Using visual learning tools for teaching criminal law

Abstract

This article is focused on the analysis of introducing visual tools in teaching criminal law to second year students. The author of the article underlines the need for changing the approach towards students’ learning and adjusting the teaching tools in order to facilitate the development of legal reasoning skills of future lawyers. In particular this article is focused on analyzing the impact of film clips on students’ learning during criminal law classes. The findings included in this article are based on the authors’ own research conducted during one year through engaging students in various exercises and exposing them to different interactive teaching interventions. The author argued that film clips may help law students to gain legal reasoning skills. As a result the assessment showed that they help students to understand better the context, to identify the facts, to establish the legal issue and to apply the appropriate legal norm. In addition, author’s research assessed students’ attitudes and ways of thinking while solving hypothetical criminal law cases.