Good Teaching Practices in Small
Groups.
Recommendations for Faculty of Law teaching staff
Laura Alascio Carrasco
Assistant Lecturer in Civil Law
Carlos Gómez Ligüerre
Senior Lecturer in Civil Law
Director of USQUID (Unit of Support to Teaching
Quality and Innovation) Law
Good teaching practices in small groups
Summary
Good teaching practices in small groups on the Degree in Law
1. Introduction
1.1. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
1.2. Implementing the Bologna method at UPF
2. General considerations regarding small groups
2.1 The purpose of seminars
2.2. Coordinating with theory lecturers
2.3. Gradual change
2.4. Relevance of the subject in the curriculum and number of credits
2.5. Amount of practical work and time period between tasks
2.6. Workload
3. Good practices
3.1. Communication with students
3.2. Classroom activities

Resolving case studies set by lecturers

Commentaries on judgments

Summarising judgments

Drafting documents

Class papers
3.2. Design of subgroup activities

The traditional system

The American system

On-going practical work

Resolving cases in teams
3.3. Assessment
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Good teaching practices in small groups

General considerations

Participation in class and oral presentations

Random assessment

Final assessment
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Good teaching practices in small groups
1. Introduction
1.1. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
The EHEA emerged within in the framework of European convergence and from the conviction
that university degrees must be comparable among European Union member states. It aims to
increase mobility among Union students in the first stage and among professionals in the
second.
Its origins date back to the 1999 Bologna Declaration which established the basis for the
paradigm shift in university teaching which is known as the “Bologna method”.
The legislative references in Spain are the royal decrees (reales decretos) which shaped the new
university degrees and the implementing of the European credits system: Real Decreto 55/2005
of 21st January which established the structure of university teaching and regulated official
university degrees, and Real Decreto 1125/2003 of 5th September which set up the European
credits system and the assessment system for official university qualifications valid throughout
national territory.
1.2. Implementing the Bologna method at UPF
UPF began implementing the Bologna method in 2003 1. Since then new subjects have been
progressively adapted to the teaching methodology inherent in the Bologna method every year,
and the old credits based on units of teaching hours have been replaced by ECTS, which include
students’ work outside the classroom 2.
The new degrees, which replace the previous licenciaturas, are being established gradually.
The process will culminate in academic year 2012-2013 when the first year group of students to
have studied the full degrees will graduate and the licenciaturas will finally disappear.
There is no text setting out the way in which the new degrees, or in other words, the specific
organisation of the teaching, should be implemented, so every university is responsible for
adapting its degree courses to the new teaching paradigm.
UPF decided to maintain its term based system in the new teaching organisation as well as the
four groups for every subject with between 80 and 120 students.
1
The stages in the implementation can be consulted at
http://www.upf.edu/eees/adaptacio/cronologia.html.
2
Each of the old credits corresponded to 10 contact hours. Each ECTS now represents 25 hours of student work, of
which between 20 and 35% correspond to contact hours and the rest to self-study. The Organisation of Teaching at
UPF. Guide to Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses, available at
http://www.upf.edu/eees/adaptacio/org_docencia.pdf
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Good teaching practices in small groups
In practice the new teaching system means a reduction in contact hours, which are divided
between lectures and seminars with small groups. There are generally two hours of whole-group
lectures a week, depending on the subject credit load. The group is split into three or four
subgroups for seminars so there are between twenty and thirty students in the subgroups, which
meet once a fortnight, also for two hours.
The organisational change has resulted in the need to adapt and reduce subject lecture
programmes by approximately half on one hand, and to design activities to be done during the
seminars with small groups on the other.
The practical implications of the above are reflected in the teaching plans, which the teaching
staff responsible for each subject have to design. The teaching plans specify the competences to
be acquired by students on completing the subject and its organisation, generally divided into
weeks 3.
3
The teaching plans currently available can be consulted on the UPF Faculty of Law website. The specific teaching
plans for the Degree in Law are at http://www.upf.edu/pra/3312/; those for the Degree in Labour Relations are at
http://www.upf.edu/pra/3314/, and those for the Degree in Criminology at http://www.upf.edu/pra/3313/. A guide to
writing teaching plans is also available at http://www.upf.edu/intranet/cquid/qualitat/pladocent/.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
2. General considerations regarding small groups
2.1 The purpose of seminars
The teaching paradigm shift is related to the idea of moving the emphasis away from teaching
staff activity to that of their students. The key element is no longer the lectures, which by their
very nature require a passive attitude on the part of students, but the principle that a university
education must provide students with a series of competences 4 which prepare them effectively
for their working lives 5.
Seminars with small groups were therefore introduced in addition to the lectures, so that
students would not only acquire theoretical but also practical knowledge through activities
designed by the teaching staff.
Small groups facilitate the individualised tutoring of students while also enabling them to
participate more actively in class. So, the seminars are not for covering what there is no time for
during lectures 6, but for developing through various practical activities what the large group has
been taught.
Many years of experience have shown that it is highly advisable for the lecturers who teach the
theory to be in charge of the seminars as well, as they will then know exactly what their students
learn.
2.2. Coordinating with theory lecturers
Sometimes the theory and practical classes are taught by the same lecturer, although more often
every subgroup of one large group has a different lecturer and the teaching of the subject is
shared between them.
4
The ECTS Users’ Guide glossary defines “competence” as the dynamic combination of cognitive and metacognitive
abilities, knowledge and the capacity for understanding, interpersonal, intellectual and practical skills, attitudes and
ethical values. All academic programmes aim to foster previously identified and clearly defined competences. These
are developed in all programme units (courses, modules, subjects, etc.) and are assessed at different stages. Some
competences are related to a particular field of knowledge (discipline-specific) while others are generic (common to
all degrees). Competence development normally proceeds throughout a programme in an integrated cyclical manner.
Available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc/ects/guide_en.pdf.
5
For a more detailed explanation of the paradigm shift and the role of competences see
http://www.upf.edu/eees/adaptacio/met_blgna.pdf.
6
Changing the curriculum has meant a reduction in the number of contact hours while students’ workload has
increased. For this reason some lecturers “save” part of the syllabus to look at in seminars, which is in principle
incompatible with the new paradigm.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
For this reason lecturers teaching the same large group need to coordinate efforts as much as
possible before the teaching begins, especially when associate lecturers are involved as their
availability is more limited due to their professional commitments outside the University.
Appointing a teaching coordinator - preferably on a permanent basis – and holding coordination
meetings before classes begin is proposed to guarantee effective coordination among lecturers
teaching the same subject. The coordinator should also set times when students can consult their
lecturers.
Setting a class schedule for days and topics is also highly advisable to ensure that individual
lecturers neither overtake nor fall behind each other in their teaching and in carrying out the
seminar activities (this will generally be included in the teaching plan).
2.3. Gradual change
When choosing the content of the practical work students’ previous knowledge has to be taken
into account. There is a difference between students who are just beginning their legal studies
and those who have more experience. It is essential for teaching staff to match their expectations
and requirements to what students are really capable of, and in this respect “informative”
practical work, that is, use of resources, databases, basic knowledge of the legal system and
source management are most suitable for first year students. The more advanced the students,
the greater the degree of creativity or critical thinking can be.
2.4. Relevance of the subject in the curriculum and number of credits
It is advisable to bear in mind the subject’s relevance in the curriculum as well as the number of
credits when designing activities and their degree of difficulty. The workload should be
reflected in students’ academic records.
2.5. Amount of practical work and time period between tasks
When planning activities according to the schedule it is advisable to bear in mind whether there
is a seminar every week or every fortnight and to give students the practical work well-enough
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Good teaching practices in small groups
in advance for them to be able to complete it before the seminar. Using the Moodle is highly
recommended, so that all students have access to the materials7.
On this basis, and by way of an example, a full week before the deadline can be considered
enough advance notice. When calculating the advance notice period lecturers should also
consider whether students will have to consult library books or whether the activity has to be
done in groups.
On the other hand, several subgroups may have the same seminar spread over various days (for
instance, subgroups 1 and 3 may have a seminar on a Wednesday and groups 2 and 4 on the
following Tuesday). In such cases it is advisable to consider the advantages of writing a
different task for every week, or alternatively, sending all the subgroups the same material but
varying the de facto assumption for each one.
2.6. Workload
When planning activities it is necessary to gauge the workload8 the task involves, not only for
students but also for lecturers.
The Faculty of Law teaching coordinator is responsible for setting students’ workload each term
so that the volume of work for all the subjects they are studying at the same time is balanced.
Likewise, lecturers have to calculate the time needed to organise and mark the practical work;
for example, if many of the activities consist of written work, a great deal of time will be spent
on marking.
7
The teaching coordinator must therefore ensure that all associate lecturers have access to the Global Campus. The
University also has a support unit called “La Factoria” (http://www.upf.edu/bibtic/lafactoria/professors.html) which
offers advice and user guides for the electronic resources as well as creating digitalised teaching materials to
lecturers’ specifications.
8
The ECTS Users’ Guide glossary defines “workload” as the indication of the time that students normally need to
complete all the necessary learning activities (lectures, seminars, projects, practical work, self-study and
examinations) required to achieve the expected learning outcomes. Available at
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc/ects/guide_en.pdf.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
3. Good practices
The following are some suggestions regarding good practices for small groups on the Degree in
Law. They are merely recommendations but may be a useful guide for organising seminars and
assessing them subsequently.
3.1. Communication with students
Students need to be told by their lecturers whether they are resolving the set activities correctly,
particularly in a context where assessment does not only consist in passing a final exam but is
continuous.
Communication with students, or feedback, goes beyond the marks they are given by way of
assessment 9. It means commenting on students’ activities and giving them guidelines,
preferably individual, for improving their performance,. Lack of staff-student feedback is a
problem that frequently arises in the course of practical sessions. It is not only the fact that the
continuous assessment mark is often given at the end of the course, but that students may be
making the same mistakes time and time again as nobody has explained how to correct them.
Giving optimum feedback would of course require a degree of dedication that few members of
staff can take on, but students’ progress does not depend exclusively on lecturers’ feedback, no
matter how personalised it is. That is to say, nothing can replace students’ individual work, so
the question, in short, is finding the balance between a total lack of feedback and giving
students wholly individual attention for each activity set.
Feedback is proposed for the first activity that students have to hand in or for the first time they
intervene in class, after which their most common mistakes can be discussed on a regular basis.
9
The ECTS Users’ Guide glossary defines “assessment” as the different methods used to assess whether students
have achieved the expected learning outcomes. Available at
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc/ects/guide_en.pdf.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
3.2. Classroom activities
•
Resolving case studies set by lecturers
This is common practice on law degrees. Lecturers propose case studies, either invented or
which have already been settled in court, which students have to resolve. This activity has the
advantage of being readily adapted to any desired degree of difficulty and can also be organised
in different ways so as not to be repetitive.
•
Commentaries on judgments
This activity is related to the previous one but here students have to comment on judgments in
more depth, generally via questions posed by the lecturer. Again, if different subgroups have
classes on different days it is advisable to set each subgroup a different judgment to prevent
copying. Lecturers can list specific judgments for comment or let students find a relevant
judgment on a given topic (the second option is more suitable for more advanced students).
•
Summarising judgments
This activity is simpler than the previous one and consists of writing a well-ordered judgment
summary. The aim is to teach students the structure of court rulings and to be able to distinguish
the act, the legal basis and the due process. It is also useful for looking at the jurisprudential
treatment of a given issue; as they are much shorter than commentaries students can be asked to
summarise several judgments for one seminar.
A good way of checking the work done is to ask students to hand in the text of the judgment
used as well, if possible underlined, and to complement this with an oral presentation of one of
the summarised judgments.
•
Drafting documents
This activity consists of drafting claims, contracts and wills and also reports or opinions on a
specific case or topic.
Given that accessing standard legal documents online is very easy, it is advisable to ask for a
justifying report as well. That is to say, ask students to add value to their work by also providing
justifications of every clause or option chosen.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
Where written work on a topic or judgment is concerned it is advisable to give instructions
about how this should be drafted; in other words, what we expect from these pieces of work.
•
Class papers
Students present a piece of written work, commentary on a judgment etc. orally, either
individually or in groups. This is a good way of assessing students quickly as it is easy to
pinpoint the standard of the work. If several students are to give their presentations on the same
day, as often happens, it is advisable for each one to choose a different topic; for example, to
use different cases/judgments so that broader view of the topic is developed and copying is
made more difficult. This is generally a good complement to written work or commentaries on
judgments, especially if done in groups, as it enables irregularities to be detected. They are also
a good complement to judgment summaries, in which assessing the work and detecting copying
may be difficult.
3.2.
Design of subgroup activities
All the activities can also be organised in other ways, and some possible ideas for doing so are
suggested below.
•
The traditional system
Students are sent the case study text and any corresponding bibliographical references and have
to hand in their resolutions in writing. If the same case is used for several subgroups it is
advisable to set the same deadline for them all, which should be before the first subgroup’s
seminar to prevent copying.
•
The American system
This system consists of sending students the necessary materials or bibliographical references
on the topic to be dealt with, to be read before the seminar.
On the day of the seminar a case related to the materials is set and is resolved in pairs or groups
during the session.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
The advantage of this system is that the same material can be used for all the subgroups but a
different case can be proposed for each seminar, as these cases are usually shorter than those
students have to give in before the class.
Lecturers can assess participation in class and there is no reason why a written solution should
not also be handed in.
•
On-going practical work
This system involves fairly intense preparation before the start of the academic year but the time
invested is compensated for during the year as the practical work is already prepared.
A case study to be worked on progressively in all the seminars is devised, with each session
dealing with a specific aspect of the case. Different activities related to the case studies can be
set in class for each seminar. For instance, the case can be introduced in the first seminar and
roles assigned to each student or group; the next session can consist of an oral presentation of
each party’s arguments, a legal document (for example, the claim, the statement of defence,
etc.) can be presented in the next one and the process can be rounded off with a full case report.
This system has several advantages: students view the seminars as a single unit, not as short
classes which are independent of each other, while different aspects and competences can be
worked on at the same time.
•
Resolving cases in teams
For resolving cases or commentaries on judgments. The students are divided into five or six
teams and practical work which involves as many cases/commentaries as there are teams is
prepared. Each team has to hand in its resolution before the seminar and is assigned one of the
cases to present orally on the day of the session.
3.3. Assessment
•
General considerations
One of the implications of the paradigm shift involved in implementing the Bologna method at
UPF is the requirement for continuous assessment. In practice this can mean that subgroup
lecturers become “serial markers” of student case studies. Furthermore, it is difficult to ascertain
the degree of effort made by students, who in turn become “serial writers” of practical work.
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Good teaching practices in small groups
Below are some suggestions for systems for assessing the different activities.
•
Participation in class and oral presentations
One system for monitoring who participates in class without asking names is to have students
hold signs with their names written in large letters for the lecturer. In this way lecturers can keep
track of students who do participate without continually asking their names, which can hamper
dialogue.
It may be useful to note down specific marks and comments, should there be any and should
they be helpful, as reminders for when the time comes for deciding on the grades.
Where oral presentations of group work are concerned, one way of preventing students from
preparing their own parts and forgetting about the rest of the work is to specify that every
member of the group must be capable of presenting any part of the work and to choose students
at random to present whatever they are asked to.
This is a way of indirectly assessing the written exercise and of spotting any discrepancies
between the texts and the presentations. For example, if the written work is good but the
presentation leaves much to be desired, this may be a sign that the written work was copied.
•
Random assessment
If students have to resolve and hand in a lot of practical work, marking time can be reduced by
using a system of random assessment: the practical work for two sessions is randomly assessed.
Students are told, for example, that of five pieces of practical work handed in, two will be
marked, but of course they are not told which ones.
•
Final assessment
Instead of assessing every piece of practical work students can be given a test or a final case
study covering the concepts they should have learnt and understood in the seminars.
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