A Class Act?

It's an interesting time teaching Parliamentary Law Making at the moment considering the recent the Lords rejection of the Private Members Bill to bring an EU Referendum after the next General Election - this itself can be used as an introduction to the topic, identifying what a Private Members' Bill actually is and contrasting it with a Government Bill. This initial understanding can then be utilised using the tutor2u 'Class Act' teaching and learning resource which my students thoroughly enjoyed completing their own draft bills and completing the pre-legislative stages. From learners creating their own Green Papers and entering consultation with their peers to finalising the same and bringing forward their White Papers to ultimately 4 groups having draft bills ranging from Codification of the Constitution Bill, The Young Car Drivers Insurance Bill, The Capital Punishment Bill, The Educational Maintenance Allowance Bill.

Watching learners undertake this process was fantastic as the process allowed for complete learner autonomy and for them to develop skills of critical analysis through consultation and providing constructive feedback to each other. The final part of this task was learners voting on one of the bills to take forward through the legislative process, there was just one caveat - they couldn't vote for their own! This meant that in one group tactical voting took place but was a point noted that would be revisited during the evaluation.

As a teacher I found this a fantastic activity as learners themselves began to appreciate how difficult the drafting process can be in terms of language used, interpretation and possible loopholes. It tested their skills and has set the scene for future study of Sources particularly Statutory Interpretation and Judicial Precedent. I followed this lesson with a research activity about the Legislative process with learners writing their own notes on the process, identifying Government Bills and PM Bills and the stages of the process they were at - with particular reference to the EU Referendum Bill and concluding by creating their own mnemonic which they shared with the class!

In relation to the rejected Members' Bill I printed a news article regarding this and asked my learners to read through and identify any issues or unfairness with the process and any other evaluation points. This therefore enabled learners to consider the criticisms thorough thought and research before class discussion. All in all, these lessons provide for learner autonomy, engagement, idenfiable progress and differentation.