Collaboration and flipping training

Abstract

Legal research skills training at the University of Salford suffered from lack of student attendance and the failure by students to transference skills learned to research in other modules. Despite having 6 timetabled hours to develop skills with first year students, poor attendance of 15% per session meant that a radical overhaul of legal research skills training was needed. 
 
 The academic/library partnership at Salford is strong, with the Law Librarian working as part of the academic teaching team and library skills being formally assessed. It has however, taken 5 years of working in partnership to adapt and change our research teaching methods before information skills teaching became successful. In 2012 legal research skills was taught by flipping the classroom - this experimental change proved effective. The working partnership between the library and school was an essential part of this success. With staff changes with key skills personal in the school however, the library has had to respond quickly to rebuild collaborative relationships. 
 
 This case study will look at what flipping the classroom is, how it works at the University of Salford and how the library and academic department collaborate together to delivery legal research skills training. With the launch of a new LLB at Salford, I will also discuss the change in partnership and the future of legal research skills teaching for September 2014.