Active Learning in Law by Flipping the Classroom: An Enquiry into Effectiveness and Engagement

Abstract

In this article, I argue that any significant change to legal education in Australia would require the abandonment of the Priestley Eleven subject requirements for a more refined, shorter list of core subjects. The Priestley Eleven currently act as a “dead hand” on curriculum reform, preventing law schools from innovating and experimenting with new subject choices for students. The Productivity Commission has argued that the Priestley Eleven provide a ‘strong base knowledge of the law [but] limit the flexibility of universities to compete and innovate’. Universities would need to move beyond the Priestley Eleven if they wish to give students a holistic or contextualized education in law. Part of this would require the abolition of several black letter law subjects, to be replaced by optional subjects that teach the law in context.