General Resources on Teaching Law
Books
Steven Friedland & Gerald F. Hess, Teaching the Law School Curriculum (2004).
TC Law Library KF272 .F75 2004
This book is organized by legal course topic, i.e. Contracts, Criminal Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, etc.
Table of Contents: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0420/2004016555.html
Gerald F. Hess & Steven Friedland, Techniques for Teaching Law (1999).
TC Law Library KF272 .H47 1999
Contents: Teaching and Learning – Theory, Research and Applications, Course and Class Planning, Questioning and Discussion Techniques, Visual Tools, Real-Life Learning Opportunities, Reconstructing the Classroom Through Collaborative Learning, Computers, Simulations and Role-Playing, Writing Exercises, Classroom Assessment: Feedback to Teachers, The Evaluation of Students, Teaching and Learning Environment.
Philip C. Kissam, The Discipline of Law Schools: The Making of Modern Lawyers (2003).
TC Law Library KF272 .K58 2003
Contents: Basic Practices (includes Elite & Non-Elite Law Schools, Professional Expectations, The Core Curriculum, Casebooks, The Case Method, Law School Examinations, The Institutions of Scholarship, The Placement Process), Space and Time, Disciplinary Techniques, Reform, Foreign Relations, Ethics.
Legal Canons (J.M. Balkin & Sanford Levinson, eds., 2000).
TC Law Library KF272 .L426 2000
Contents: The Canon in the Curriculum (Empire or Residue: Competing Visions of the Contractual Canon, Canons or Property Talk, or, Blackstone’s Anxiety, Vanished from the First Year: Lost Torts and Deep Structures in the Law, Criminal Law, Teaching American Civil Procedure Since 1779, Of Coase and the Canon: Reflections on Law and Economics), The Canon and Groups (Race Relations Law in the Canon of Legal Academia, Recognizing Race in the American Legal Canon, Feminist Canon, Homosexuals, Torts, and Dangerous Things), The Constitutional Canon (The Canon in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Canons and Constitutional Thought).
Legal Education and Professional Development--An Educational Continuum, Report of the Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession: Narrowing the Gap, Am. Bar Ass'n Section of Legal Educ. & Admissions to the Bar (1992).
TC Law Library KF272 .A4652x 1992
Legal Education for the 21st Century (Donald B. King, ed., 1999)
TC Law Library KF272 .L433 1999
Contents: General Background and Direction (Proposals for Change, New Paradigm), Change (Questions, Implementation), Contemporary Issues and Developments (Diversity, Transition to Practice, Technological Developments and Issues), Teaching, Scholarship and Ethics (Law Teaching, Legal Scholarship, Legal Ethics), Constituent Concerns (Faculty Concerns, Law Student Concerns, Administrative Concerns), Comparative and International Perspectives, Law Schools and Other Organizations (Law School Relationships, Other Organizations), Law from Other Perspectives (Law and the Public, An Interdisciplinary View).
Madeleine Schachter, The Law Professor’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Teaching Law (2004).
TC Law Library KF272 .S29 2004
Contents: The Decision to Teach (Motivations for Teaching, The Learning Process, The Application Process, Preparation to Assume the Position), Designing the Course (Defining Objectives, Formulating the Course Curriculum, Selection of Case Materials, Course Requirements), Conducting Classes (Logistical Aspects, Collaborative Teaching, Integration of Electronic and Media Tools, Class Sessions), Class Assessment and Evaluation of Faculty, Interacting With Students Relating as a Professor to Students, Accessibility to Students, Special Students Needs).
Roy Stuckey et al., Best Practices for Legal Education (2007).
TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .S85x 2007
Contents: CLEA’s Best Practices Project, Executive Summary and Key Recommendations, Reasons for Developing a Statement of Best Practices, Best Practices for Setting Goals of the Program of Instruction, Best Practices for Organizing the Program of Instruction, Best Practices for Delivering Instruction, Generally, Best Practices for Experiential Courses, Best Practices for Non-Experiential Teaching Methods, Best Practices for Assessing Student Learning, Best Practices for Assessing Institutional Effectiveness, Components of a "Model" Best Practices Curriculum, The Road Ahead.
William S. Sullivan et al., Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (2007).
TC Law Library KF272 .E38 2007
Summary available at:
http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/dynamic/publications/elibrary_pdf_632.pdf
Teaching and Learning Professionalism: Report of the Professionalism Committee, Am. Bar Ass'n Section of Legal Educ. & Admissions to the Bar (1996)
TC Law Library KF272 .T43x 1996
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Journals & Databases
The Law Library subscribes to the following legal education journals:
Journal of Legal Education
TC Law Library Periodicals Per.J749
Law Teacher
TC Law Library Periodicals Per.L42
Legal Education Review
TC Law Library Periodicals Per.L4615
Syllabus
TC Law Library KF200 .L43
We also provide online access to the following journals. They deal mostly with education law, but will also have some articles on legal education:
Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal
TC Law Library Periodicals Per.B7535
Journal of Law and Education
TC Wilson Periodicals
The following periodicals deal with higher education in general:
Chronicle of Higher Education
TC Magrath Library Current Reading Area
TC Wilson Periodicals
Inside Higher Ed
To find articles on legal education, you can search the following databases:
LegalTrac An index to articles in law reviews, law journals and legal newspapers (1980-Present). Includes U.S., British Commonwealth and E.U. law-related topics.
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Coverage includes 800+ legal periodicals, law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes, government publications and books, (dates of coverage vary but begin no earlier than 1980 for periodicals and 1993 for books).
LRI (Westlaw)
Index to Legal Periodicals (Lexis)
Additionally, you can find list of education databases available through the University of Minnesota here: http://www.lib.umn.edu/site/spesub.phtml?subject_id=58
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Articles
Jill Schachner Chanen, Re-Engineering the J.D.: Schools Across the Country Are Teaching Less About the Law and More About Lawyering, A.B.A.J., July 2007, at 42.
Some law schools are moving away from the Socratic method to more "lawyering-centered" way of teaching law, as recommended by the Carnegie Foundation's Report on legal education ("Educating Lawyers") and the MacCrate Report.
John J. Costonis, The MacCrate Report: Of Loaves, Fishes, and the Future of American Legal Education, 43 J. Legal Educ. 157 (1993).
"The 1992 MacCrate Report ... defines a vision of legal education whose import, I believe, will compete with the several visions that dominated the American law school in the late nineteenth, the mid-twentieth, and now the late twentieth century ... [T]he MacCrate Report hews aggressively to a practitioner-oriented concept of legal education. Its template for determining what and how law schools should teach derives from its description of what lawyers actually do."
"The questions addressed in the MacCrate Report are not novel, this review clarifies, but have plagued university-based legal education from its earliest days ... Likewise exposed are similarities and differences associated with the Report's insistence on viewing legal education through the practitioner's lens. The subsequent sections of the essay describe and critique the Report using the Prologue as a foundation for both tasks."
Andrea A. Curcio et al., Law School and Bar Examination Performance: Developing an Empirical Model to Test Whether Required Writing Exercises or Other Changes in Large-Section Law Class Teaching Methodologies Result in Improved Exam Performance, 57 J. Legal Educ. 195 (2007)
"[W]e examined whether multiple practice essays, combined with peer and self-assessment using annotated model answers, had any effect on first-year law students' ability to break a legal rule into its component parts and perform a complex factual analysis on an essay exam ... On average, students in the writing exercise class performed better on the essay exam questions, but the most statistically significant benefit inured to students who had above-the-median LSAT scores and above-the-median UGPA scores."
Okianer Christian Dark, Transitioning from Law Teaching to Practice and Back Again: Proposals for Developing Lawyers Within the Law School Program, 28 J. Legal Prof. 17 (2003-2004).
This article suggests incorporating ethics instruction across the curriculum, strengthening clinical programs and promoting ADR.
James Eagar, The Right Tool for the Job: The Effective Use of Pedagogical Methods in Legal Education, 32 Gonz. L. Rev. 389 (1996-97).
This article questions traditional legal teaching and encourages law teachers to be aware of a wide range of different pedagogical methods available to them, and to use those methods which best meet the goals of their courses.
Russell Engler, From 10 to 20: A Guide to Utilizing the MacCrate Report over the Next Decade, 23 Pace L. Rev. 519 (2003).
Helps those committed to enhancing skills and values instruction at their law schools to begin the process of assessment and programmatic development by offering specific strategies, opting for lists and brief explanations over grand theory and extensive prose.
B. Glesner Fines, The Impact of Expectations on Teaching and Learning, 38 Gonz. L. Rev. 89 (2003).
Explores the research on expectation effects (self-fulfilling prophesy and self-sustaining expectation) in education and offers suggestions for putting the research into practice.
Steven I. Friedland, How We Teach: A Survey of Teaching Techniques in American Law Schools, 20 Seattle U. L. Rev. 1 (1996).
Discusses the results of
a nationwide survey which asked: how do we teach and why? The survey requested information about teaching goals, methods, rationales, new techniques, and any techniques professors wished they had used.
The second part of this article discusses learning theories and how they relate to law school teaching methods. "The survey results show that although many law professors continue to use only the Socratic method, others are exploring alternative methods that may better ensure the effectiveness of the learning process."
Andre Hampton, Legal Obstacles to Bringing the Twenty-First Century into the Law Classroom: Stop Being Creative, You May Already Be in Trouble, 28 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 223 (2003).
This article discusses the copyright implications for teachers wanting to use multimedia content in the law classroom.
Jeffrey D. Jackson, Socrates and Langdell in Legal Writing: Is the Socratic Method a Proper Tool for Legal Writing Courses? 43 Cal. W.L.Rev. 267 (2007). Suggests that the Socratic method is a valuable tool for teaching legal writing.
Mary Kate Kearney & Mary Jane Kearney, Reflections on Good (Law) Teaching, 2001 L. Rev. Mich. St. U. Det. C.L. 835 (2001).
The author applies her mother's reflections on teaching to her own experiences as a law school professor.
Daniel Keating, A Comprehensive Approach to Orientation and Mentoring for New Faculty, 46 J. Legal Educ. 59 (1996).
This dean recounts the his law school's progression from informal to formal orientation and mentoring programs for new faculty.
James B. Levy, The Cobbler Wears No Shoes: A Lesson for Research Instruction, 51 J. Legal Educ. 39 (2001).
This articles explores how law teachers can make legal research more exciting and stresses that enthusiam for the topic (which is often lacking) is of primary importance.
James B. Levy, Escape to Alcatraz: What Self-Guided Museum Tours Can Show Us About Teaching Legal Research, 44 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 387 (2001).
Discusses how pre-recorded, self-guided museum tours, like the Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour, can be adapted to better teach students how to use the law library. He also recommends using "Alcatraz-style" research exercises to engage students in legal research.
Paula Lustbader, Construction Sites, Building Types, and Bridging Gaps: A Cognitive Theory of the Learning Progression of Law Students, 33 Willamette L. Rev. 315 (1997).
This article proposes "a common theoretical foundation like the “Learning Progression”: a cognitive theory that explains the evolutionary learning process of law students. Teachers can use it to design lesson plans that target specific stages that students are working through. Students can use it as a blueprint for learning. In working through the sites, students will have a more solid foundation in constructing an analysis that will not collapse under scrutiny. This Article explains the Learning Progression. The first Part begins with a brief overview of the Learning Progression. The second Part provides a primer on learning, cognitive, and instructional theories."
Deborah Maranville, Infusing Passion and Context into the Traditional Law Curriculum Through Experiential Learning, 51 J. Legal Educ. 51 (2001).
Lawrence McNamara, Flexible Delivery, Educational Objectives and the (Political) Importance of Teaching, 35 Law Tchr. 198 (2001).
Eleanor W. Myers, Teaching Good and Teaching Well: Integrating Values with Theory and Practice, 47 J. Legal Educ. 401 (1997).
Describes Temple Law School's Integrated Transactional Practice course, which merges the teaching of theory and practice and provides a concrete and realistic context for students to experience the moral dimension of practice.
Raymond M. Ripple, Learning Outside the Fire: The Need for Quality Instruction in Law School, 15 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 359 (2001).
Discusses the rise of incivility within the legal profession and how to combat it, its effect on lawyers' reputations, and how civility, ethics and professionalism are intertwined.
Jack L. Sammons, Traditionalists, Technicians, and Legal Education, 38 Gonz. L. Rev. 237 (2003).
The author describes the situation in legal education as such: "The traditionalists' problems are created by their reliance upon a central virtue that has become too abstracted from the practice. Traditionalist assumptions offer an Aristotelian way of determining what good lawyering could be, but these assumptions provide no coherent methodology for either confirming or producing it. The problems with technician assumptions are exactly the opposite. Their assumptions offer a methodology for confirming and producing good lawyering, but no way for determining what good lawyering might be ... In simplest terms, we could say that one school knows where it is going and why, but not how to get there, while the other knows how to get there, but not where it is going or why.
John O. Sonsteng et al., A Legal Education Renaissance: A Practical Approach for the Twenty-First Century, 34 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 303 (2007).
"For more than a century, law school teaching has relied on an education model that focuses on theory, providing minimal opportunity for students to learn and apply the practical problem-solving skills critical to becoming a competent lawyer in real world settings. Modern learning theory provides direction, and the tools are available for improving the legal education system to prepare students for the practice of law ... This article has two sections. The first section provides an overview of the history and status of legal education. The second section suggests a model for change, and incorporates modern learning theory and teaching tools. It provides answers to criticism as it addresses curriculum, teaching, faculty, and costs."
Robert P. Schuwerk, The Law Professor as Fiduciary: What Duties Do We Owe to Our Students, 45 S. Tex. L. Rev. 753 (2003). The author writes: My focus here is on the destructive impact of the current dominant legal education pedagogy on vast numbers of law students who pass through our hands, the causes of that devastation, its continuing consequences on our students' abilities to lead productive and fulfilling professional lives after law school, and how that destructive impact might best be eliminated or at least significantly ameliorated." He proposes more collaborative teaching, more mentoring and also de-empasizing grades.
Kennon M. Sheldon & Laurence S. Krieger, Understanding the Negative Effects of Legal Education on Law Students: A Longitudinal Test of Self-Determination Theory, 33 Pers Soc Psychol Bull 883 (2007). "Longitudinal studies suggest that law school has a corrosive effect on the well-being, values, and motivation of students, ostensibly because of its problematic institutional culture. In a 3-year study of two different law schools, the authors applied self-determination theory’s dynamic process model of thriving to explain such findings. Students at both schools declined in psychological need satisfaction and well-being over the 3 years. However, student reports of greater perceived autonomy support by faculty predicted less radical declines in need satisfaction, which in turn predicted better well-being in the 3rd year and also a higher grade point average, better bar exam results, and more self-determined motivation for the first job after graduation."
Karen L. Tokarz, A Manual for Law Schools on Adjunct Faculty, 76 Wash. U. L.Q. 293 (1998).
Topics include: integration of adjunct faculty into the intellectual and social community, providing practical guidance to adjunct faculty about beginning the teaching process, and information to be provided to adjunct faculty.
Arturo L. Torres & Karen E. Harwood, Moving Beyond Langdell: an Annotated Bibliography of Current Methods for Law Teaching, 1994 Gonz. L. Rev. 1 (1994).
This annotated bibliography covers 42 topics and focuses on practical articles from 1985 to 1993.
Arturo Lopez Torres, MacCrate Goes to Law School: an Annotated Bibliogprahy of Methods for Teaching Lawyering Skills in the Classroom, 77 Neb. L. Rev. 132 (1998).
"This bibliography compiles those law review articles that explore the teaching of lawyering skills in the traditional, non-skills oriented law courses [and thereby] provides law professors information on how to incorporate skills training into substantive and other nontraditional, skills-related courses."
Arturo Lopez Torres & Mary Kay Lundwall, Moving Beyond Langdell II: An Annotated Bibliography Of Current Methods For Law Teaching, 35 Gonz. L. Rev. 1 (2000).
Covers law review articles offering practical suggestions on pedagogy from 1993 to 1999.
Paul T. Wangerin, Teaching and Learning in Law School: An “Alternative” Bookshelf for Law School Teachers, 1994 Gonz. Law Rev. 49
Janet Weinstein & Linda Morton, Stuck in a Rut: The Role of Creative Thinking in Problem Solving and Legal Education, 9 Clinical L. Rev. 835 (2003).
"This article focuses on the mental process of creative thinking ... Creative thinking is an essential component to problem solving. In training future lawyers, we must do a better job of incorporating and supporting creative thinking in legal education. We conclude the article with a description of some of our efforts toward this objective.
What Can Law Schools Do Better? The Complete Lawyer, Vol 3. #5 (2007).
A collection of essays in this online periodical on the topic of improving legal education.
J. Harvie Wilkinson, III., Legal Education and the Ideal of Analytic Excellence, 45 Stan. L. Rev. 1659 (1993).
The author, a federal judge, is concerned that "the traditional ideal of analytic excellence is threatened in the present law school environment" because "[m]odern legal education is in danger of forsaking its classroom roots."
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DVDs/Videos Videotape:
Videotape: Principles for enhancing legal education (Institute for Law School Teaching, Gonzaga University School of Law 2001). TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .P75x 2001
Videotape: A day in the life of -- law school teaching (Institute for Law School Teaching, Gonzaga University School of Law 1994). TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .D39x 1994
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Websites & Blogs
1000 Voices - A National Archive is a collection of video stories created by filmmakers across the country to help to put a human face on policy issues. "Each video story is accompanied by a set of "social dialogue" and
advocacy tools, which help demonstrate to students how personal testimonial stories can be presented and leveraged for policy impact."
ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar
Best Practices for Legal Education
"This site was created with two goals in mind: 1) to create a useful web-based source of information on current reforms in legal education arising from the publication of Roy Stuckey’s Best Practices for Legal Education and the Carnegie Foundation’s Educating Lawyers; and 2) to create a place where those interested in the future of legal education can freely exchange ideas, concerns, and opinions."
Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction
CALI is a non-profit consortium of law schools that researches and develops computer-mediated legal instruction and supports institutions and individuals using technology and distance learning in legal education. Also has links to podcasts, and its own blog:
http://caliopolis.classcaster.org/blog/
Clinical Legal Education Association CLEA serves "as a voice for clinical teachers and to represent their interests inside and outside the academy." Their website contains a directory of members, abstracts from the journal Clinical Law Review and a pdf of Roy Stuckey's Best Practices for Legal Education.
Gonzaga University School of Law Institute for Law School Teaching
The institute recognizes the obligations law schools owe both students and society to provide a learning environment that helps students achieve the highest academic standards, and become effective, moral attorneys. The Institute was established in 1991 to help Gonzaga University School of Law and other law schools meet these obligations. The Institute is committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning in legal education.
The Law School Innovation blog, which is part of the Law Professor Blogs Network, focuses on technological innovation in law school education.
Law School Teaching and Learning Resources
Legal Scholarship Blog
"This blog, managed by faculty and staff at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the Gallagher Law Library of the University of Washington School of Law, features Law-related Call for Papers, Conferences, and Workshops as well as general legal scholarship resources."
The Teaching and Learning Law Resources for Legal Education Resource page, created by Professor Barbara Glessner-Fines at University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School.
Transforming Legal Education
"Learning and Teaching Law in the Early Twenty-First Century" This UK site has a blog, a wiki, and other publications which critique the way law is currently taught.
National Legal Research Teach-In
"The National Legal Research Teach-In, sponsored by RIPS-SIS, is an annual campaign to give law librarians the opportunity to share materials and ideas for legal research instruction. Each year the RIPS Teach-In committee solicits contributions from the law library community to create a compilation of materials for use in developing and advertising educational programs and events for our institutions." Materials include syllabi, handouts and guides, games, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
Out of the Jungle
“Thoughts on the present and future of legal information, legal research, and legal education.”
The UK Centre for Legal Education
(UKCLE) supports effective practice in learning, teaching and assessment in law. UKCLE is a subject centre of the Higher Education Academy.
Information for New Law Teachers
Articles
R.H. Abrams, Sing Muse: Legal Scholarship for New Law Teachers, 37 J. Legal Educ. 1 (1987).
This article explores one possible approach to legal This author's suggested approach to legal scholarship "is premised on two major theses: (1) producing several smaller works that build in scope and difficulty is appropriate and valuable at the outset of a writing career, and (2) the actual creative writing process is not characterized by large leaps of genius and bursts of frantic activity but by a far more methodical routine within the ability and power of all new law teachers."
Lorraine Bannai et al., Sailing Through Designing Memo Assignments, 5 Legal Writing 193 (1999).
Susan J. Becker, Advice for the New Law Professor: A View from the Trenches, 42 J. Legal Educ. 432 (1992).
A newish professor dispenses advice on choosing course material, preparing a syllabus and different aspects of interacting with students.
Gerald F. Hess, Learning to Think Like a Teacher: Reflective Journals for Legal Educators, 38 Gonz. L. Rev. 129 (2003).
A law professor reflects on the benefits of reflection.
M.K. Kane, Some Thoughts on Scholarship for Beginning Teachers, 37 J. Legal Educ. 14 (1987).
Prof. Kane states "scholarly endeavors form the core of what law teachers are about ... So I will begin with that question in an effort to explore what scholarship is, and I will conclude with some remarks about what the novice teacher should
consider in deciding the kinds of scholarly endeavors to pursue in the earliest stages of a teaching career.
Eric L. Muller, A New Teacher’s Guide to Choosing a Casebook, 45 J. Legal Educ. 557 (1995).
Provides detailed advice on what to look for when selecting a casebook.
Douglas K. Newell, Ten Survival Suggestions for Rookie Law Teachers, 33 J. Legal Educ. 693 (1983).
1. Enjoy Yourself, 2. Use Whatever Material Is Available (The Milton Berle Theory), 3. Avoid the "Instant Expert Trap", 4. Structure the Class But Avoid The Railroad Track, 5. Personalize the Class Discussion, 6. Create an Atmosphere in Which a Student Will Take Risks, 7.Change the Pace, 8.Look and Listen In and Out of Class, 9.Try Your Own Post-Mortem, 10. Set An Example.
William P. Quigley, Introduction to Clinical Teaching for the New Clinical Law Professor: A View from the First Floor, 28 Akron L. Rev. 463 (1995). Gives a history of clinical legal education, advice on how to supervise students, and discusses the relationships between teacher, students and clinic clients.
Madeleine Schachter, "Designing the Course," in The Law Professor’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Teaching Law (2004).
TC Law Library KF272 .S29 2004
Kent Syverud, Taking Students Seriously: A Guide for New Law Teachers, 43 J. Legal Educ. 247 (1993). The author summarizes this essay this way: “If it makes sense to you, do what I try to do, and what I sometimes actually accomplish on a very good day.”
Donald J. Weidner, A Dean's Letter to New Law Faculty About Scholarship, 44 J. Legal Educ. 440 (1994).
A law dean explains to faculty why they must publish.
Douglas J. Whaley, Teaching Law: Advice for the New Professor, 43 Ohio State L.J. 125 (1982). Topics covered include: getting ready for your first class (choosing your courses, scheduling, setting a goal, learning your subject, selecting a casebook, daily preparation), in the classroom (teaching as an "ego trip", being yourself, the students's egos, classroom tricks), and the exam (preparing it, grading it, and after it).
Websites
American Association of Law Schools
Workshops for New Law Teachers
http://www.aals.org/events_nlt.php
Careers in Law / Becoming a Law Professor by Eric Goldman
http://www.ericgoldman.org/Resources/becomingalawprofessor.htm
Breaking Into The Academy: The 2002–2004 Michigan Journal of Race & Law Guide For Aspiring Law Professors
http://students.law.umich.edu/mjrl/guide/Guide.pdf
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Course Planning & Teaching
Alternative Strategies and Active Learning
Robin A. Boyle, Employing Active-learning Techniques and Metacognition in Law School: Shifting Energy from Professor to Student, 81 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 1 (2003).
This article describes how some law professors have been experimenting with active learning strategies in their classes and shares various classroom active learning and metacognition techniques.
Robert P. Burns, Teaching the Basic Ethics Class Through Simulation: The Northwestern Program in Advocacy and Professionalism, 58 Law & Contemp. Probs. 37 (1995).
Summarizes the principles underlying Northwestern's ethics program, and describes the classes, teaching methods and program materials.
Randy D. Garrison and Norman D. Vaughn, Blended Learning in Higher Education: Framework, Principles, and Guidelines
TC Law Library LB2395.7 .G36 2008
"Blend learning" mixes traditional "face to face" techniques with cutting-edge developments in theory and technogy. This book, "summarizes the current theory behind blended learning but offers practical guidelines (with examples) on how to transform existing courses into the new framework."
Paul Maharg, Clinical Legal Education: Active Learning in Your Law School, 33 Law Tchr. 103 (1999).
Roy Stuckey et al., "Best Practices for Delivering Instruction, Generally" and "Best Practices for Experiential Courses" in Best Practices for Legal Education (2007).
TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .S85x 2007
Clifford S. Zimmerman, “Thinking Beyond My Own Interpretation:” Reflections on Collaborative and Cooperative Learning Theory in the Law School Curriculum, 31 Ariz. St. L.J. 957 (1999)
"This article will explore why [collaborative and cooperative learning theories] are not more readily adopted in legal education and propose guidelines for their use in law school writing assignments generally, and for first year legal analysis assignments in particular."
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Technology In Teaching
Fran Ansley & Cathy Cochran, Going On-Line with Justice Pedagogy: Four Ways of Looking at a Website, 50 Vill. L. Rev. 875 (2005).
Tells the story behind the creation of this website:
http://www.law.utk.edu/library/teachinglearning/default.html
This is a web-based portfolio created by a law professor and law librarian to display collaborative student projects. It also lists resources on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Paula E. Berg, Using Distance Learning to Enhance Cross-Listed Interdisciplinary Law School Courses, 29 Rutgers Computer & Tech. L.J. 33 (2003).
Ruth Buchanan & Sundhya Pajuha, Using the Web to Facilitate Active Learning: A Trans-Pacific Seminar on Globalization and the Law, 53 J. Legal Educ. 578 (2003)
Paul L. Caron, "Teaching with Technology in the 21st Century Law School Classroom" . Paul Caron, THE FUTURE OF LAW LIBRARIES, Thomson-West, 2006 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=896906
Paul L. Caron and Rafael Gely, "Taking Back the Law School Classroom: Using Technology to Foster Active Student Learning." 54 J. Legal Educ. 551 (2004) Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=527522
Maria Perez Crist, Technology in the LRW Curriculum - High Tech, Low Tech, or No Tech, 5 Legal Writing 93 (1999).
Fred Galves, Will Video Kill the Radio Star? Visual Learning and the Use of Display Technology in the Law School Classroom (2004) http://law.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1999&context=expresso
Prof. Galves proposes that "more law professors should teach law in a manner that is familiar to the way in which law students increasingly are accustomed to receiving information in society, at home, and at school –- through visual technology." He goes on to detail his own use of technology in the classroom.
Pearl Goldman, Legal Education and Technology: An Annotated Bibliography, 93 Law Libr. J. 423 (2001). This annotated bibliography covers articles on the the impact of computer technology on law schools and legal education from 1970 to 2001.
Pearl Goldman, Legal Education and Technology II: An Annotated Bibliography, 100 Law Libr. J. 415 (2008). "To help legal educators locate materials that inform and enrich their teaching and writing, Professor Goldman offers an updated annotated bibliography of articles, commentaries, conference papers, essays, books, and book chapters that examine the impact of technology on legal education."
Joan MacLeod Heminway, Caught in (or on) the Web: A Review of Course Management Systems for Legal Education, 16 Alb. L.J. Sci. & Tech. 265 (2006).
This article describes the authros experiences with the two primary web-based course management systems for law schools, Twen and LexisNexis Web Courses.
Kenneth J. Hirsh & Wayne Miller, Law School Education in the 21st Century: Adding Information Technology Instruction to the Curriculum, 12 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 873 (2440).
The authors contend that "little has been done to expose future attorneys to the role that information technology will play in their professional lives." They outline a proposed course on technology in the practice of law.
Peter A. Hook, Creating an Online Tutorial and Pathfinder, 94 Law Libr. J. 243 (2002).
This article explains how the disciplines of information architecture and information visualization can contribute to designing successful Web-based tutorials and pathfinders.
Stephen M. Johnson, www.lawschool.edu: Legal Education in the Digital Age, 2000 Wis. L. Rev. 85 (2000).
The author, a CALI board member, examines the potential use of technology to enhance traditional law school teaching, and the benefits of using technology to enhance traditional law school teaching methods. He also examines the costs of using technology and the institutional obstacles that could prevent technology from replacing traditional law school teaching methods, and attempts to predict the manner in which technology ultimately will be incorporated into law school teaching in the twenty-first century.
Gene Koo, New Skills, New Learning: Legal Education and the Promise of New Technology (March 26, 2007). Berkman Center Research Publication No. 2007-4 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=976646
"The original research conducted for this white paper finds that these skills include organizing complex distributed teams, exploiting data and information on the Web, and "meta-lawyering" (establishing systems of practice). The study also finds that traditional methods of training such as apprenticeship have eroded in recent years and that law schools often overlook skills education, leaving a large gap in training of all skills and not just technology-related ones. The paper discusses how thoughtful use of pedagogical technology can address these needs, arguing for integrated and authentic learning experiences rather than "teaching technology" in the abstract."
Lessons From the Web 1998-2003, Patrick Wiseman, ed., http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/lessons/index.htm
William M. Richman, Graphic Forms in Conflict of Laws, 27 U. Tol. L. Rev. 631 (1996).
The author discusses his use of illustrations, charts, graphs, flow charts, and diagrams to teach conflicts.
Madeleine Schachter, "Integration of Electronic and Media Tools" in The Law Professor’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Teaching Law (2004).
TC Law Library KF272 .S29 2004
Jayne Elizabeth Zanglein & Katherine Austin Stalcup, Te(A)chnology: Web-Based Instruction in Legal Skills Courses, 49 J. Legal Educ. 480 (1999).
The authors set out to test their thesis that "Web-based technology can improve student learning and satisfaction in skills-based courses because it allows students to choose among various sensory stimuli according to their own learning styles."
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Examinations & Grading
Robert A. Chapman, Trial as a Law School Exam, 41 Trial Law. Guide 236 (1997).
Linda R. Crane, Grading Law School Examinations: Making a Case for Objective Exams to Cure What Ails "Objectified" Exams, 34 New Eng. L. Rev. 785 (2000). The author argues that "There is a remarkable inconsistency between the method of teaching law school subjects by focusing on judicial opinions, ... and the method of testing law school subjects by using borderline fact laden hypothetical situations" and proposes that more professors use objective law exams.
G.M. Filisko, How Best to Build a Lawyer? Ideas Float About Changing Law School and Bar Exams, but Few Show That They Have Sticking Power, 92-May A.B.A. J. 38 (2006).
This article reviews various proposals for revising -- or possibly even abolishing -- law schools in order to improve legal education.
Steven I. Friedland, A Critical Inquiry into the Traditional Uses of Law School Evaluation, 23 Pace L. Rev. 147 (2002).
Argues that "[l]aw schools and instructors have undervalued assessment as a teaching tool and overvalued evaluation as an accurate, objective measuring device." The author proposes a "dualist approach to the evaluation function, enhancing evaluations as measuring devices and expanding evaluations to serve as pedagogical tools."
Howard Gensler, Law School Examinations and Factual Analysis, 31 Law Tchr. 198 (1997).
Douglas A. Henderson, Uncivil Procedure: Ranking Law Students Among Their Peers, 27 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 399 (1994).
"This Article attempts to discredit the institutional practice of ranking law students among their peers. Part I presents a brief overview of the present system of testing and ranking, its impact on law student careers and the present justifications for these practices. Part II evaluates ranking, and the single end-of-term essay on which it is based, according to psychometric theory, learning theory, and statistical theory. Part III justifies abandoning the system by showing some of the detrimental effects that ranking has on students. Part IV suggests performance assessment as a preferable alternative. Part V concludes that whatever “new” method is chosen, the current practices of law schools cannot continue unaltered."
Dennis A. Honabach, Precision Teaching in Law School. An Essay in Support of Student-Centered Teaching and Assessment, 34 U. Toledo L. Rev. 95 (2002-2003).
The author argues that law schools do not use “precision teaching" - pedagogical techniques that focus on the needs and abilities of individual students; instead, they use "average" instructional strategies to teach to the hypothetical "average" student. He suggests that law schools make "teaching output a priority for law professors and devising a method of assessing education output in a measurable objective fashion" in order to facilitate a more student-centered educational culture.
Lucy Cheser Jacobs & Clinton I. Chase, Developing and Using Tests Effectively (1992).
TC Veterinary Medical Library LB2366.2 .J33 1992
Discusses test (essay and multiple choice) design and administration, as well as alternative forms of evaluation.
Michael S. Jacobs, Law School Examinations and Churchillian Democracy: A Reply to Professors Redlich and Friedland, 41 DePaul L. Rev. 159 (1991). Dismisses the claims by Profs. Redlich and Friedland (below) that objective law schools exams would be preferable (and preferred) to essay examinations.
Michael S. Josephson, Learning and Evaluation in Law School (1984).
TC Law Library KF272 .J67 1984
Discusses test (essay, short answer, multiple choice) design, administration, and scoring.
Daniel Keating, Ten Myths About Law School Grading, 76 Wash. U. L.Q. 171 (1998)
The author identifies the following myths: Law School Grades Are a Good Predictor of Who Will Become a Good Lawyer, Law School Grading Is Not REALLY Anonymous, “My Grades Would Be Higher, If Only I Could Learn ‘Exam Technique”’, Law School Administrators Serve as a Grade “Appeals Court” to Reverse Particularly Unfair Grades of Professors, Students Generally Benefit from a System in Which Employers Are Given as Little Information as Possible About Relative Class Standing, Law School Grades Have Objective, Non-Relative Meaning Myth, Fewer Gradations in a Grading System Are Better Than More Gradations, It Is Mathematically and Equitably Justifiable to Deviate from a Purely Linear Conversion of Raw to Actual Points, Mandatory Medians And Other Such Restrictions on a Grader's Autonomy Are Undesirable and Unfair, Students in Small Classes and Seminars Should Generally Get Higher Grades.
Philip C. Kissam, The Ideology of the Case Method/Final Examination Law School, 70 U. Cin. L. Rev. 137 (2001).
"The ideological forces that sustain the traditional system of legal education require examination in order to establish a fair and open evaluation of the system and of proposals that would change the system. This article analyzes these forces and then concludes its critique by sketching a fanciful but realistic “utopia” of legal education that would decenter the case method/final examination system and install diverse alternative methods throughout the law school curriculum."
Philip C. Kissam, Law School Examinations, 42 Vand. L. Rev. 433 (1989).
"This Essay provides a ‘systemic analysis' and a ‘total critique’ by assessing the structure, contextual relationships, values, and adverse effects of law school examinations."
Grant H. Morris, Preparing Law Students for Disappointing Exam Results: Lessons from Casey at the Bat. San Diego Law Review, Vol. 45, No. 2, May/June 2008. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1018729
This article discusses whether law professors should prepare their students for the disappointing grades that many will receive and suggests that professors do have a duty to confront this problem. The auhtor goes on to "offer a strategy by which professors can acknowledge students' pre-examination anxiety and deal constructively with their impending disappointment."
Norman Redlich & Steve Friedland, Challenging Tradition: Using Objective Questions in Law School Exams, 41 DePaul L. Rev. 143 (1991).
This article criticizes the traditional "issue-spotter" Blue Book law exam and suggests that it should be supplemented with an objective component.
Norman Redlich & Steve Friedland, Reply to Professor Jacobs: Right Answer, Wrong Question, An Essay, 41 DePaul L. Rev. 183 (1991).
The response to Prof. Jacobs' reply to their initial article.
Ruthann Robson, The Zen of Grading, 36 Akron L. Rev. 303 (2003).
The author shares "introspection about my own practice of grading. These observations are divided into five sections, Invisible Practice and Practice, Beginner's Mind, NOW, Sangha, and Desire and Suffering."
Gregory Sergienko, New Modes of Assessment, 38 San Diego L. Rev. 463 (2001).
"The purpose of this Article is to call attention to a variety of alternatives to this traditional format that are more accurate and less burdensome than traditional essay exams. Increasing accuracy makes it possible to determine whether the instruction has been effective, allowing the instructor to address areas of weakness before the course ends and to improve future classes. Decreasing the burden of assessment of student learning allows for faster feedback, which is more effective."
Roy Stuckey et al., "Best Practices for Assessing Student Learning," in Best Practices for Legal Education (2007).
TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .S85x 2007
Adam G. Todd, Exam Writing as Legal Writing: Teaching and Critiquing Law School Examination Discourse, 76 Temp. L. Rev. 69 (2003).
The author argues that legal writing professors should spend more time discussing and teaching exam writing.
Paul T. Wangerin, Alternative Grading in Large Section Law School Classes, 6 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 53 (1993).
Prof. Wangerin attempts to reconcile these two propositions: First, law school teachers despise grading and most will not commit more time to it. Second, most law school classes use the end-of-term essay exam, "which is not consistent with generally accepted theory regarding grading in higher education. This theory indicates that a much better grading system involves frequent testing and frequent feedback." The professor describes other grading systems which provide more frequent feedback, but which do not increase time spent grading.
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Course & Teaching Assessments
Ron M. Aizen, Four Ways to Better 1L Assessments, 54 Duke L.J. 765 (2004).
The author, a former English teacher turned law student, argues that law schools should "increase the quantity, quality, and variety of first-year assessments."
Filippa Marullo Anzalone, It All Begins with You: Improving Law School Learning Through Professional Self-Awareness and Critical Reflection, 24 Hamline L. Rev. 324 (2001).
The author suggests that "by knowing more about ourselves and our own learning processes, preferences, and inclinations, we will become better teachers" and calls this article "a self-report of my own reading of the literature of applied learning theory."
Anne Enquist, Critiquing and Evaluating Law Students' Writing: Advice from Thirty-Five Experts, 22 Seattle U. L. Rev. 1119 (1999).
Compiles the advice of 35 legal writing teachers, each with at least 5 years experience, who responded to the author's survey.
Kristin Booth Glen, Thinking out of the Bar Exam Box: a Proposal to 'MacCrate' Entry to the Profession, 23 Pace L. Rev. 343 (2003).
The author, a law school dean, notes the bar exams disparate negative impact on minorities, and proposes craeting a better exam -- "one that tests more validly what bar examiners have always posited as the bar exam's purpose, i.e. minimum competence to practice law unsupervised."
Gerald F. Hess, Listening to Our Students: Obstructing and Enhancing Learning in Law School, 31 U.S.F. L. Rev. 941 (1997).
"The major thesis of the essay is that law teachers can improve their teaching and increase the learning of all students by listening to students' perceptions of the teaching/learning environment in law school." This essays names and discusses "six principles are central to adult teaching and learning: voluntariness, respect, collaboration, context, activity, and evaluation."
Institute for Law School Teaching, Gonzaga University, Assessment, feedback, and evaluation (2001).
TC Law Library KF264 .G64x 2001
James B. Levy, As a Last Resort, Ask the Students: What They Say Makes Someone an Effective Law Teacher, 58 Me. L. Rev. 49 (2006).
Discusses the results of a student survey of two law schools that "asked students to give their opinions about what makes someone an effective, and conversely an ineffective, law school teacher. In particular, the survey focused on asking students to identify the personality traits, personal characteristics, and classroom behaviors that make someone a good teacher. "
Gregory S. Munro, Outcomes Assessment for Law Schools (2000).
TC Law Library KF272 .M86x 2000
Looks at all levels of assessment (institution, faculty, students), with on "How to Do Assessment" and "The Assessment-Centered Course."
Madeleine Schachter, "Class Assessment & Evaluation of Faculty," in The Law Professor’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Teaching Law (2004).
TC Law Library KF272 .S29 2004
Topics include: Evaluation of Students, Methods & Timing of Conveying Feedback, Grading Standards, and Faculty Assessment.
John Henry Schlegel, Walt was right, 51 J. Legal Educ. 599 (2001).
Prof. Schlegel states that "the first-year curriculum persists as it does because any other one would mean that law teachers could no longer engage in normative legal thought and since most students "are paying a fortune for the privilege of taking the bar review course necessary to pass a bar exam after graduation ... these students deserve huge doses of theories about the practices of law, theories that will be useful for them for five or ten years (and not just until the Supreme Court decides the question) in sorting out the work they will be told to do, but that no one in their law firm will take the time to explain to them."
Roy Stuckey et al., "Best Practices for Assessing Institutional Effectiveness," in Best Practices for Legal Education (2007).
TC Law Library Reserve KF272 .S85x 2007
William S. Sullivan et al., "Assessment and How to Make it Work" in Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (2007).
TC Law Library KF272 .E38 2007
Topics include: Assessing Conceptual Knowledge, Using Assessment as Formative Pedagogy, Using Assessments Appropriate to Developing Expertise, Assessing Lawyering Skills, Assessing Ethical-Social Development, and Toward Institutional Intentionality.
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General Support Services
U of M’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers http://www.adt.umn.edu/
A number of Academy faculty, from all four campuses, are willing to serve as resources to University faculty regarding a number of teaching and learning issues. Listed below are topics and the Academy faculty willing to be contacted. Feel free to contact them to discuss ideas or questions. http://www.adt.umn.edu/resources/faculty.html
Links to articles that address a variety of issues related to teaching and learning in postsecondary education.
The Teaching at Carolina handbook (http://ctl.unc.edu/tac.html) published in 1991, was designed as a reference work that instructors can consult when they have questions or want information on a specific aspect of teaching.
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?PAGE_ID=720&bhcp=1
The Cooperative Learning Center http://www.cooplearn.org/index.html#thecenter
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Assessment Resources at the U of M http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/teaching/scholarship.html
All About Teaching Campus Instructional Consulting (Indiana University)
http://www.indiana.edu/~teaching/allabout/
Contains resources on the following topics: IU Teaching Handbook (an online primer consisting of three sections: Preparing to Teach, Teaching Methods, and Creating a Positive Environment), Publications on Teaching & Learning, Preparing Graduate Students to Teach, Academic Dishonesty Prevention and Detection & Diversity in Teaching.
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Links verified 4/26/2008
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