‘Re-Imagining the Law’
Graduate Attributes
Presentation to ALTA Conference
Legal Education session
Cairns July 7 2008
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Support for this activity has been provided by
The Australian Learning and Teaching Council,
an initiative of the Australian Government
Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations. The views expressed in
this activity do not necessarily reflect the views
of The Australian Learning and Teaching
Council.
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Background Information
“Learning and Teaching in the Discipline of Law: Achieving and
Sustaining Excellence in a Changed and Changing Environment”
Council of Australian Law Deans: Discipline Based Initiative in Law
Professor Gary Davis, Flinders University Law School (Dean of Law 2001-2007)
Project
Director
gary.davis@flinders.edu.au
08 8201 3883
Dr Susanne Owen, Flinders University Law School
Senior
Research Fellow
owen0102@flinders.edu.au
Mob: 0412532107
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Australian Learning &
Teaching Council Grant focus
Diversity in Australian Law programs
 proliferation of law schools & students
 professional training vs intellectual discipline
 “selling” of Law as preparation for non-law careers
8 Goal areas for grant focus
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Australian Learning and
Teaching Grant goals for Law
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Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Developments
in Law (2003) report
Mapping diversity of student profiles/legal
education programs
Identifying infrastructure for stakeholder
consultation and engagement
Law graduate attributes framework
Standards for Australian law schools
Values of professionalism, ethics and service
Baseline data on mental well-being of law students
Processes for re-designing the law curriculum and
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future legal education delivery
Background Context
Diversity of Australian law programs and students
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Law enrolments: Over 17000 students in 2006
79% internal, others external, multimode
80% full-time (internal/external/ multimode)
66% under 25 years
Males: 39% (among over 25s, males 44%)
95% Australian born (incl.1.6% indigenous)
92% graduates in full time employment (Of these, 72% private,
20% govt)
Median salary $44000 (NSW $50000)
CALD website shows range of law programs in Australia,
costs, student support. Currently 32 law programs
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Methodology for Consultation
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Regional meetings: Brisbane, Adelaide,
Sydney, Perth, Melbourne + video/telephone
conference link
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30 law schools represented by one or more
senior representatives
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Graduate Attributes
‘..the qualities, skills and understandings a
university community expects its students to
develop during their time at the institution and
consequently, shape the contribution they are
able to make to their profession and as a
citizen’ (ATN, 2000)
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Reflects increased focus on integration of university
knowledge and practice within authentic contexts
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Background to Graduate Attributes
3 major factors in establishment:
o lifelong learning focus & need for highly skilled & flexible
professionals
o education/employment focus & professionals linked to
organisational goals
o emphasis on outcomes-based education (knowledge, skills,
attributes)
West Review of universities (1998) highlighted broader generic
skills: reflective thinking; technical/theory competence;
intellectual curiosity; effective communication; research; problem
solving & team work; ethical standards
 Other university-specific graduate attributes include : social
justice, global perspective, valuing cultural/intellectual diversity
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Employability Skills, Graduate
Attributes & Curriculum Renewal
‘….More than ever before universities are being relied upon as a
vehicle for advancement of both the national economy and wider
society. They do this through the creation of new knowledge and by
preparing graduates with appropriate skills and attributes. It makes
sense then for them to maintain a focus on keeping graduate
capabilities in line with the needs of the economy and society’
(Employability Skills for the Future report DEST, 2002: 25)
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Employability skills are subset of Graduate Attributes
Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry/Business Council of
Australia identified 8 employability skills
Employers v. university perspective: employability skills & applying
knowledge in work setting v. deep knowledge & ensuring students
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as work ready
Law Curriculum Renewal
ALRC (1999: para 2.21) Managing Justice
Report: highlighted need for curriculum
beyond content focus towards skills and
values:
… ‘what lawyers need to be able to do [rather
than] anchored around outmoded notions of
what lawyers need to know’
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University Graduate Attributes
Knowledge: Body of knowledge & skills
e.g ‘Operate effectively with and upon a body of knowledge’
Social & intellectual: Oral & written communication, team
work/initiative/independence/creativity, critical
thinking/problem-solving
e.g. ‘Communicates effectively’
‘Can work both autonomously & collaboratively’
‘Are effective problem solvers’
Attitudes & Values: Ethics, professionalism, lifelong l’ng
e.g. ‘Are committed to ethical action & social responsibility’
‘Lifelong learning’
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Other University-specific
Graduate Attributes
Knowledge:
• Technical & Research
Social & Intellectual:
 Scholarship
 Professional Practice
Attitudes & Values:
 Diversity & social justice
 Indigenous
 Internationalism & global citizenship
 Futures-oriented and change
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Genesis of Graduate Attributes
in Law Schools
• Compliance with University processes
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through refinement and alignment with
university level Graduate Attributes
Some pioneering development ahead of and
influencing university processes
One university encouraging disciplines to
generate statement of graduate
distinctiveness
Primarily “top-down”; “bottom-up” used
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Leadership of Development
& Sustainability
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Two levels: PROCESS & INSTITUTIONAL
PROCESS; person/committee with responsibility
& authority to drive – strong, ongoing &
consistent
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INSTITUTIONAL; high level backing
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Resourced & supported
Cooperation, enthusiasm; recognition
Manage resistance; ‘spoiler’ role
Adaptive leadership (Heifetz, Leadership
Without Easy Answers, 1994)
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Consensus building
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Collective responsibility→ corporate view
Compliance vs flexibility objectives
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Refine & adapt content
Unpack →learning outcomes: knowledge, skills,
attitudes
Retreats, sub-groups (e.g. first-year)
Negotiate and compromise
Use of ‘champions’
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Resources
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Access to sources of funds external to law
school
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Signals support, visible commitment
→sustainability
Used for consultants: process; re-design;
teaching methodologies; assessment
development; produce instructional material
Using non-$ resources e.g. sources of expertise
Strong message of sharing: publications,
conferences; workshops, ‘mini-festival’
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Approaches to Designing Law
Graduate Attributes
Link law to university Graduate Attributes
 e.g. University: ‘Operate effectively with and
upon a body of knowledge’
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Law : ‘Gain a deep understanding of the
origins, essential principles and limitations
of the common law system of justice
including a detailed knowledge of the
content of particular legal concepts’
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Law Graduate Attributes
example: Professionalism
Professionalism: ‘an attitude or stance towards
work and activity’ (university broad area)
Associated Law Graduate Attributes:
 ‘The graduate at… will be a consummate legal
professional
 Skills in lateral thinking and problem-solving which
enable the provision of appropriate advice and solutions,
not only in litigation but over a range of Alternative
Dispute Resolution mechanisms
 Uphold the highest ethical standards in discharging his
or her responsibilities to clients, other professionals, the
courts and the public
 Pursue lifelong learning in a dynamic discipline’
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Law Graduate Attributes example:
Community Responsiveness
Community Responsiveness: ‘an attitude or
stance towards society’ (university broad area):
Associated Law Graduate Attribute
 ‘Provide high quality service to employers,
government, and individual clients
 Acts as an advocate for the rule of law
 Accept responsibility to play a constructive role in the
maintenance and reform of the legal system
 Understand, evaluate and critically reflect upon the
interaction of law and society’
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Law Graduate Attribute
example: Scholarship
Scholarship: ‘an attitude or stance towards
knowledge and learning’ (university broad area)
Associated Law Graduate Attribute:
 ‘Capacity to engage in legal research
 High level ability in analysis, including legal analysis &
synthesis
 Superior verbal and written communication skills
 Critical thinking and reflective engagement with legal
material
 Pursue lifelong learning in a dynamic discipline’
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Components of Law Graduate
Attributes Documentation
• Identification and documentation of law
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Graduate Attributes
Mapping of law Graduate Attributes against
topics or development of vertical subjects
Identification of specific aspects/skills related
to law Graduate Attributes
Possible identification of levels of achievement
Assessment tasks aligned to graduate
attributes
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Law Graduate Attributes Curriculum
Mapping
Law curriculum reinvigorated using coherent &
systematic approach:
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developing law-specific graduate attributes and clear
outcomes
general overview mapping within individual
topics/areas
providing scaffolded learning opportunities for
students
transparency of assessment tasks and criteria related
to outcomes
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Evaluate law
program
effectiveness
using data &
re-plan
Clear goals re
legal knowledge,
lawyering skills,
professional values &
consideration of
student needs &
backgrounds
Scaffold learning
opportunities
Strategies to
moderate results
& ensure validity
of assessment
Clear criteria
for judging
performance
Explicit feedback
for law students
Assessmen
t of
knowledge,
practical
skills,
attitudes
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Various Processes for Curriculum
mapping with Law Graduate Attributes
1. Graduate Attributes mapped against law topics
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e.g. Ten Graduate Attributes mapped against 18
compulsory law subjects: UTS (see slide following)
2. Eight Graduate Attributes, generally vertically integrated
across various topics in each year of law degree (Griffith)
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Legal theory & inter-disciplinarity
Group Work
Legal Ethics
Generic & Legal skills
Internationalisation
Indigenous Issues
Legal knowledge
Diversity
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UTS Mapping
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Graduate Attribute levels
Single level or three levels (generic or specific
to particular GA)
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Single level: acknowledges flexible pathways
especially for part-time/double degree students
undertaking law studies
3 levels: introduce, develop, graduate or
foundation, developing, advancing
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Example of generic levels for
all law Graduate Attributes
Introduce: students instructed on theoretical framework & application of
capability within legal context, given opportunity to practise
capability with feedback and then assessment to determine
understanding of relevance of capability in legal context and
attainment of the capability
Develop: students provided with additional guidance of advanced level
of capability in environment linked to real world legal scenario and
feedback provided. Students reflect to support improvement and
summative assessment then occurs and students have opportunity
to practice capability in real world context and feedback provided on
attainment of capability
Graduate: students able to demonstrate graduate capability with
instruction limited to improvement of capability to an advanced level.
Students required to draw on previous experience and feedback
throughout course. Assessment occurs to determine student’s
demonstrated attainment of capability
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Levels of Graduate Attribute
example applied to ‘Being a critical
thinker’:
At UTS law, we develop this attribute in three stages to
give you an appropriate level of independent
thinking, creativity and critical analysis
Basic: comprehend meanings; aware of relationship of
source of information/writer motives/timing; use basic
skills of compare/contrast
Intermediate: basic plus ranking sources; deeper
comparison; comprehend implicit/explicit meaning; track
theories & identify assumptions; critical perspective
Advanced: intermediate plus challenge assumptions
underlying theory/practice; develop new perspective &
critically analyse
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Levels of GA example 2: Legal knowledge
Foundation: Procedural
Knowing how and why courts function
Knowing court hierarchies
Knowing court processes and why steps exist
Knowing the historical development of law and its methods
Knowing how legal systems differ
Knowing basic research techniques
Knowing basic writing techniques
Developing: Declarative:
Knowing legal doctrine in core categories of law
Developing a map of legal terrain
Building structured legal knowledge
Advanced: Functioning
Knowing theories of law and justice
Knowing dispute resolution techniques
Knowing advocacy techniques
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Skills/specific aspects within Law
Graduate Attributes
Some law schools have identified skills linked to
particular Graduate Attributes
 e.g. GA: ‘Excellent intellectual skills of analysis,
synthesis, critical judgement, reflection and
evaluation’
Skills:
 Collect and sort facts
 Identify and analyse legal issues
 Interpret legal texts
 Apply the law to real legal problems
 Invoke theory and inter-disciplinary knowledge to develop
new and creative solutions to legal problems
 Critique law and policy to develop new ideas about the law
and law reform
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 Participate effectively in debates about the law
Development of Assessment Framework
QUT: evidence-based work on assessment of law GA
 Review & development: gathering information on
valid & reliable assessment of
social/relational/cultural/generic capabilities
 Trial implementation & improvements developed
collaboratively in four graduate capabilities
 Evaluate and refine models in context
Key aspects:
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Focus on alignment & targeted capability
Feedback practice facilitating student capacity & reflective
practice
Assessment methods being valid and reliable
Provision of PD to support T&L improvements
Use range of evaluation: student/staff survey, focus groups,
reflective records, teamwork evaluation, expert review
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Principles in Designing Assessment Tasks
QUT assessment constructed on sound theoretical basis
including authentic assessment of all graduate capabilities
e.g. social/relational/cultural/generic (esp. oral, teamwork,
indigenous, ethics), with criteria rating of poor/fair/good for
individual assessment items (15) and for the overall
assessment strategy (4)
 Develop overall assessment strategy to allow students to
demonstrate learning in different ways, encourage range of
learning, create systematic & comprehensive assessment
package
 Individual assessment items: authentic, valid, reliable, fair,
unambiguous & supportive of student learning, & being
constructive and leading to deep learning, also providing timely
feedback to students
 Assessment helping teachers teach by providing timely
formative feedback to teachers, management student
assessment workload for staff and students, ethical
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assessment, provision of EO
Assessment Checklist (QUT)
Criteria (for individual assessment items): Poor (1)Fair (2)Good (3)Unknown (0)
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1 Is the assessment valid?
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2 Is the assessment reliable?
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3 Is the assessment fair?
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4 Is the assessment unambiguous in its intention?
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5 Is the assessment authentic?
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6-10 Does the assessment help students to learn by:
Being constructive
Relating well to different learning styles
Relating well to different cognitive styles
Obliging deep learning strategies
Providing timely formative feedback to students
Does the assessment help teachers to teach by:
11 Providing timely formative feedback to teachers
12 Is the assessment workload manageable by students?
13 Is the assessment workload manageable by staff?
14 Does the assessment provide equal opportunity?
15 Is the assessment ethical?
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Total Score (maximum = 45)
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16-18
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Criteria for whole assessment strategy:
allow students to demonstrate their learning in different ways
encourage students to learn in different ways
cohere together to make a systematic and complete assessment
Is the whole assessment strategy up and down-scalable?
Total Score (maximum = 57)
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or further information see D Nulty & S Kift, "Assuring the Quality of Assessment: A Case Study", ATN Evaluations and Assessment
Conference 2003, University of South Australia, 24-25/11/03. Retrieved June 24, 2008 from
QUT Aspects of Assessment
related to Teamwork
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Types of assessment – formative or summative;
peer/self/teacher assessed; external assessment;
individual or group marks; objectivity and subjectivity
of assessment criteria;
Assessment locations – in and outside classroom,
virtually;
Nature of teams – optional or compulsory; virtual;
self selected; tutor allocated; or random;
Learning about teamwork - lectures; tutorials; web
resources; proximal learning.
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Assessment Task Example linked
to Graduate Attributes: Teamwork
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1. Teamwork in the classroom task within practical skills unit ‘Drafting’.
End of each teamwork session, students assess selves in relation to
team using Teamwork Evaluation sheet and indicators (e.g equality of
contribution, ability to listen to others; discussion without domination;
ability to question within team, respect for other points of view; focus
on task; ability to reach consensus; appropriate allocation of roles).
This contributes to academic staff member assessment
2. Teamwork outside classroom task developed in 3 Law units (class
size 200-750, incl. some external students). In Law, Society & Justice,
Oral presentation in team & students completing formatively assessed
Teamwork Reflection sheet. In Corporate law, group assignment used.
Teamwork portfolio documents teamwork processes & self and peer
evaluation of teamwork sheet is part of summative assessment. In
Advanced Research & Legal Reasoning, group research tasks incl.
memorandum of advice, client letter, client newsletter. Students
complete Reflective Record of Teamwork
3. Teamwork in Corporate Law in virtual environment, assessment
includes Teamwork Portfolio documenting teamwork processes & self
and peer evaluation of teamwork. Support with group formation,
opportunities for virtual teams to meet face to face; private online
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discussion forum provided for each external team
Assessment Task Example linked
to Graduate Attribute: Ethical
Knowledge & Values
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Cognitive aspects of ethical knowledge in Professional
Responsibility
Established criteria: comprehension of resources, description of
main points, identification of issues, cohesion and cogency of
argument, overall construction, conclusions & professional
judgment
Ethical values or Attitudes difficult to assess. Use tutorials:
demonstrates an ethical approach during tutorial participation:
support for other students in their participation, enthusiasm and
commitment to beliefs, respect for opinions of others,
attentiveness when others speaking.
1st yr students Law Society & Justice, encourages ethical
stance early in course. Ethical Orientation Inventory devised &
beginning and end of course evaluations undertaken to see if
changes in ethical perspective
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Ethics Graduate Attribute: Law Assessment Task
Construct a hypothetical scenario that presents a professional
dilemma requiring students to work through the problem:
 Central issue?
 Nature of the problem, 'ethical', 'moral' or something else?
 Values, norms or standards to consider?
 Competing considerations and their weight or priority?
 Nature of decision-making process in reaching a decision?
 Effective methods for assessing Ethical Skills
Students are given a number of options with regards to completing
the assignment: written/oral and individual work/group of 3.
Criteria for assessment:
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Demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of nature and extent of lawyer's
dilemma;
Providing thorough analysis of the available choices and effects of those
choices;
Providing a clear indication of nature and source of values, norms or standards
applying in resolution of the dilemma;
Providing a clear justification for the conclusion that the students' reach; and
Overall coherence, structure and succinctness, effective language use and 38
expression.
Control
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“Academic freedom” challenge
Centralised control essential & overriding
Mandatory compliance model: “technical
leadership” (Heifetz)
Emphasis on holistic nature of outcomesdriven curriculum, teaching, assessment
“Adaptive leadership” → new pathway &
cultural change; “disloyalty” to past
Need to avoid “resistance traps
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The “buy in” Problem
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Dealing with resistance & avoiding dilution
Listening to expressions of reservation →
better informed
“Going to the balcony” – dance floor
metaphor → objectivity & perspective
Ultimate objective of adaptive leadership –
throw work back upon the collective
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Buy-in Suggestions from
Consultation Rounds
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Authority, supervision, management
Emphasis upon corporate view
Mechanisms that increase collective responsibility
Develop shared understandings
Present as evolutionary development
Build upon “good things”
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Buy-in Suggestions (cont)
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Utilise “bottom-up” mechanisms
Neutral workload effects
Give reasons to engage
Ongoing discussion, consultation, engagement
Attention to sessional teaching staff
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Buy-in and Students
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Documentation
First-year acculturation
Assessment reflecting learning outcomes
Criterion-referenced assessment
Employment relevance
Working with peers and peer work examples
Early evaluation
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Framework Discussion Questions
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Does this framework provide support in developing
Law Graduate Attributes?
How useful is it to include examples of assessment tasks or
levels of graduate attributes and other details as part of the
framework?
Are the processes outlined in the framework in regard to
leadership, consensus building, resources etc. useful?
What other inclusions in the framework would be helpful for
your university in progressing a curriculum for T& L within
the Graduate attributes context?
What format should the final product be to be useful?
How do we make Graduate Attributes project accessible to
relevant people?
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Graduate Attributes Process
Discussion Group Focus
Share ideas about your journey and
developmental processes for
curriculum renewal focused
around Graduate Attributes
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Assessment Discussion Group
Questions
What are the issues regarding assessment and
Graduate Attributes for your university and
what successful strategies have you used?
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