Teaching philosophy

Two theories

My ideas of teaching reflect my views of law and its role in society. Not only do I regard students as mirrors of our society, I also perceive them as stakeholders in the higher education enterprise. Since social problems have their roots in the past, I favour pastoral care aimed at the best interest of students. Accordingly, my teaching philosophy is founded on an innovative notion of legal revisionism and the pedagogical theory of social constructivism. 

Social constructivism regards knowledge and reality as constructions moulded from social relationships and interactions (Vygotsky 1978). In the teaching and learning context, knowledge is co-constructed between the teacher and the student in such a way that both learn from one another (Hodson and Hodson 1998). By demanding that the learner be engaged in a participatory, co-creation role, social constructivism offers a symbiotic platform for my theory of legal revisionism. 

Legal revisionism “may be described as a concept that challenges orthodox legal ideas to re-tell them and adapt them to new evidence” (Diala 2019). It involves a challenge of prevalent narratives, which invites students to transition from dormant receptors of knowledge to self-aware, curious, and critical learners. In this sense, legal revisionism does not sit well with outdated curriculum and information. For example, many students do not know that Pluto, which was classified as one of nine planets in our Solar System for over 70 years, was demoted in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. 

As a theory, legal revisionism is best suited to my teaching — that is African Customary Law, Legal and Religious Pluralism, and Law and Society. This is because it encourages students to challenge orthodox ideas in the light of legal history. Being realistic about Africanisation and decolonisation, it presents contemporary African customary laws as products of people’s adaptations to the socioeconomic changes (including laws) brought by European colonialists. In a learning context, I do not hesitate to draw students’ critical attention to Africa's new legal identity, as conferred by colonialism and its attendant legal, economic and cultural transplants. 

Generally, I anchor legal revisionism on these four elements: 

How I teach

In response to students’ post-pandemic struggles and their disparate learning circumstances, I have started implementing a ‘a modified segmented teaching style’. Organised in three flexible stages, phase one uses the first ten minutes of lecture to establish a succinct and easily understood theme. This theme is emphasised until students assimilate it. To fully focus, I discourage them from taking notes. In phase two, I use the bulk of the lecture period to expand on the lecture theme. By now, the students know what is important and take intermittent notes. In the final stage, I conduct an interactive question and answer session aimed at further stimulating students’ critical thinking. 

My teaching philosophy is unavoidably interdisciplinary and critical. I present law as an intriguing paradox. On paper, it is lifeless; but when efficiently used, it is a tool for social transformation. I believe the law curriculum should be developed and renewed with consideration for sister disciplines such as economics, history and politics. I draw from my work experiences in a legal aid clinic, non-profit organisations and international tribunals to expose students to the ideas and emotions that drive law’s application, the social structures that produce and constrain the law, and the impact of social structures on individuals’ agency. Indeed, my students are often startled at the historical link between the notion of human rights and the Christian notion of (individual) salvation, the evolution of employer-employee relations from slavery and serfdom, parallels between the notion of communal responsibility under indigenous African law and Anglo-Saxon law, and the development of legal positivism from the violent dominion of State sovereignty. 

However, having a teaching philosophy does not make one a good teacher unless one is able to understand students' learning needs and apply one's philosophy to meet these needs. I turn now to how I engage with these needs ... 

References 

AC Diala “Curriculum decolonisation and revisionist pedagogy of African customary law” (2019) 22 Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 1-37.

Hodson, D. and Hodson, J. “From constructivism to social constructivism: A Vygotskian perspective on teaching and learning science” (1998) 79(289) School Science Review 33-41.

Vygotsky, L. Mind in society (London: Harvard University Press, 1978).