Exit Interviews: Bring closure to the Course
by
Louis J. Sirico, Jr.

In any number of settings, people end their relationships with exit interviews. For example, when an individual's employment comes to an end, the personnel department may confer with the departing employee to make sure that he or she understands which employment benefits continue and which terminate. An enlightened employer also might want to know what criticisms and suggestions the departing employee has to offer. Several years ago, I extended the concept of exit interviews to legal education. I decided to end my Legal History course on the drafting of the Constitution and Bill of Rights by holding individual conferences with my students.

I took this step for two reasons: to end the course on a reflective note and to encourage creative thinking.

I thought the interviews would bring an appropriate closure to the course. I wanted to give the students the chance to have a learning experience other than that of the formal classroom, one in which I could invite them to think deeply about what we had covered.

I wanted to supplement the exam with an opportunity for the students to engage in creative analysis. I had long since recognized that I could not expect students to produce interesting analysis in the traditional exam setting. Therefore, in this course, I chose to give an exam that was not particularly analytical and to give students the chance to show their stuff in conferences. However, I chose not to grade the conferences. I relied on each student's self-respect to motivate the student to perform well when dealing with a professor in close quarters.

Conducting the interviews may have an additional benefit. Because the students must be prepared to speak intelligently about the course's content, they have to make some effort to pull together their class notes beforehand instead of delaying until a few days before the exam. Thus, by compelling students to get a head start on their end-of-semester studies, perhaps the interviews encourage students to spend more time synthesizing the course material.

The exit interviews worked so well that I extended the device to my Advanced Legal Writing course. Only the size of my Property class – usually over 120 – has dissuaded me from conducting exit interviews in that class.

How the interviews work

In both Legal History and Advanced Legal Writing, the exit interviews run essentially the same way. I allot one-half hour per interview. When a course is particularly large, I permit two students to share an interview slot. I have found the half-hour to be sufficiently long. Only a few students require more time.

Before the interview, I make it clear that the student must set the agenda for the discussion. They know ahead of time that at the interview my opening question will be: "What are we going to discuss?" My written instructions for students in Legal History are to the point:

• Instead of holding a formal class, I will hold individual discussions with you. I will meet with you two at a time. Each discussion will last one-half hour.
• We will discuss substantive matters relating to the course. You will choose the topics that you would like to discuss.
• I will schedule times during the weeks of [date] when you can sign up.

My instructions for students in Advanced Legal Writing are more detailed:

• In lieu of a formal class, you and I will meet individually. You set the agenda. You may want to talk about specific topics that we have covered in class. You may want to ask my advice on particular problems that you have in your writing. You may want me to review something that you have written. You may have a more general topic in mind.
• On Friday, [date], please give me a sheet on which you tell me what we will be discussing in our individual conferences. If you want to go over something you have written, please attach it.

What we discuss

I think that the exit interviews have proven helpful to the students. My sense is that by having an opportunity to reflect on the course, the students do get a sense of closure. I am intrigued by the range of their questions. Some of my Legal History students ask me to fill in the blanks in their notes: "Professor, on that topic, you made three points, but I didn't get the second one. Could you repeat it?" Other questions are broader and more satisfying to me. My favorite is: "How do the actions of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention fit with Tolstoy's theory of leadership in War and Peace?"

Occasionally, I have confronted students who obviously have not kept up with the reading, missed too many classes, or otherwise invested too little effort in a course. I am happy to let them do their best to tap dance their way through the session. However, when it becomes painfully obvious that the student is not prepared, I point this fact out and politely terminate the interview. I hope that my response to the lack of preparedness helps the student learn a lesson that will serve him or her well in life.

My conferences with my Advanced Legal Writing students generally run quite well. Because each student has conferenced with me several times, he or she enters the discussion with a greater sense of trust. These students are likely to tell me what they have learned in the course, ask me a few practical questions, and perhaps ask me to look at a new writing sample or perhaps a course exercise on which they would like more feedback.

Conclusion

As a teacher, I have found the exit interviews helpful. They increase my understanding of what students are getting out of my courses, they give me some personal insight into my students, and they give me contact with students in a different, less formal setting. I also hope that they will serve as more than exit interviews – that they will encourage students to discuss other matters with me and to seek advice during the rest of their law school careers and in their professional lives.