Dr Jashim Chowdhury

Teaching:

Introduction to Law and its Study (LL.B. 1st Year)

Public and European Law (LL.B. 1st Year)

Comparative Law (LL.B. 2nd Year)

Public International Law (LL.B. 2nd Year and LL.M.)

Administrative Law and Human Rights Protection (LL.B. 2nd

Year)

Teaching Philosophy:

"As a teacher of future legal practitioners, judges, politicians, thinkers and reformers, my goals are to (1) increase my pupils’ general stock of legal knowledge; (2) develop their ability to analyse the background rationale of laws and to critique those; (3) ingrain capability of independent thinking; and 4) ingrain a more profound conviction to ethics of law and the legal profession in them. I strive to realise these through teaching practices that align with several inclusive learning, teaching and assessment pedagogy.

I understand the student learning processes within Dianne Lorillard's (2002) “Conversational Framework” and the six learning types identified therein. The first two of my four teaching goals fit one or either of these six learning types. First, the knowledge enhancement goal relies on acquisitional learning. My lectures, readings and podcasts (suitable to the pupils’ level of studies) are designed to develop an adequate understanding of the black letter laws and their operational settings. Second, the analytical and critical reasoning capabilities are achieved through the combination of investigative, collaborative and discursive learning types realised through smaller group works within the class, tutorials and sometimes at the pre reading stages. I usually like to arrange short debate sessions with my lectures by placing critical questions on the table.

The last two of my professional goals are related to a teaching pedagogy informed by Peter Kugel (1993)’s four-stage professional development thesis. Kugel argues that professors initially evolve from asserting command over their classes (Stage 1) through the pursuit of acquiring subject matter expertise (Stage 2) and knowledge transfer skill (Stage 3) to creating a new set of independent thinkers (Stage 4). My motivation to evolve from a “skilled and able instructor” to a “facilitator of autonomous thinking” requires me to ensure that my students actively engage in what Entwistle (2009) calls the “Teaching for Understanding”. Mine is a learning-by-doing approach process that draws from the popular worldwide movement of “clinical legal education” (Madhloom & McFaul, 2022). Clinical legal education pedagogy requires the students to learn the complexities and uncertainties encountered in legal practice (Marson et al., 2005) directly from the stakeholders - the justice seekers and administrators.

Since December 2016, I have been sponsoring a student-run critical legal studies society (Chowdhury SCLS, 2023). This practical and productive learning type is executed through court visits, short internships and community visits. Reports from there form a substantial percentage of my assessment processes. I intend to explore the possibility of expanding that type of work at the University of Hull.

How do I assess that my goals are being met and my students are achieving what I expect within the module and beyond? First of all, I make sure that my lectures and tutorials are constructively aligned (Loughlin et al., 2021) with the declared aims and objectives of the module and the critical essay. However, my assessment process is continuous rather than a one-off one. Apart from the critical essay, I frequently use the ungraded retrieval practice quizzes at the end and beginning of my lectures. I also use graded presentations and viva voce examinations for a particular share of the grade. I plan to introduce graded multiple-choice questions in one of my modules in the next trimester. I also offer direct personal-level supervision and consultation meetings for critical essay writing. It aligns with the UoH’s priorities for “Inclusive Assessment Practices” (UoH TEA, 2020) and allows me to continuously support and facilitate the student's progress and address the obstacles preventing them from reaching expected module competencies.

I take care that the learning materials and modes of teaching are inclusive and assessable to students of all ethnic and linguistic demographics. In appropriate cases, I coordinate with the University support services and the library to ensure that the differently able students access the reading materials in appropriate formats. However, the telling part of my teaching practice has been what Jivraj (2020) calls an “Anti-racist legal pedagogy”. It is prominent in my public law module, which invites my students to see the constitutions as their indigenous historical products rather than merely euro centric templates exported by the colonial superpowers. I encourage the students to pick up a designated feature of the constitutional systems of Asian, Eastern and Latin American countries and consider how those could inform the UK’s public law. In doing this, I support the UoH’s commitment to the 3D Pedagogy Framework (Gabriel, 2019) and ALDinHE Manifesto for Learning Development (2018) which emphasise the need for equitable access and diversity of perspectives in higher education."