The Canadian Bar Association’s 2014 Legal Futures report touches upon interesting issues for improving legal education: The how, by whom, what and input/output orientation of legal education. Reading today’s Huffington Post shows these issues are similarly relevant for legal education in other…
Teaching to blog
Teaching law students to blog Blogging is a lawyer’s jogging. Just look at a website like Real Lawyers Have Blogs. Writing a blog keeps the legal brain sharp, expands one’s network and stimulates inventiveness. Yesterday however, I read an interview…
Law professor: use humor in class
“You’re a high-priced lawyer! If I give you $500, will you answer two questions for me?” “Sure”, says the attorney. “What’s the second question?”. Should law schools become funnier? Prof. Stephen Reed at Northwestern argues that humor is an excellent pedagogical tool.…
Learning Network: Legal lecturers share experiences
Learning from each other’s experience should not apply only to learners. The same could apply to the legal lecturers. These days, when this happens online we call these social networks: Learning Networks. A Learning Network for professionals offers opportunities to…
Future of legal education: transsystemic law programs?
I was recently preparing a workshop on the phenomenon of using so called “essential questions” as a tool for achieving better results in legal teaching. Such questions not only hook learners. But these questions also serve as guiding tools for…
The secret for motivating legal learners
Legal lecturer, do you also get this eeechy feeling about yourself when, in order to truly motivate your students, you use as a carrot the promise of better grades? The explanation for your feeling could be that you and your…
Legal MOOCS: some catchup to do
Why is the amount of available MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses) for law so much lower than that available in other professional fields? Is it a fear of IT, lack of interest, feeling incompetent about online pedagogy? I do know…
Provide legal experience: get an actor in class
Legal training can be intensified by having learners interact with actors. The advantages of role play are manifold: The learner experiences the to-be-learned behaviour The learner can experiment with different behaviours Stress can gradually be intensified according to the needs…
Law school South Korean style: no Gangnam style!
Teaching methods in South Korean law schools are harsh. Too harsh perhaps – or too backward? There is growing criticism on the quality and practicability of the legal education as provided by South Korea’s new law schools. Reading this…