CRICOS No J A Statutory interpretation EXperience: Putting the SEX into statutory interpretation Professor Des Butler (Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow) James Duffy Dr Elizabeth Dickson Faculty of Law Queensland University of Technology

Student thoughts about statutory interpretation Statutory Interpretation is for many people a boring subject Statutory Interpretation can be dry and boring when reading a textbook It would [be] very difficult, for me, to have had to learn statutory interpretation entirely theoretically.

LLB101 – Introduction to Law (lectures) Three lectures on legislation and statutory interpretation – Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) – Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld) – Intrinsic material – Extrinsic material – Syntactical presumptions

LLB101 – Introduction to Law (tutorials) Three tutorials on statutory interpretation – Each week we provided students with a piece of legislation and a set of facts – Typical question: Advise X whether they have breached section 5 of the Bore Students to Death Act 2013 (Qld). – Tutorial questions get progressively trickier as the weeks progress – Some questions involve real legislation, others involve fictional legislation

LLB101 – Introduction to Law (tutorials) Regardless of how cool and edgy our questions were, student engagement was still an issue.

Indigo’s Folly ‘Authentic voice’ Interview with Boddice J Prologue video Reclaiming the PatchBringing in the Crowds Pigeon Problems Starting with a Bang Rufus the Rat Floor of Fire Bollywood Killjoys Twisted Security

Traditional approach

‘Bringing in the Crowds’

Traditional approach

‘Rufus the Rat’

‘Bollywood Killjoys’

Student response (n= 184) It helped me to engage with the skill of statutory interpretation more than I think I usually would. It encouraged me to think about the skill of statutory interpretation more than I think I usually would. It helped me to see the real world relevance of the skill of statutory interpretation. It helped me to understand the skill of statutory interpretation in real world practice

Student response It helped me gain a better understanding of statutory interpretation in practice than I would have done from solely text-based questions using different and unrelated short fact scenarios. I enjoyed using Indigo’s Folly as part of my studies.

Student response ‘I realised the extent to which legislation impacts the lives and choices of ordinary people. That helped to give a broader context to my studies. I realised how important it is to master the skill of statutory interpretation.’ ‘It was engaging. It was motivating. It was unlike any other tool I have used to learn. The program allowed me to maintain interest in statutory interpretation. The program also allowed me to really question and understand statutory interpretation. The idea of an interactive program allowed me to WANT to learn.’ ‘It wasn't a ridiculously made-up story, it was something that we could possibly be asked to advise on in the future. This made engaging in the program easier and made statutory interpretation easier to recall, as I had a real-life situation I could apply/relate rules to.’ ‘I thought it was a great interactive way of learning. Statutory Interpretation is for many people a boring subject but this module spiced it up a bit. For the first time in a while, I actually enjoyed logging on and doing the required work.’ ‘[I] could pretend I wasn't really studying.’

Student response Which of the following do you think best describes your learning style?