Research shows that learning from learner-centered instruction trumps learning from traditional “teacher-centered” teaching. Then, why has not all teaching transformed to learner-centered (aka facilitative) teaching? Answer: the teacher does not want to change. Why? 1. Teachers like being the center of…
Feedback on your instruction
Feedback is the vehicle for improving performance in any field. How to use feedback to refine your legal teaching? Applying the following feedback loop might be helpful: (1) First review your teaching design against design standards, (2) As the teaching…
POWERPoint slides?
Mr. X had asked me to observe and comment on his teaching of law in class. Let’s just pick one point of improvement because we all tend to sin on this point frequently: How to use PowerPoint slides effectively? It…
Free e-learning actionable plans
Yesterday I bumped into a useful site for designing, implementing and enhancinge Learning for the legal sector. The site’s interesting features are its muti-focal view. It looks at e-learning from the perspective of the learner, teacher, manager, organisator, quality assurance body. You…
Learner-centered teaching: metaphors for teacher’s role
In learner-centered teaching the teacher is foremost a facilitator of learning. In contrast during traditional teaching the teaching is well … teacher-centered. Teacher-centered teaching In traditional classes teachers are the specialists who call the shots. They deliver the content, lead…
Why go to legal courses? New faces!
A lawyer told me “It is not the grades you make but the hands you shake”. Increasingly, I meet lawyers who admit having given up on learning anything worthwile from their legal training. But they found another use. The internal big…
Biglaw Training Gap
Shocking! I refer to the “above the law” results from a research on the quality of L&D in 60 big US legal firms. The researchers asked the opinion of associates in legal firm to rate their training in legal and business…
TrainWell 2015: Activating Minds
Observing legal lecturers in 2014 I reached a conclusion: Legal lecturers are in love with their own voice. Enough is never enough. They love being the center of action in the classroom. Showing their stuff gives them a sense of…
15 Minutes for a how-to on good learning technology
If you have 15 minutes to waste, have a look at the TED-talk on how to use learning technology in a good way. No waste of time.
What works? – the sobering truth
I recently read Thomas Friedman’s column in the New York Times on what is it in a school that produces engaged employees on a fulfilling career track. He refers to the outcome of a Gallup study indicating two things stand out. Successful…