepared. The course was delivered as a SPOC for the CUHK Summer Institute 2021. The course was delivered for Hong Kong solicitors as a Hong Kong Law Society accredited continuing professional development seminar on three occasions – once in 2021 and twice (so far) in 2022. The course will be delivered again as a SPOC for the CUHK Summer Institute in August 2022.

Deliverables and evaluation

The materials were provided and delivered as proposed. The only deliverable not achieved was the use of the course as a transitional course for CUHK LAW. With the recent experience of online teaching, it is submitted the course would work well as a transitional course and the Principle Supervisor will continue to lobby for the implementation of such a course.

The materials worked very well and received positive feedback from participants.

Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices

The course and the materials have been presented at teaching and learning conferences including the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) Teaching and Learning Innovation Expo 2021, CUHK LAW’s Directions in Legal Education Conference 2022, and as a seminar for CUHK LAW’s teaching and learning in law seminars in 2022.

Impact on teaching and learning

• Students have commented in the CUHK Course and Teaching Evaluation (CTE) process that the materials supplemented the videos and online classes which enhanced their understanding and learning.
• Practitioners at the continuing professional development seminars gave very positive feedback on the materials and courses.
• From a teaching perspective, I found the materials very useful to refer students to and to initiate questions from the students and discussion.