Teaching the Law School Curriculum, by Steven Friedland and Gerald Hess, is designed to provide ideas, materials, and alternatives for teaching 15 law school courses.
The book offers guidance from 170 law teachers for both new and experienced law teachers on planning and delivering effective courses. Each chapter has five sections: (1) Approach, (2) Materials, (3) Class Exercises, (4) Brief Gems, and (5) Evaluation of Students.
Approach: How can a teacher approach this course? This section encompasses global issues about a course, such as goals, organizational scheme, general philosophy, syllabi, and coverage. It includes different teachers' thoughts on the following areas:
- whether the course is best taught through the problem method, case method, a practicum, or otherwise;
- the main principles or skills that students should take away from the course; and
- the key topics and the order in which they should be covered (e.g., whether Civil Procedure should cover the rules before jurisdiction and Erie; whether in Contracts damages should come first or last).
Materials: What kinds of materials will enhance the course? This section includes various teachers' views on:
- Textbooks. Teachers discuss the merits of different types of basic course materials.
- Handouts. The book includes specific handouts that teachers have created and provides their suggested ways to use the handouts (i.e., hand them out all prepared, build them in class, or have students participate in their creation); and
- Other Resources. Teachers have suggested legal and nonlegal materials -- print, audio, video, or of other electronic nature (e.g., Internet site; CALI exercises) -- that provide useful background, evoke an emotive response, or promote discussion.
Class Exercises: What teaching and learning activities work well in this course? This section provides suggestions for in- and out-of-class projects. It includes techniques that promote learning, such as simulations and role-playing projects, drafting assignments, and collaborative problem solving.
Brief Gems: What succeeds in this course? In this section, teachers have shared devices and ideas that have proven effective in their classes. They include:
- useful analogies (i.e., prefiling a financing statement is like saving a seat at a movie theater or saving a place in line at the bank);
- humor (cartoons to illustrate concepts);
- ways to treat a particular case; and
- means to incorporate humanism, ethics, and professionalism into the course.
Evaluation of Students: When and how should students be evaluated? This section includes teachers' thoughts on feedback and assessment both during and at the end of the course. It include suggestions about:
- helping students to perform self-evaluation;
- providing students with feedback before the end of the semester; and
- the variety of evaluation mechanisms (e.g., essay exam, objective exam, paper, journal, drafting exercise) most appropriate to the subject matter.
Contact Carolina Academic Press to obtain a copy of Teaching the Law School Curriculum.
