Sarah Withnall Howe

This presentation explores strategies to boost student engagement and critical thinking in the study of undergraduate Tort Law. Addressing the challenge of low student engagement in learning and its impact on competency, this presentation offers strategies to build learner confidence and lighten cognitive load to enable deeper learning. Examples from a first-year Australian Torts unit demonstrate practical applications, including workshops, problem-solving activities and the use of generative AI tools. These methods benefit students by providing a familiar learning environment and help educators maximize resources.

This paper examines the doctrine of jurisdictional error in Australian administrative law, focusing on its role in judicial review of executive decision-making. Jurisdictional error operates as a doctrinal mechanism for delineating the boundaries of lawful authority and determining the validity of administrative decisions. The paper explores three core dimensions of jurisdictional error: its function in establishing a ground of review, its necessity for the grant of judicial remedies, and its relevance to the interpretation and constitutional validity of privative clauses. Particular emphasis is placed on the High Court’s recent clarification of the materiality threshold in LPDT v Minister for Immigration [2024] HCA 12, which resolves longstanding uncertainty surrounding the meaning, proof, and consequences of material errors. The paper also considers inherently invalidating errors—such as legal unreasonableness, bias, and serious breaches of the hearing rule—and evaluates emerging judicial support for treating such errors as inherently material.

This presentation will provide guidance on effective strategies for use when teaching Torts. In particular, approaches designed to scaffold student learning and to engage students in learning environments will be examined. Specifically, this presentation will explore the author’s experiences in delivering torts lectures in a way that is more than just ‘information dumping’, but instead engages students and develops their critical thinking skills. Further, novel assessment practices, using interactive tools available in Echo360, which foster students’ ability to effectively time manage and become independent learners, will be discussed. It is hoped that attendees at this presentation will walk away with a few practical tips and tools that they can easily apply to their own teaching practices.

This presentation will provide guidance on effective strategies for use when teaching Torts. In particular, approaches designed to scaffold student learning and to engage students in learning environments will be examined. Specifically, this presentation will explore the author’s experiences in delivering torts lectures in a way that is more than just ‘information dumping’, but instead engages students and develops their critical thinking skills. Further, novel assessment practices, using interactive tools available in Echo360, which foster students’ ability to effectively time manage and become independent learners, will be discussed. It is hoped that attendees at this presentation will walk away with a few practical tips and tools that they can easily apply to their own teaching practices.

This presentation will provide guidance on effective teaching strategies for use when delivering unit content in lecture settings. Lectures, generally a class the all students enrolled in the unit attend where key content is delivered by an academic addressing the class, have long been a key method for the delivery of unit content to students in a university setting. However, for a lecture to be an effective tool for students’ learning, it must be more than an ‘information dump’. That is, effective lecturing requires more than talking at students, but instead it should be a conversation with students. This presentation will explore the author’s experiences in lecturing in the discipline of law, and will outline a number of strategies used in lectures to foster students’ ability to become independent learners and to develop their critical thinking skills, while still conveying unit content.