Teaching Law Practice Across the Curriculum
Session 4 Workshops

Friday, June 18, 2010 – 9:30-10:45 a.m.

[A] Self-Assessment Book (SAB): Reflective Thinking and Journaling in Law School (Room 102)

Mary Dolores Guerra, Phoenix School of Law

This workshop will introduce the participants to the Self-Assessment Book (SAB), a reflective journal that requires students to write in class and out of class. The presenter will discuss the evolution of the SAB, the application of the SAB to law courses, and the benefits of the SAB to law students and professors. Participants will have an opportunity to answer some of these exercises in their own SAB and share-pair-and-square with other participants (one of the ways that students share with one another in the presenter's classes). Participants are encouraged to bring a blank hardback book (lined or unlined) to the workshop (also known as a "journal").

[B] Race, Class and Sex: A Winning Combination for a Cross-Curriculum Problem (Room 106)

Bridgit Lawley, John F. Kennedy University School of Law

In 1998, a white, working class woman from Staten Island walked out of a Manhattan fertility clinic with two successfully implanted embryos. Only one embryo was hers, the other belonged to a middle class African-American woman from Teaneck, N.J., and she wasn't happy. In the fullness of time, two children and three lawsuits were born. Initially, grouped by subject matter, participants will discuss integrating this case into their disciplines (Torts, Property, Evidence, etc.). Through reporting back to the whole group, participants will demonstrate how this case resonates across the curriculum. Finally, in larger, more random groups, they will formulate plans to present this cross-curricular problem at their own institutions.

[C] Beyond the Black Letter: Promoting the Learning Process through Continual Assessment in the First-Year Curriculum (Room 100)

Mary Margaret Giannini, Florida Coastal School of Law
Jana R. McCreary, Florida Coastal School of Law

Too often, law schools provide first-year students with only one opportunity-the final exam-to assess how well they have mastered the material. However, for some students, a single final exam is too little and too late, limiting the students' opportunities to evaluate what and how well they are learning. Professors Giannini and McCreary will discuss and demonstrate ways professors can efficiently integrate into first-year courses continual assessment tools such as writing assignments, peer review exercises, briefing assignments, clicker quizzes, and group projects. These tools help students master the law but also help them evaluate and enhance their learning efficiency.

[D] Appreciative Inquiry: Discovering and Learning From Our Strengths as Teachers (Room 114)

Emily L. Randon, UC Davis School of Law

My goals are simple: I want to help you learn from your best teaching moments and assist you in creating your ideal learning environment. As educators, we often view "assessment" as negative, as if every problem (or even we, ourselves) will be scrutinized under a microscope, and deficiencies found and documented. This interactive session will use the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) model of organizational assessment to provide participants the opportunity to identify, share and capture their own best teaching practices and to take an active role in shaping their professional development. Participants will receive binders to extend the inquiry back home.