How to Teach Factual Analysis: Assessing an Indian Evidence Law Course
| Author | Ajay Kr Sharma |
| Published date | 01 July 2018 |
| Date | 01 July 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2322005818774657 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
How to Teach Factual Analysis:
Assessing an Indian Evidence
Law Course
Ajay Kr Sharma1
Abstract
This article experientially narrates the innovative use of certain fact-finding and analysis methods,
namely, ‘an investigation problem’, the Wigmorean chart method and the probability theory with
Bayesian analysis (with the case law demonstrating its pragmatic application and limitation), by the
author, an Indian law teacher, in teaching his ‘law of evidence’ course. This marks a departure from
the conventional way of teaching evidence law in India, which presents its own challenges. In the
course of this article, the author vividly shares his teaching experiences, discusses the academic
resources used, highlights the key learning outcomes derived in administering these components,
and delineates their overall positive impact on the learning of the subject. He further validates these
experiences on the basis of the results of an empirical study conducted by him, in which a large
number of his students voluntarily participated and gave their feedbacks. The results demonstrate
the efficacy of these factual analysis methods individually, and their positive correlation with the
increased understanding and knowledge of this course. This is descriptively demonstrated by the
results obtained from Kendall’s Tau-b correlation which, along with the graphics, show a significant
monotonic relationship between the said three methods and their cumulative contribution in terms of
the overall learning of the subject. This empirical study also demonstrates an overall match between
the author’s teaching experience as an evidence law teacher in teaching the avowed fact analysis
methods, and his evidence law class’ experience as the students learning them, which is crucial for
every effective teaching–learning exercise. After discussing important literature on teaching fact analysis
and evidence law, the author concludes by justifying his overall use of the ‘hybrid approach’ in teaching
his ‘law of evidence’ course. Consequentially, this study seeks to inspire other evidence law teachers to
pedagogically assimilate similar methods in their curricula.
1 Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
Asian Journal of Legal Education
5(2) 122–136
© 2018 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2322005818774657
http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ale
Corresponding author:
Ajay Kr Sharma, Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
E-mail: aksnluj@gmail.com
Acknowledgements: This article was written when the author taught at the National Law University, Jodhpur (India), and narrates
his teaching experience there. Thanks are particularly due to his former student-respondents at the NLU, Jodhpur for participating
in the survey for this research work, and also generally to his entire evidence law class (January–May 2017) for inspiring him to
continuously strive to become a better teacher.
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