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Integrating Academic Success and the Legal Writing Curriculum
Jane Bloom Grisé UK College of Law
LWI 2014 Conference July 2, 2014
HOW DO YOU SAIL A BOAT?
JUST DO IT“[K]nowing the rules of the law is like knowing the names for the parts of the
boat; it is useful information which teaches little about the enterprise itself….To learn
law, one must do law.”
Professor James B. WhiteUniversity of Michigan Law School
AGENDA
How can Academic Success Programs coordinate with Legal Writing programs?
Why should Academic Success programs coordinate with Legal Writing programs?
UK PILOT –2012-13
Two Academic Success Critical Reading Sessions
1st session– used criminal case for Legal Writing closed memo
2nd session – used defamation case needed for Legal Writing open memo
UK PILOT – 2013-14
Two Academic Success sessions on critical readingUsed Legal Writing closed memo cases
Academic Success time management sessionUsed Legal Writing Syllabus
Academic Success session on reading statutesUsed Legal Writing closed memo statute
ACADEMIC SUCCESS LEGAL WRITINGAssists in development of skills needed for
creating and writing documents:
Reading cases
Reading statutes
Case synthesis
Time management BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEGAL WRITING ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Learning transfer is not automatic.
Learning transfer is enhanced with theoretical instruction, practical application, & feedback.
Motivation is key.
Stigma can be eliminated.
LEARNING BY DOING
LEARNING OCCURS BEST WITH:
Abstract instruction and concrete explanations
Time for development of understanding rather than mere memorization
Real world context
High motivation
FUTURE INTEGRATION
Time management in spring semester
Additional critical reading sessions
Explicit distinctions between casebook & case reading
Handout - SummaryHOW CAN ACADEMIC SUCCESS COORDINATE WITH LEGAL WRITING? Academic Success critical reading sessions can use cases from Legal Writing assignments. Academic Success statutory analysis sessions can use statutes from Legal Writing assignments. Academic Success time management sessions can use Legal Writing syllabus. WHY SHOULD ACADEMIC SUCCESS COORDINATE WITH LEGAL WRITING? General skill development can enhance Legal Writing performance. Students must be able to read and understand cases and statutes before they can create documents. Students must be able to synthesize cases before they can create documents. Students need time management skills to be able to successfully complete writing assignments. Legal Writing assignments can enhance general skill development.
The transfer of learning is not automatic. Transfer of learning is most effective when students receive theoretical information and the opportunity to
practice skills. When cases from legal writing assignments are used in skill sessions, students can learn theoretical principles and immediately practice the skills.
Transfer of learning is also dependent upon feedback. Legal Writing courses provide immediate feedback to students.
Transfer of learning is most successful when there is high motivation. Students are highly motivated to learn skills when the skills are relevant to specific assignments with deadlines.
Since all students must complete writing assignments, the stigma of attendance at skill sessions can be eliminated.
Handout - Resources John R. Anderson, Lynne M. Reder & Herbert A. Simon, Situated Learning and Education, 25 EDUC. RESEARCHER 5 (1996).
Linda Darling-Hammond & Kim Austin, Session 11 Lessons for Life: Learning and Transfer, THE LEARNING CLASSROOM 189.
Keith J. Holyoak & Kyunghee Koh, Surface and Structural Similarity in Analogical Transfer, 15 MEMORY & COGNITION 332
(1987). John M. Keller, Strategies for Stimulating the Motivation to Learn, PERFORMANCE & INSTRUCTION (1987). Rola Khishfe, Explicit Nature of Science and Argumentation Instruction in the Context of Socioscientific Issues: An Effect on
Student Learning and Transfer, 36 INT’L J. OF SCI. EDUC. 974 (2014). David R. Krathwohl, A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview, 41 THEORY INTO PRACTICE 212 (2002). Bhawani Shankar Subedi, Emerging Trends of Research on Transfer of Learning, 5 INT’L EDUC. J. 591 (2004). James B. White, The Study of Law as an Intellectual Activity, 32 J. LEGAL EDUC. 1 (1982). Robert Zheng, Effects of Situated Learning on Students’ Knowledge Acquisition: An Individual Differences Perspective, 43 J.
EDUC. COMPUTING RES. 467 (2010).
