Visual Aids Give Your Students the Big Picture

Several participants at the Institute's 1994 summer conference shared ideas for using visuals or graphics in the classroom. Here are two:

Many students learn better visually than textually. To reach those students I use many graphics in my materials and in class. One of the most effective ways I have learned to use them is to ask the students to participate in their creation. This makes them much more invested in the graphic and requires that they really master the material.

There are several ways to get students to participate. Sometimes I produce a template and ask the students -- either in class or as part of their homework -- to fill it in. For example, I ask them to chart out the parol evidence rule of U.C.C. § 2-202 by filling in a chart indicating what type of evidence is admissible under what circumstances. Other times I ask students to create the graphic completely on their own. For example, in Contracts, after covering the contract policing doctrines (e.g., fraud, duress, unconscionability, mistake, frustration of purpose), I ask the students to present a one-page graphical depiction of how these doctrines interrelate. I then use their work to discuss the relationship of the various doctrines. They become very engaged when working on such a project and they often produce very elaborate and clever art work.

Submitted by Stephen L. Sepinuck,
Gonzaga University School of Law

I use an overhead projector and transparencies in my Civil Procedure class to help explain each concept -- from the basics of the class syllabus to personal jurisdiction.

Why do I use visual aids? A "basic" of my litigation training was that visual aids are essential, both at trial and on appeal. Most people, including juries and judges, learn more when they can both see and hear the material.

Visual aids are of special benefit to law students who are learning not only new material but a new way of thinking. Through visual aids, the students can see and learn by example the types of analysis that will help them in law school and practice. Most students do not know even the most simple forms of analyses and data manipulation. By depicting these on overheads, I teach not only the ultimate rule of law but also how I got there. Once students see the different types of analyses, they can develop their own form, best suited for them. In addition, by using and explaining why I use visual aids, the students will learn this "basic" of effective litigation presentation.

Why do I use overheads (rather than other forms of visual aids)? In practice, I experimented with many forms of visual aids and concluded that the simpler way was the better way. Overheads are particularly useful in the classroom. Unlike "hi-tech" aids, overheads cost only pennies for each transparency. I can prepare them minutes before class with a standard copy machine. They are simple to use and do not divert attention. Overheads are easier to see than chalkboards, students can have their own copy, and I can use the same transparency again, tying together old and new concepts.

How do I use overheads? I use transparencies to help teach almost every element of the class. For example, I teach the students how to dissect the rules of civil procedure by going over each rule word by word with a student. My transparency is simply the rule itself, which I have typed on a single page.

I begin a discussion of cases by teaching students how to master the facts of complicated cases using a chronology or diagram of the case's procedural history or underlying facts. I often create these aids during class on a blank transparency using information given by a student. I also pull out and dissect key tests and quotations from the cases.

As the class progresses through a topic, I help students understand how it all fits together by using a variety of analyses and summaries, including flowcharts, line drawings, and tables.

I do not consider myself ready for class until I have tinkered with different forms of visual aids for the day. Creating the overhead is a good check on my own preparation, and the visual aid gives structure to the class discussion (and my notes).

I distribute most pre-typed materials in hard copy to the students when I first use them in class. If I do not give copies, students spend class time writing down every word rather than listening. If I give copies out too early, students forget them or prepare for class by trying to figure out my materials rather than first attempting to analyze the cases or rules on their own.

Submitted by Carol Rice,
University of Illinois College of Law