Whole group sessions: 1.5 hour sessions (lectures and discussions) will be held twice weekly over 23 weeks (70 hours)

Individual learning and assessment preparation: Students will be expected to spend considerable time working on their reflective personal development plan, attending court sessions, and reading set reading. The focus will be on independent, active learning and the development of self-directed, motivated professionalism. Considerable use of IT is expected of all students. (150 hours)

Group work: Students will be required to prepare class activities in their own time (60 hours)

This module is the first of 2 modules, designed to prepare students for workplace learning. It will develop very specific skills necessary for working in a legal environment:

- Good use of English language in written work and oral communication
- Note-taking, recording of interviews and court proceedings through attendance notes and briefing reports.
- Taking minutes and recording these
- File management
- Ability to scan a client file and understand its contents
- Letter writing
- Report writing
- Receptionist skills: customer service, use of telephones
- Time management
- Organisation of documents
- Touch typing and audio typing
- Skilled use of IT and word processing software
- Writing an effective CV
- Writing a good cover letter
- How to perform well in a job interview
- Concept of a team and how to work effectively in a team

Students will be required to keep an online personal development record and portfolio of materials and documents.

ITC Professional Skills Manuals (Units 16 and 17)

http://www.skillsforjustice-cp.com/viewrole.php?id=150

Moodle resources

Module Study Guide

LexisNexis and Westlaw

College Careers Resources

ESSENTIAL TEXT: Becoming a paralegal (Learning Express 2010)

Gutman, J. Taking minutes of meetings (Kogan, 2010)

Butt, P and Castle, R. Modern legal drafting (Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Belbin, M. Team Roles at Work (Butterworth 2010)

Assignment 1: E-Portfolio. 40%. Students will design and compile a portfolio over the course of the academic year. This will contain lecture notes neatly typed up and presented, documents drafted, self-reflection statements, a personal development plan, a new CV, sample cover letter for job application and interview preparation notes. Students will be expected to attend both civil and criminal court proceedings, take notes and write these up into reports. (Assesses Learning Outcomes 1, 3-4)

Assignment 2: Practical assessment. 40%. Students will be given a series of timed tasks to perform over the course of the academic year which will be assessed. Students will be assessed on: minute-taking, telephone skills, time management and touch/audio-typing. (Assesses Learning Outcomes 1-2)

Participation: 20%. Students will be assessed on their overall level of preparation and participation in class activities. The grade given will be discussed with the students and agreed upon through personal tutorial sessions. (Learning Outcomes 1-4)

All assessments must achieve a pass mark of 40%.

Formative assessment: The module will involve a number of in-class activities designed to build a student's confidence and skills-base throughout the first year of the course, and feedback from tutor and peers will be provided. Class discussions and debates provide further opportunities for both tutor and peer feedback. Students will gain detailed individual feedback on pieces of written homework, completed worksheets, and on their findings to research activities. Individual tutorials provide additional opportunities to offer guidance and constructive feedback, to support learners in achieving their full potential.