Exploring the contribution of workplace learning to an HRD strategy in the Scottish legal profession.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of human resource development (HRD) for law firms in the UK. It examines how the characteristics of legal professional practice in the UK, including the partnership structure, long established methods of targeting solicitors and the law society, may act as barriers to the implementation of HRD. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an exploratory case study research approach to investigate characteristics and issues influencing the adoption of HRD in a Scottish legal firm. Primary data are collected via semi-structured interviews with a cross-section of representatives. Findings – Despite recognition of the importance of learning, the characteristic elements of law firms, including the partnership structure; the pervasiveness of time-billed targets in the solicitor community; and HR’s profile and acceptance among the solicitor community, remain as barriers to the applicability of HRD. The research also exposes variability on the level and scope of development opportunities, an emphasis on technical skills development, and a lack of solicitors’ self-managed learning ability. Research limitations/implications – While the research findings provide a useful insight into the barriers to HRD in one legal firm, this does not allow for any generalisations being drawn from the study. Practical implications – The paper explores the suitability of workplace learning to support legal professional development. Originality/value – There is a dearth of research into HRD in legal practices in the UK. The paper contributes to the contextual influences that limit the applicability of HRD to legal professional practices.

Choices of approaches in e-moderation: conclusions from a grounded theory study

Much has been published in recent years about the desirable nature of facilitated interactions in on-line discussions with educational purposes. However little has been reported about the roles which tutors actually adopt in real life learning contexts, how these range between ‘tutoring, ‘managing’ and ‘facilitating’, and what the distinctions between these three roles may be. In this paper choices of priorities in e-moderation, which were made in three naturalistic (real life) case studies by three higher education practitioners, are identified and discussed. These contrasting approaches were captured and analysed using grounded theory principles. The paper also discusses these occasions when the facilitation was less effective than might have been desired. It finally summarises the potential of various approaches within e-moderation – and some of the attendant risks. The finding is that principles and practices developed for face-to-face support of student-directed learning were found equally applicable in e-moderated online group work, despite several significant differences between the two types of setting. Keywords: higher education, e-learning, e-moderation, asynchronous discussions, learning outcomes, grounded theory

Developing a Pedagogy for Interactive Learning.

Recent developments in higher education have seen the demise of much didactic, teacher-directed instruction which was aimed mainly towards lower-level educational objectives. This traditional educational approach has been largely replaced by methods which feature the teacher as an originator or facilitator of interactive and learner-centred learning - with higher-level aims in mind. The origins of, and need for, these changes are outlined, leading into an account of the emerging pedagogical approach to interactive learning, featuring facilitation and reflection. Some of the main challenges yet to be confronted effectively in consolidating a sound and comprehensive pedagogical approach to interactive development of higher level educational aims are outlined.