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This article argues in favour of more transparency in the assessment of law courses in the modern law school context in which it is increasingly common for law students to share notes. In 2020, the author introduced three types of asynchronous exam-focused exercises to the Land Law course at the University of Auckland. First, guided exercises: students are guided through a series of questions to answer a problem in bite-sized chunks. Secondly, modelling exercises: students plan an answer to a past exam problem and use a video in which the lecturer plans an answer while narrating their thought processes to reflect on their own plan. Thirdly, example exercises: students review previous exam answers against the relevant rubrics to understand what distinguishes answers at each grade. The article investigates student attitudes about: which exam-focused exercise is the most useful component of a law course; whether students prefer if an exam-focused exercise helps them to understand relevant content or develop legal reasoning skills; which exam-focused exercise is more helpful for (a) understanding relevant content and (b) developing legal reasoning skills; and whether students prefer modelling by the lecturer in pre-recorded videos, the lecturer in in-person lectures or a tutor in in-person tutorials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the author introduced an assessment at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law in which students design a multiple-choice question (MCQ) quiz on a course reading. The assessment was inspired by the PeerWise tool (primarily used and studied in STEM subjects) and informed by contributing student pedagogy. The assessment was offered in three courses, each time requiring less workload (questions to write) relative to course points, and students were surveyed in each instance. This article surveys the literature on quiz design as assessment, describes how the assessment works, presents and discusses the students' responses to it, and recommends how other law teachers could use the assessment. The survey findings include that: the assessment increased student interest in the content of their assigned reading; the assessment increased student engagement with the course materials generally; the assessment was more enjoyable than working on a typical research essay or problem question; the time required was similar to or less than that required for a typical law assessment; and the assessment was valuable for their learning. The study endorses a five-MCQ quiz for 10% on a reading, comprising multiple sources or a varied source, in a course requiring 150 hours of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the author introduced a new learning and assessment programme to the compulsory Land Law course at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law. This article introduces, explains and evaluates the programme design. The Learning Modules programme has five components: structured pre-tutorial activities guiding students through a problem; tutorials in which tutors facilitate discussion on the problem; post-tutorial quizzes testing understanding of ideas arising in the problem; and exam-oriented review exercises in the form of modelling exercises and example exercises. First, the article discusses three pedagogical theories: problem-based learning, blended learning and flipping the classroom. Secondly, the article outlines the Learning Modules programme. Thirdly, the article uses student survey data from 2020 and 2021 to evaluate the extent to which the programme represents problem-based learning, blended learning and flipping the classroom. In doing so, the article considers how closely a programme needs to conform with the classical characteristics of each theory to be considered to represent them. The article concludes that the programme can be said to represent each of the three theories, depending on how they are formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Wai 262 claim, six Māori claimant groups sought the Waitangi Tribunal's findings that the Crown had breached its Treaty of Waitangi guarantee to allow Māori to exercise tino rangatiratanga (the unqualified exercise of our chieftainship) over our mātauranga Māori (the body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors, including the Māori worldview and cultural practices) and taonga (tangible and intangible treasures). The Tribunal publicly released its full report on the claim in 2011. Whilst the National Government (2008–2017) engaged internally with the report, it did not respond publicly. It is only since the Labour-led Government (2017–2020) came into power and proposed Te Pae Tawhiti, a work programme to address the Crown's breaches, that the government has engaged with the report publicly. In this article, I argue that, whilst Māori should engage in Te Pae Tawhiti, we must do so cautiously and with a full appreciation of the government's policies on these issues over the past decade. The article provides unprecedented insights into the government's response to the Wai 262 report. The insights will be important in helping Māori and others to hold the government accountable as the Treaty partners work together to address these issues in the Te Pae Tawhiti era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]