Showcasing Street Law

The importance of students and staff working in partnership to provide and receive formative feedback

Authors

  • Kathryn Saban Lancaster University Law School
  • Francesca Jackson Lancaster University Law School
  • Nadia Patel Lancaster University Law School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i1.5939

Keywords:

Legal Education, Formative Feedback, Groupwork, Employability, Street Law

Abstract

Formative feedback is noted as one of the most useful instruments for improving student learning in higher education (Irons, 2007; Gibbs & Simpson, 2004). This case study is a joint staff-student collaboration in which the authors showcase their innovative and novel approach to staff and students acting in partnership to provide and receive formative feedback when working on group projects. The authors discuss the practicalities of students taking the lead on receiving formative feedback through the introduction of student-led formative feedback team meetings with their tutors. In turn, the authors discuss the student voice regarding the importance of formative feedback, arguing that facilitating a mechanism for students to be actively involved in receiving formative feedback can provide autonomy in learning and can promote opportunities for development of key employment skills. The case study is set in context by demonstrating how this method of giving and receiving formative feedback is utilised in a “Street Law” module delivered at Lancaster University Law School.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Francesca Jackson, Lancaster University Law School

Recent LLM graduate (student). 

Nadia Patel, Lancaster University Law School

Recent LLM graduate (student). 

References

Alt, D., Naamah-Schneider, L., Weishut, DJN, (2023). ‘Competency-based learning and formative assessment feedback as precursors of college students’ soft skills acquisition’ Studies in Higher Education 48(12), 1901-1917. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2217203

Arbetman, L. (2018). Street Law, Inc.: Context, history and future. International Journal of Public Legal Education, 2(1), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.19164/ijple.v2i1.705

Arthurs, S., Cooperman, M., Gallagher, M., Grealy, F., Lunney, J., Marrs, R., & Roe, R. (2017). From Zero to 60: Building belief, capacity and community in Street Law instructors in one weekend. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, 24(2), 118–241 https://doi.org/10.19164/ijcle.v24i2.599

Beaumont, C., O’Doherty, M., & Shannon, L. (2011). Reconceptualising assessment feedback: A key to improving student learning? Studies in Higher Education, 36(6), 671–687. 10.1080/03075071003731135

Bell, S. T., & Arthur, W., Jr. (2008). Feedback acceptance in developmental assessment centers: The role of feedback message, participant personality, and affective response to the feedback session. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(5), 681–703 https://doi.org/10.1002/job.525

Black, P., & William, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 5(1), 7–74 https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102

Bourner, J., Hughes, M., & Bourner, T. (2001). First-year undergraduate experiences of group project work. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 26(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930020022264

Campbell, E. (2015). Transferring power: A reflective exploration of authentic student-centred small group work in clinical legal education. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, 22(2), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.19164/ijcle.v22i2.428

Caruso, H. M., & Woolley, A. W. (2008). Harnessing the power of emergent interdependence to promote diverse team collaboration. In K. W. Phillips (Ed.), Research on Managing Groups and Teams: Diversity and groups (vol. 11, pp. 245–265). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1534-0856(08)11011-8

Chodorowski, M., Lawton, A., & Massey, D. (2021). Mapping motivations: Self-determination theory and clinical tax education. European Journal of Legal Education, 2(1), 129–159. https://publications.coventry.ac.uk/index.php/EJLE/article/view/1171

Clarke, S., & Blissenden, M. (2013). Assessing student group work: Is there a right way to do it? The Law Teacher, 47(3), 368–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2013.851340

Cook-Sather, A., Healy, M., & Matthews, K. E. (2021). Recognising students’ expertise and insights in expanding forms of academic writing and publishing about learning and teaching. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1) 2–7. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4626

Dawson, P., Carless, D., & Lee, P. P. W. (2021). Authentic feedback: Supporting learners to engage in disciplinary feedback practices. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(2), 286–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1769022

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3–31. http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/lathe/Documents/issue%201/articles/simpson.pdf

Golob. B. (2021). Student in the seats, teacher in the streets: Evaluating the impacts of law students becoming “Street Law” teachers. International Journal of Public Legal Education, 5(1), 37–93 https://doi.org/10.19164/ijple.v5i1.1116

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112 https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487

Irons, A. (2007). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. Routledge.

Lutz, M. E., & Culver S. (2010). The National Survey of Student Engagement: A university‐level analysis. Tertiary Education and Management, 16(1), 35–44 https://doi.org/10.1080/13583881003629814

McCarthy, J. (2017). Enhancing feedback in higher education: Students’ attitudes towards online and in-class formative assessment feedback model. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(2), 127–141 https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417707615

Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S., Matthews, K. Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten,P., Knorr, K., Marquis, E., Shammas, R., & Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), 15–37. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119

Mostrom, A. M., & Blumberg, P. (2012). Does learning-centered teaching promote grade improvement? Innovative Higher Education, 37(5), 397–415 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-012-9216-1

Moya, N. P. G., & Salazar Tobar, M. C. (2017). Formative evaluation and formative feedback: An effective practice to promote student learning in higher education. Revista Publicando, 4(12), 321–333. https://revistapublicando.org/revista/index.php/crv/article/view/662

Polden, D. (2007). Educating law students for leadership roles and responsibilities. University of Toledo Law Review, 39, 353–360. http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs/115

Toshalis, E., & Nakkula, M. J. (2012). Motivation, engagement, and student voice. The Education Digest, 78(1), 2–35.

Wallace. A. L. (2012). Review: Public legal education—The role of law schools in building a more legally literate society (Routledge 2021). International Journal of Public Legal Education, 5(1), 132–144. https://doi.org/10.19164/ijple.v5i1.1180

Watkins, D., & Guihen, L. (2018). Using narrative and metaphor in formative feedback. Journal of Legal Education, 68(1), 154–175. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26891006

Whitaker, B. G., & Levy, P. (2012). Linking feedback quality and goal orientation to feedback seeking and job performance. Human Performance, 25(2), 159–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2012.658927

Wilkie, B., & Liefieth, A. (2022). Student experiences of live synchronised video feedback in formative assessment. Teaching in Higher Education, 27(3), 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1725879

Downloads

Published

2025-05-19

How to Cite

Saban, K., Jackson, F., & Patel, N. (2025). Showcasing Street Law: The importance of students and staff working in partnership to provide and receive formative feedback. International Journal for Students as Partners, 9(1), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i1.5939

Issue

Section

Case Studies