I can teach you to play the banjo, and you can choose my teaching method from one of these two options: Option A is learning by reading reviews of recent banjo compact discs. The reviews may express differing opinions of the same music, like these reviews of Steve Martin’s CD, “The Crow.” The Wall Street…
DetailsI. Introduction II. Contexts III. Changing the Intellectual Apprenticeship: Social Science and the Intellectual Missions of Law Schools A. Integrating Social Science about the Legal Profession into Professional Training B. Using Social Science in Assessment and Pedagogical Change C. From Real-World Law Practice to Interdisciplinary Legal Education As the first decade of the twenty-first…
DetailsIntroduction I. Progress in Developing a Transactional Legal Education A. An Integrated Transactional Curriculum B. Appropriate Course Materials C. Association of American Law Schools—New Sections Focusing on Transactions II. Students Should Learn about Transactional Practice, Law, and Skills in the First Year III. Integrating Transactions Into First-Year Property A. First Exercise: Interviewing Clients and Negotiating the…
DetailsIntroduction I. Maryland’s Legal Writing Program: Integrating Doctrine and Writing in the First Semester and Integrating the Faculty Who Teach the Connected Courses A. The Evolution of an Integrated Program: How Much Doctrine Is Enough? 1. Thesis: The Twentieth Century Integrated Program 2. Antithesis: Year-2000 Curricular Reform 3. Synthesis: Integrating Writing and Doctrine in the…
DetailsIntroduction I. What the Carnegie Report Says and Critical Responses to Its Recommendations II. The Carnegie Report’s Unquestioning Acceptance of Hierarchies within the Legal Academy A. The Report Recognizes the Marginalization of Skills Faculty B. The Report Accepts Job Security and Status Limits for Skills Faculty C. The Report Accepts Space and Location Restrictions for…
DetailsWhen I went to the ABA’s “new dean school” before I commenced my position at Southwestern in 2005, one very prominent dean on the “faculty” was asked about the role of deans in developing the curriculum. To paraphrase, his message was “Do not spend your time on curriculur reform. It’s a waste of time. The…
DetailsIntroduction I. The Carnegie Report on Legal Education II. Before Law School: The Demise of Liberal Arts Education in Undergraduate Institutions. III. After Graduation: The Economic Pressures of Actual Practice IV. Conclusion Introduction The Carnegie Foundation issued its book-length report, Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (Carnegie Report) in 2007.1 Although there have…
DetailsIntroduction I. Unannotated Bibliography II. Annotated Bibliography Introduction This Bibliography seeks to supply legal writing professors, students, judicial law clerks, and judges with a list of resources that will be helpful for both opinion writing and for those preparing to work with or write for judges. The number of law school courses offered in…
DetailsIntroduction I. Writing Centers: History and Theory A. Writing Center History B. Writing Center Theory 1. Positivism: Focus on Product and Formalism 2. Expressivism: Student-Centered Writing Centers and the Writing Process 3. Social Constructivism: Writing Centers and the Collaborative Process II. Theorizing the Law School Writing Center A. The Pedagogical Benefits of a Law School…
DetailsIntroduction I. Grading Methods Defined A. Norm-Referenced Grading B. Criteria-Referenced Grading C. Pass-Fail Grading D. Another Method—Open Grading II. Grading In Law School A. Most Law Schools Use Norm-Referenced Grading B. The Significance Of Grading In Legal Writing Classes III. How Norm-Refernced Grading Is Inconsistent with Current Trends in Legal Education A. Overview B. Assessment…
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