{"id":7857,"date":"2024-06-17T14:55:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T13:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=7857"},"modified":"2025-02-19T21:55:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:55:15","slug":"darren-weir-law-teacher-of-the-year-finalist-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/darren-weir-law-teacher-of-the-year-finalist-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Darren Weir, Law Teacher of the Year Finalist 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final of the OUP Law Teacher of the Year<\/a> was held on Friday 14th June as part of the Celebrating Excellence in Law Teaching<\/a> (CELT) event. Darren Weir<\/a>, Senior Lecturer at Kent Law School, was one of 5 finalists in a tough competition.<\/p>\n

His nomination was student-led, with the support of Professor Rosemary Hunter KC (Hon.) FAcSS<\/a>, Head of Kent Law School, and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Watch the video<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Introducing Darren Weir, LTOTY Finalist 2024<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Darren Weir \u2013 wow! Expected the unexpected. <\/span>Darren is an incredibly dynamic, engaging, and energised teache<\/span><\/b>r. In his classroom, we had music, lights, countdown, fun, humour, and energy. Darren brings an incredible amount of energy to the teaching space, and it is clear to see his<\/span> passion for law and learning<\/span><\/b>. He cares about his students, and he has an incredible connection with them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Darren just absolutely loves to teach. He is passionate about teaching \u2013 and for him, the classroom space is about fun, joy, passion, engagement whilst ensuring the students have the skills and knowledge required to excel.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His colleagues highlighted this \u2013 though his classroom is lively and full of energy, he has high expectations for his students, he challenges them, he pushes them to be better. We also heard, from his colleagues, about how much he inspires them. How he inspires them to be better teachers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Darren\u2019s students couldn\u2019t speak more highly about him and his impact in Kent Law School. On emails \u2013 wait for it, one student said, <\/span>\u2018we only read the emails Darren sends\u2019 <\/span><\/b>– because we know it will be something worthwhile for us. Another student spoke about how engaging he was, how students just turn up for Darren’s classes! Another said, \u201cYou could genuinely just sit there for hours and watch him talk about law because <\/span>he loves it, he breathes it<\/span><\/b>\u201d. Another student commented that he had \u201ccompletely changed\u201d their perspective of their law degree through the way he teaches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a former barrister, Darren has brought with him to Kent Law School \u2013 his expertise, contacts and drive to support students wishing to go into legal practice. On the employability and extra-curricular provision, Darren absolutely leads the way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He is the go-to person in the law school on employability, networks and bringing the law school and the community together. The opportunities Darren has cultivated and carved out for his students at Kent are just incredible. By way of one example, Darren has \u201cdeveloped and led the Student Outdoor Clerking Scheme\u201d, where students act as clerks for local solicitor firms. Through these initiatives, Darren, we heard – \u201cputs Kent students in a position where they can see their studies go from theoretical to the practical\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of his teaching philosophy and approach \u2013 we heard so powerfully from Darren about his absolute joy of teaching, and his passion about employability and supporting students with skills. Powerfully, Darren said \u2018I am a teacher\u2019 \u2013 it gives me joy to invest my life in that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final word on Darren comes from his Head of School who described him as \u201cone of the most phenomenal law teachers\u201d they had ever come across, citing his engaging teaching, his energy, and his care for his students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Darren has an upbeat and enthusiastic approach to teaching which ensures there is never a dull moment in his seminars, making his classes a joy to attend. His wealth of first-hand knowledge is invaluable and contextualises the topics we are learning making it much easier to understand” – Student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Darren, congratulations – a huge well done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch the video<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n