Abstract:
Outcome-based Education (OBE) is an integrated educational approach, which has emerged from primary and secondary education in the US. OBE suggests that teachers should organize curricular activities around learning outcomes to achieve improved student learning. OBE places emphasis on teaching students not only knowledge but skills that they can perform long after the formal learning process is over. Because of its pedagogical appeal, regulators around the world are moving towards adopting OBE for the regulation of law schools according to a set of prescribed outcomes.
This paper is part of the thesis, ‘Outcome-based Education for Legal Education in Hong Kong: A Mixed-Method Study’. The thesis comprises an original empirical research, which aims to study the status of OBE implementation in legal education in Hong Kong. Of particular interest is awareness of OBE among law teachers in Hong Kong. This thesis argues that comprehensive OBE implementation requires that teachers have an awareness of OBE. ‘Awareness of OBE’ is defined here as a teacher’s understanding that her pedagogical decision-making should be driven by outcomes.
This paper begins with a terminological framework of OBE and underlying concepts. Then, it explains the design of the empirical research for the thesis focusing on three issues: (i) law teachers’ awareness of OBE; (ii) the extent to which law teachers use OBE teaching practices in Hong Kong; and (iii) law teachers’ perceptions of OBE. The findings of the research show that law teachers in Hong Kong may not have sufficient OBE awareness. Finally, this paper makes recommendations for future research.
Speaker:
Ms. Jenny Chan, PhD Student, Faculty of Law, CUHK
Ms. Jenny Ying Chan (PhD Candidate) is a Research Assistant at the Faculty of Law of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also the co-author of the book “Flipped Classrooms for Legal Education”. She has carried out extensive research on legal education, including Outcome-based Education and innovative assessment approaches. Ms. Chan is also conducting research in other areas of law, such as Chinese investment law and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.