Law Commons^™

An Active Learning Approach To Teaching Tough Topics: Personal Jurisdiction As An Example, Cynthia M. Ho

Cynthia M Ho

No abstract provided.

New Modes Of Assessment, Gregory S. Sergienko

Greg Sergienko

The traditional and dominant mode of formal assessment in law schools is an essay examination administered at the end of the semester. Unfortunately, the essay exam is prone to inaccuracies, some of which can be balanced by other forms of assessment. In addition, essay exams are extremely burdensome to grade.

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 …

Measuring Scholarly Impact: A Guide For Law School Administrators And Legal Scholars, Gary M. Lucas Jr

Gary M. Lucas Jr.

The author intends for this Essay to serve as a guide for law deans and legal scholars interested in measuring the impact of legal scholarship. In addition, university administrators should find it helpful for comparing the impact of their own law faculty’s scholarship with the scholarship of law faculties at other universities. The primary obstacle to such comparisons is a dearth of publicly available information. To that end, the Essay recommends that each law school create a Google Scholar profile for its faculty and explains the procedures for doing so. By acting on this recommendation, administrators would dramatically improve our …

The Trading Card Effect, Adam Epstein

Adam Epstein

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a teaching method that I have used for the last several years and have found to be effective particularly during the challenging final weeks of the semester. I reward students with trading cards for answering questions currently during an unannounced quiz to provide positive reinforcement in an engaging way. Students ultimately form teams and receive a relevant and classic football, baseball, basketball, hockey, or other trading card that they can keep as a souvenir to the class and the course. The intent is to give something to the students directly relevant to …

Answering Legal Problem Questions In A Grid Format, Alex Steel, Dominic Fitzsimmons

Alex Steel

The development of legal reasoning skills is a fundamental aspect of legal education. What has sometimes been called “learning to think like a lawyer” is a threshold competency that students must acquire before they can progress to more complex analysis of broader legal issues. This chapter discusses the use of problem-based scenarios to both engage students and to develop legal analysis. It outlines the threshold difficulties students must overcome in order to read texts as a lawyer and explains how use of a grid format answer – rather than an essay format – can both assist students to overcome these …

Power And The Morality Of Grading - A Case Study And A Few Critical Thoughts On Grade Normalization, Deborah Waire Post

Deborah W. Post

No abstract provided.

Designing Research Assignments To Encourage Critical Thinking And Creative Problem-Solving Skills, Linda Kawaguchi

Linda Kawaguchi

Advanced legal research (ALR) courses are unique in that they provide continual and immediate feedback to both students and teachers over the course of the semester. Unlike traditional doctrinal courses, ALR typically employs a variety of teaching methods and students receive multiple forms of assessment. This level of interaction allows teachers to respond quickly when students are struggling with specific concepts or need clarification. This article analyzes lessons learned from two assignments.