The challenges of teaching and learning the LLB programme through ODL

Abstract

“The Challenges of the Teaching and Learning of the LLB Programme through ODL”, as the title suggests, interrogates the pedagogical as well as the epistemological challenges facing the LLB programme in Open Distance Learning institutions in general and at the University of South Africa in particular. The paper does so by juxtaposing the teaching and learning environment of ODL to the physical environment available to residential Universities or institutions. The centrality of the LLB programme to the legal discipline cannot be overemphasised, as it is a prerequisite for entry into the legal practice, academia and various other social professions and fields that require legal acumen. The gravamen of this paper is that, because some of the modules within the programme are procedural and the skills practical, they are best learnt gradually and constantly in an everyday physical contact environment such as a residential university or institution. This is because in the latter environment there is ample platform for students to learn the skills from the facilitators and among themselves. By this physical interaction, the students also amass other incidental traits, such as emotional intelligence and maturity, which are instructive in the legal discipline. The paper concludes by acknowledging the shortcomings of the ODL environment and suggesting alternatives to counteract them, especially in the teaching and learning of the LLB programme. The biggest concession that the paper makes is that currently there are no practical alternatives that equal the advantage of the physical teaching and learning environment, although there are a few alternatives within the virtual teaching and learning space that can be explored to complement and enhance the gains already made in ODL.