Dr. Brónagh Heverin

Bio

Brónagh Heverin has been a Law Lecturer at Letterkenny Institute of Technology since 2002 and currently lectures on the LLB and Law with Criminal Justice Programmes in the Department of Law and Humanities. Brónagh originally graduated from the University of Ulster with a BA (Honours) in Sports Studies together with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 1988, following which she worked for a short time as a physical education teacher. In 1991, Brónagh’s career trajectory changed direction to focus on law where she returned to education and qualified as a solicitor receiving the Findlater scholarship for best overall performance in the professional exams. Brónagh then worked in private practice as a solicitor and continued to do so until 2012.

In 2004, Brónagh completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Ulster which reignited her interest in education and in particular legal education. Brónagh is an enthusiastic advocate of the use of experiential learning and reflection in academic learning with particular focus on the benefits of the development of Clinical Legal Education in Irish undergraduate legal education. Brónagh has developed and lectures on several of these modules in LYIT where she is also a joint co-ordinator of the Street Law clinic.

Brónagh is currently completing a Professional Doctorate in Legal Education at Nottingham Trent University. The focus of her doctorate is the acquisition of transferable skills by undergraduate law students.

Research Innovation & Engagement

Arising from her doctoral studies and research interests in the areas of legal education, transferable skill acquisition, experiential learning and the use of reflection in academic learning, Brónagh, together with her colleague Siobhan Cullen, has successfully procured funding in the region of €150,000 each from

• the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund 2015 (Building Digital Capacity) for the development of ‘Street Law – a module to enhance the transferable skills of law students through a digitally resourced and digitally supported module in community legal education (undergraduate law students teaching second level students)’ and
• the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund Phase 4 2018 Driving Enhancement through Capacity Building in Irish Higher Education for the development of ‘THE REAL PROJECT (Reimagining Experiential Academic Learning) (Using Experience to Teach & Learn in Law: A Framework for Engagement, Assessment and Transferability)’.

Both of these projects have facilitated the introduction of innovative pedagogical approaches to legal education.

In addition, Brónagh, again together with her colleague Siobhan Cullen, developed the Digital Badge in “Reflective Practice in Teaching’’ as part of National Forum for Teaching and Learning Professional Development Programme in January 2017 and has hosted several seminars in the areas of experiential learning, reflective practice and professional development.

Brónagh regularly presents on these research areas at academic conferences including the Irish Association of Law Teachers and the European Network of Clinical Legal Education Annual conferences among others.