Teaching Philosophy
My aim has always been to successfully combine the two traits that I admire most in university teachers – to provide students with an exciting learning experience and also provide them with total support in their studies.

The main concept that dominates my pedagogical approach is 'student-focused lecturing'. My teaching decisions are determined by always asking the question – 'How can I provide students with an enriching, educational and enjoyable experience?' My success as a university lecturer has been in providing a similarly enriching learning experience for a class of 300 students as I could for a class of 30 students.

My aim as a lecturer is to place the law in context for students by exploring its history, philosophy and relationship with wider society. Students learn best when they are passionate about a subject. Therefore, I endeavour to foster an interest in law amongst my students that will carry them through their law degree and into their professional careers. I then work with students to transform that passion into legal knowledge and skills.

Teaching Performance
Teaching large classes involves performing. There is no other way to describe lecturing to hundreds of people. If there is no performance element, there will be little or no engagement with the audience. Teaching a class of 10 students is somewhat different, but since my teaching reputation has been largely built on teaching large classes (50–300 students) my focus here is on the importance of combining pedagogy, public speaking and performance.

The first key to bringing a lecture alive is enthusiasm, letting the students see the passion that you have for the subject. The second factor is preparation. There is no substitute for rehearsing. All the important aspects of public speaking, including clarity, pace, eye contact, structure and empathy are directly relevant to lecturing. Recently, when teaching Jurisprudence in first year law, I used Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice as an example of the differences between naturalism and positivism. Instead of just requiring students to read the famous 'Quality of Mercy' trial scene, I acted the scene out in class with help from my tutorial team.

Teaching Approach
My teaching success comes from a specific teaching approach as well as from experience. I use the following acronym to describe my approach to teaching and to prepare every class I teach: SIR ROM. Simply put, I aim to keep learning simple, interactive, relevant and organised, to make a connection with each class and to use teaching technology to support my goals.

'S' is for keeping it Simple.
While my specialist areas of Legal History and Jurisprudence are complex subjects that must be treated with the utmost integrity, I try to make the content accessible to students by presenting information in a clear and logical manner. It is important to always check that students are keeping up with the information. I do this through class question time in every lecture. Law involves many difficult concepts that students must learn, but there is no value in using unnecessary academic jargon that will alienate students.

'I' is for Interaction.
It is vital that students are actively involved in the learning process. At Victoria Law School we use the Socratic question and answer method, but I tend to utilise it in a more 'user-friendly' fashion. Students know in advance when their section of the class will be called upon to answer questions and are asked in pairs. I often set aside 5–10 minutes during a lecture solely for class debate. This is an effective way of dealing with individual students who are overly keen to contribute during the lecture. The student can be informed that their opinions are valued and can be voiced during the debate session.

'R' is for Relevance.
Students will enjoy the learning experience more if they see the direct relevance of the information to their own lives. I continually provide everyday examples of legal situations and current events to complement the subject of the day. For example, when designing my class on Critical Race Theory in Jurisprudence I used the Foreshore/Seabed controversy to provide context for the students.

The second 'R' is for Rapport.
A confident and relaxed manner and a passion for teaching will create a strong rapport with the class, no matter what size it is. Rapport also comes from getting to know students. In large classes, extra effort is needed to meet students and to make sure they do not feel like anonymous 'ID numbers'. During the first few weeks, I spend the final 5–10 minutes of each lecture meeting students and answering questions while the rest of the class discuss a set problem. Moving around the lecture theatre breaks down the awkward barrier between the lecturer behind the lectern and the students seated row upon row. Though meeting with students takes a while, I have never had a student complain about this use of lecture time.
 
'O' is for Organisation.
Organisation is a necessity for successful teaching, especially in large courses, and I spend a lot of time designing classes, formulating learning objectives for each course topic and making sure students are aware of administrative issues.

'M' is for Multi-media.
We live in a technological age and students expect us to utilise that technology. By using the Internet, videos, music, PowerPoint, overheads and books, students are exposed to a range of learning media. This approach creates variety in delivery. In any given lecture, I would use approximately four different types of media integrated into the lecture. Students appreciate a dynamic approach to presenting information, especially when many of the students are young school leavers raised on advanced information technology. Using different information media also proves to students that law does not exist in splendid isolation, but is instead part of a much wider context.