Studying at York
Crimino-legal Student Think Tank - SPY00068H
Module summary
The aim of this module is to bring together university students and people in the criminal justice system with an interest in higher education. Together they will study legal and criminological issues to develop a shared understanding of the criminal justice system, including social justice issues, and, in so doing, gain a range of new perspectives. University students, working together in a Student Think Tank, will also develop their oral and written presentation skills, by collaborating on a joint project to communicate an important issue or problem to a given audience clearly and effectively. By returning to foundation law subjects and core themes of their Law and Criminology programme, students will also deepen their shared practical understanding of ideas and concepts previously tackled only as abstract concepts.
Students will undertake 5 assessments:
Assessment 1 (10%): 1,000 word individual reflective report on the learning undertaken in the Autumn term- deadline is the end of Week 10 Autumn Term
Assessment 2 (10%): 30 minute group presentation (including time for questions) by the student Think Tank. Students will be awarded a group mark for the presentation. These will be delivered in a timetabled slot in week 5 of spring term.
Assessment 3 (20%): Each Think Tank will give a 30 minute presentation (including time for questions) as well as producing an artefact (such as a leaflet or other written material, a video, a website etc) to a selected target audience from the criminal justice sector. Students will be awarded a group mark for the artefact and presentation. These will be delivered in a timetabled slot in week 10 of spring term.
Assessment 4 (20%): Each student will be assessed on their contribution to group work and learning sessions throughout the year. This will include contributions to group work sessions, preparation for and delivery of group presentations (Assessments 2 and 3), and contributions to the creation of artefacts.
Assessment 5 (40%) Students will individually produce a 3000 word report reflecting on their understanding of issues, concepts, theories and philosophical approaches to which they have been introduced in their first two years, but now in the light of alternative, real-life perspectives of people closely affected by or the subjects of those ideas and concepts. In addition they will draw on their reflective journal to provide evidence of the development of their presentation and communication skills.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
The aim of this module is to apply techniques used in Streetlaw and Learning Together projects to bring together university students and people in the criminal justice system with an interest in higher education to study together issues (including issues of social justice) related to the criminal justice system, and, in so doing, develop new shared perspectives. University students working together in a Student Think Tank, will also develop their oral and written presentation skills, by collaborating on a joint project to communicate an important issue or problem to a given audience clearly. By returning to foundation law subjects and core themes of their Law and Criminology programme in a practical context with current participants in the criminal justice system, they will deepen their practical understanding of ideas and concepts previously tackled as only abstract concepts. There will also be 4 Masterclasses during the two terms by representatives of organisations or actors in the criminal justice system such as NGO’s, Charities, Prison Reform bodies, prison managers etc
Module learning outcomes
By the end of this module students will
- Through a critical analysis relating to at least one foundation area of substantive law and one criminological theme, be able to identify, demonstrate and analyse the impact of multiple differing perspectives on their understanding of those areas
- Through leadership of at least two workshops in a partner institution, demonstrate the ability to communicate complex legal and criminological concepts to audiences of varying abilities
- Through collaboration with people in the criminal justice system create an artefact to communicate to a non-specialist or specialist audience information, ideas and/or problems and solutions on a legal or criminological issue
- Through critical reflection demonstrate with evidence how their collaborative work on the creation of an artefact has enabled them to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding of legal and criminological issues
Module content
Module content will reflect the interests of students and partners in the criminal justice system as students. Students will learn a range of oral and written presentation skills enabling them to confidently communicate complex legal and criminological issues from their LLB Law and Criminology programme to an audience of experts and non-experts. By revisiting foundational legal and criminological issues previously studied elsewhere on their programme with a view to disseminating these to a wider audience, students will not only deepen their understanding of the topics but also review and revise their understanding in the light of the input from their partner institutions or organisations.
In term one, students will be grouped into a student Think Tank of 4 students to develop their written and oral presentation skills in preparation for leading two seminars at the partner institution in term 2.
Six 2 hour workshops will cover topics such as
- Expectations of working with inmates
- Legal writing – writing about the law for a non-specialist audiences
- Advocacy – presenting to a non-specialist audience
- Legal writing – writing for a specialist audience
- Advocacy - presenting to a specialist audience
- Preparing to present – preparing a seminar plan
Over the course of a further four 2 hour workshops, each student firm will prepare a detailed seminar plan for 2 x 3 hour seminars on a criminological and legal issue which they will lead in Term 2 in a criminal justice setting such as a prison.
Topics will vary but for illustration purposes the following pairings of criminological and legal topics might arise:
- Crime and the Media; Using the law to change the record.
- Race, Crime and Criminal Justice; Using the law to challenge discrimination
- Key theories of what Criminal Justice Does; Using judicial review to tackle wrong decisions
- The Prison Enterprise; Does contract law have any place in prison?
- Justifications for punishment; Appealing conviction and sentence
- Victims in the Criminal Justice Process; Claiming compensation.
- Becoming an effective campaigner/ Lobbyist; What is advocacy?
In term 2, students will attend at a prison or other criminal justice setting over a period of 10 weeks and lead or participate in a weekly seminar based on the work done in term 1. The first of these seminars will be an induction and ice-breaking session. Students will then lead six 3 hour sessions. The final three 3 hour seminars will focus on the joint production of an artefact (such as some written material, a script for a video, a webpage, leaflets etc) to raise public awareness of a specific legal issue.
Each attendance at the prison or other institution will be followed up by a one hour workshop for the whole cohort to reflect on their experience, share ideas, and organise any necessary preparation for the forthcoming session.
In the final term, there will be a further four 2 hour seminars facilitated jointly by staff from the criminology and legal clinic team to allow students to present and evaluate their changed perceptions of core criminological and legal themes and topics.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 20 |
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 10 |
| Groupwork | 20 |
| Groupwork | 10 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
This module is seminar based and involves extensive formative feedback in preparation for, during and after delivery of seminars. Tutors are deployed as coaches during the module meaning students will have ready and frequent formal and informal opportunities to receive feedback on their work.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
| Essay/coursework | 20 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
Module feedback
Students will receive generic non-individualised feedback on group performance as well as individualised feedback in writing.
Students will receive written feedback on individual reports
All feedback to be delivered in accordance with University's Policy on Assessment Feedback Turnaround time.
Indicative reading
Content of reading list will be determined by interests of participants but will include the following:
A practical guide to lawyering skills; Fiona Boyle ... [et al.].
Legal systems & skills; Slorach, J. Scott
Advocacy skills; Judge Michael Hyam.
Modern legal drafting : a guide to using clearer language. Butt, Peter