Law Commons^™

Creating Lightbulb Moments: Developing Higher-Order Thinking In Family Law Classrooms Through Court Observations, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

This article fills a critical gap in the family law literature by arguing that teaching doctrinal family law in conjunction with the application of established learning theory and pedagogy yields a deeper engagement with the subject matter and leads to more practice-ready lawyers. ABA Standards 301, 303, and 304 do not clearly articulate the distinction between experiential education and experiential learning; doctrinal law classrooms are often bereft of experiential learning activities. By incorporating active learning and inclusive pedagogy in the doctrinal classroom and following recommendations from the MacCrate Report and Family Law Education Reform Project, students will be better prepared …

Contemporary Teaching Strategies: Effectively Engaging Millennials Across The Curriculum, Renee N. Allen, Alicia Jackson

Journal Publications

American Bar Association ("ABA") Standard 314, Assessment of Student Learning, requires law schools to "utilize both formative and summative assessment methods in its curriculum to measure and improve student learning and provide meaningful feedback to students."' This article will connect multiple formative assessments to Bloom's taxonomy to demonstrate how law teachers can transform and enhance student learning, while promoting key steps in the self-regulated learning cycle. First, it is imperative law teachers understand the education background and social landscape that our students, mostly Millennials, bring to law school. We can acknowledge that our Millennial students are different, but what does …

The Big Bad Wolf: Helping Students Conquer Their Fear Of The Bar Exam Through P.A.S.S.- Preparation, Assessment, Self-Regulated Reflection, And Support, Alicia Jackson

Journal Publications

In light of the national decline in bar pass rates, coping with and addressing a law school’s bar passage rate is viewed by some as an insurmountable undertaking. However, I see it as an invaluable opportunity to redefine who are as law professors. Most importantly this challenge provides an opportunity for us as educators to train future attorneys to become self-aware, confident, and component to handle the challenges presented by the legal profession.

tion (“ABA”) has made it quite clear to accredited law schools and those seeking accreditation that bar passage is now a paramount factor in retaining and obtaining …

When The Aba Comes Calling, Let’S Speak The Same Language Of Assessment, David I.C. Thomson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

There has been much discussion recently in legal education circles about the need for improvements in assessment. Recently, the American Bar Association has responded by adding an assessment requirement to the accreditation standards, making the subject even more urgent. Because most of us in the legal academy are new to the language and methods of assessment, there have been misunderstandings. And further, because there are different levels of assessment and each level usually has different goals, sometimes the discussion can become confused. It is imperative that we understand the different levels and goals of assessment projects, so we may communicate …