– Which teaching program would you like to highlight for your colleagues at the faculty right now?
– In 2021, we established a course addressing the intersection of psychology with the legal system, namely legal psychology. Psychology students gain insight into the legal system, while law students learn basic psychology, and then we delve into precisely how psychology and the law interact in a Norwegian and international context. The lofty goal of the field is to prevent miscarriages of justice through a fact-based approach.
– The course is distinguished by our interdisciplinary teachers who possess experience and expertise from both disciplines. A highlight of the semester is the session on wrongful convictions, where students analyse the legal and psychological backdrop of well-known judicial errors. The applied perspective is also reflected in the exams, where students can choose between analysing a case or responding to a more traditional essay question. Work on the course has led to a new book on legal psychology, authored by Sverre Blandhol, one of the professors of law teaching the course, and myself.
– Each year, over 100 students from the Faculty of Law and the Department of Psychology enrol in the course, and it is academically rewarding to hear the perspectives of students from diverse academic backgrounds.
– Who are you collaborating with?
– Administratively, the course is the product of collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the Faculty of Law.
– In several of the lectures, both course leaders participate, Ulf Stridbeck from law and myself from psychology, providing students with a glimpse of how professionals can collaborate, interpret psychological findings, solve legal puzzles, and occasionally have differing views based on their own professional perspectives.
– We have six teachers on the course, all with specialised expertise, including a senior police officer from KRIPOS.
– In your opinion, what are the three most important factors for achieving good teaching in this field?
– Enthusiastic and available teachers
– Continuously updated teaching content
– Clear administrative instructions
– If you were to give one piece of advice to new teachers at the faculty, what would it be?
– When planning your teaching, consider the subject from the perspective of a bright student who knows nothing about the field.