Science, Art, and Heart of Law Teaching
by
Gerald Hess

The Institute held its first annual conference on law teaching last July at Gonzaga University. The title of the conference was "The Science and Art of Law Teaching."

The conference featured six workshops. The presenters were Professor Corinne Cooper (University of Missouri -- Kansas City School of Law), Dr. Jim Cooper (California State University -- Dominguez Hills), Professor Lynn Daggett (Gonzaga University School of Law), Professor Paula Lustbader (Seattle University School of Law), Dr. Martha Peters (University of Florida School of Law), and Professor Paul Wangerin (The John Marshall Law School).

Each workshop presentation was based in part on the relevant higher education literature. That is the "science" of law teaching. Each presenter used his or her experience in working with students to illustrate how the results of that higher education research apply in classrooms. Those practical skills and lessons learned from experience are part of the "art" of law teaching.

The participants evaluated the workshops and the materials prepared by the presenters very highly. Glowing comments were typical: "Provocative but excellent." "Will be able to use the ideas immediately." "This is a superb presentation of an important learning strategy." "Information geared to be useful; good class participation; dynamic presentation; good use of visuals."

The participants' evaluations of the workshops were positive, but they don't capture the essence of the conference. As one participant put it, "The whole was greater than the sum of its parts." Indeed. The key to the success of the conference was the participants.

The fifty participants, from thirty law schools, brought three wonderful attributes to the conference. They brought their love for teaching. They brought their willingness to share their considerable expertise with their fellow teachers. And, although they already were highly skilled teachers, they also brought their desire to be even better. Those attributes are the "heart" of law teaching.

The participants also brought to the conference short written descriptions of teaching ideas to share with their colleagues. Those ideas were the focus of small-group sessions at the conference. To give wider distribution to the participants' excellent ideas, this edition and the spring edition of The Law Teacher will report many of the participants' teaching tips. In this small way, the "science", "art", and "heart" of law teaching, which were so palpable at the conference, will be available for all law teachers to sample.