This is how I teach
This month we spoke with Madeleine Perrett from the Adelaide Law School, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics. Madeleine is a PhD candidate, sessional teacher and HDR representative. She was recently awarded the school’s Semester 1 Prize for Excellence in Sessional Teaching and will be formally recognised of this achievement at a ceremony in November.
Here Madeleine shares how teaching law is both challenging and deeply rewarding, and how she inspires her students to see their role in shaping its future.
How would you describe your approach to teaching / your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is grounded in relationality, reflexivity, and inclusion, with a strong focus on bringing my research into the classroom. My PhD explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ aspirations for reform in Australia, and as a non-Indigenous scholar I approach this teaching with transparency, cultural integrity, and a commitment to ethical engagement. I share my positionality openly with students to model reflexivity and encourage them to examine their own.
In my classes, I emphasise asking “why” - why are certain rules considered law? Why do some voices shape the system while others are excluded? By combining structured materials, real-world examples, and culturally responsive learning approaches (such as yarning circles), I aim to create safe and challenging spaces where students can interrogate these questions. My goal is not just to teach legal doctrine, but to inspire critical thought, confidence, and courage in pursuing justice and reform.
What do you like most about teaching in your discipline?
What I love most about teaching law is guiding students to uncover the human and political dimensions of legal systems. Law is not neutral - it reflects choices about power, justice, and exclusion - and this makes teaching it both challenging and deeply rewarding.
In subjects such as Aboriginal Peoples and the Law, I support students to grapple with questions of sovereignty, governance, and reform. I particularly enjoy seeing the moment when students move from memorising rules to critically asking why those rules exist and what purposes they serve. Helping them connect legal theory to contemporary debates - whether around the Voice referendum or treaty processes - sparks rich conversations about what law could and should be.
For me, the most exciting part is witnessing students find their voice: questioning, challenging, and beginning to see themselves not just as future practitioners, but as agents of change.
How does your teaching help prepare students for their future?
My teaching prepares students for their future by equipping them with both technical skills and critical perspectives. I design assessments that mirror real-world tasks, such as interpreting legislation, evaluating policy, or analysing Indigenous governance frameworks, while encouraging students to reflect on law’s broader social and ethical implications.
I also bring my research into the classroom, ensuring students engage with pressing questions about reform and justice in Australia. This helps them understand that law is not static but contested, and that their role as graduates is to participate in shaping its future.Madeleine Perrett
Beyond formal teaching, I mentor students through challenges and transitions, supporting them to build resilience and professional confidence. Whether guiding a student from repeated failure to their first High Distinction, or mentoring another through pathways into the legal profession, I see my role as preparing students not just for exams, but for meaningful, principled legal careers.
Which approach to educating students about academic integrity have you found to have the most impact?
The approach I find most impactful is treating academic integrity as part of professional identity, not simply a compliance requirement. I integrate it throughout the learning process, designing scaffolded assessments that build skills in paraphrasing, referencing, and legal writing step-by-step.
As the International Student Support Tutor for the Adelaide Law School, I run targeted workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate international students that explain not just the “how” of referencing, but the “why” - why originality matters, why respecting sources is foundational to scholarship, and why integrity underpins credibility in the legal profession. I also use real examples to show both the consequences of misconduct and the value of independent thought.
By embedding integrity in this way, students see it less as a punitive rule and more as a cornerstone of professional practice. It empowers them to approach their studies - and their future legal work - with confidence, honesty, and respect for the voices and knowledge that shape law.