A Legal Design Classroom: Reflections on Learning Through Legal Education

Abstract

This article reflects on the work of TILT Access to Justice Technology and Design Lab, and the experiences of the authors (both students and teachers) in using as well as reflecting on legal design as a method for study, classroom interaction, and project management. It discusses projects of the Lab, exploring dynamics related to problem-solving, the value of engaging in continuous reflexivity and its positive impacts – namely how probing one’s assumptions, biases, actions and solutions can lead to revelations not initially foreseen. 

Experiential learning - including in legal education - has been shown to facilitate the development of students' educational potential through a focus on drawing from lived experiences, plural perspectives, and contested cultures. Through making the classroom inclusive, students benefit from a rich learning environment that values diversity and promotes understanding of different perspectives. This article aims to contribute to the field through demonstrating how legal design can have value in building open, critical, as well as impactful learning environments in legal education.