Before Covid-19, online learning was a choice we made to fit learning into our busy schedules. Whilst many of us enjoy learning in a collaborative face-to-face setting, technology has facilitated enormous flexibility to support learning wherever and whenever suits us best.
At Leo Cussen, we have been listening carefully to the insights from our graduates over the last 18 months and we have been asking – what has this taught us about the way people want to learn? How can we best support law graduates in an environment of uncertainty and lockdowns?
We understand that every law graduate is different and therefore has differing needs in relation to learning. One size does not fit all. We believe maintaining a selection of course modes is the key to supporting a range of learner needs. We have three different modes of learning:
- 100% Online
- Face-to-face; and
- Blended (combination of online and face-to-face)
After years of law school, we know you have come to understand your own learning preferences – what resonates and what doesn’t. For this reason, flexibility in course options remains a key priority in our PLT offering. However, during the pandemic, we have had to at various times, lift all modes into online formats. What has this meant for our learning experience?
There is no doubt that during the pandemic, our law graduates have missed the enjoyment and benefits which personal interaction brings. Whether it is meeting classmates, having coffees, exchanging ideas, or the feedback you receive from lawyers and mentors involved in our course. And this is no different to the real world – ask any lawyer working in practice how they have managed the challenge of running cases, working with junior lawyers and managing clients 100% online!
In an article recently published by our Senior ACT Mentor and Lawyer, Craig Collins reflects on why lawyers need courage. His discussion highlights the importance of maintaining courage through difficult situations in legal practice. And we believe one of the best ways to learn how to navigate difficult situations within legal practice is through shared experience. This is why we are so determined to keep the quality of our peer-to-peer learning alive within our courses, regardless of format or restrictions in place.
Here are some of the things we have done to make sure that regardless of which course format you take and restrictions in place, the quality of our peer-to-peer learning and simulated practice model course is maintained:
- Regular group meetings with your Mentor via Zoom
- 1 on 1 Performance and Professional Development (PPD) discussions with your Mentor throughout the course
- Hearings, client interviews and other practical tasks conducted with Instructors from the profession on Zoom, just as the profession is doing.
- Opening up a virtual kitchen during intensives so you can have a cuppa with your colleagues as you would have done onsite
We are optimistic about the future of learning – restrictions or no restrictions. We have learned so much about the way students like to learn. These insights will drive the ways we continue to improve our course and our students’ learning experience, without compromising the essential quality of the Leo Cussen course – to learn as a lawyer with lawyers. Shared experience is at the heart of our course and in a world where many have been isolated at home, here at Leo we are determined to ensure connectivity in your learning.
