Abstract:
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 to increase
transparency about how the exam is marked. 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 examfocused
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 inperson
lectures or a tutor in in-person tutorials.