Integrating Academic Assistance Into the Casebook Classroom

INTEGRATING ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE INTO THE

CASEBOOK CLASSROOMCourtney G. Lee

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law

Jeff MinnetiStetson University College of Law

Objectives• Understand variables associated with integrating

academic assistance into casebook courses and evaluate how the variables may play out in your program

• Consider an approach to integrating academic assistance into the casebook classroom

• Become familiar with formative and summative assessment strategies that measure academic skill acquisition as well as substantive understanding

• Discuss methods for encouraging other faculty members to incorporate academic assistance skills into their classrooms

So What’s this Presentation Really About?

Variables to Consider• Course Subject– Required or elective– Bar tested or non-bar

tested• Forum for Delivery of

Academic Assistance– Casebook course or

supplement to casebook course

• Enrollment– 1L, 2L, and/or 3L– Voluntary or involuntary– Mixed ability levels or

exclusively struggling students

– Managing stigma• Class Size– Small or large

• Instructor– Full-time vs. adjunct

Course Subjects• Required vs. Elective Courses – Enrollment Draw– Materials – Content/Coverage

• Bar Subjects vs. Non-Bar Subjects– Skills Transfer – Enrollment Draw– Materials Available– Content/Coverage – Utility to Out-of-State Bar Applicants

Forum for Delivery of ASP Skills• Casebook Course vs. Supplemental Course– Integration of skills and substance in materials– Substantive coverage concerns– Course/professor credibility– Exposure to all or some students– Stigma – Perception of students not enrolled

Enrollment• First Year– Early intervention– GPA-based motivation– Possible mislabeling of “late bloomers”

• Upper Level– Proximity to bar exam– Demonstrated need for assistance– Lack of motivation

Enrollment• Voluntary vs. Required – Stigma– Reaching students that need help– Unmotivated students’ affect on class– Attrition concerns

• Mixed Ability Levels vs. Exclusively At-Risk– Effects on class discussion, grading curve,

instruction pace/coverage, stigma– Class size

Enrollment• Managing Stigma

– Messaging• Emphasize that legal education is a transformative process, not a race

with winners and losers• Encourage students to set academic goals focused on best efforts and

mastery of material, not specific grades• Emphasize that law school and the legal profession have room for

individuals with a variety of gifts – Programming

• Provide some level of academic assistance programming to all students, not just those at risk or who struggle academically

– Integrating• Find ways to get involved in the law school community beyond your

work with at risk and struggling students

Class Size• Large vs. Small– Diversity of viewpoints in class discussion– Effectiveness of small-group work– Ease of assessment/providing feedback – Ability to tailor instruction to students’ needs– Formal vs. informal environment– Ability of students to “hide”

Instructor• Full-time vs. Adjunct– Expertise – Institutional knowledge– Accessibility– Commitment to course – Cost

Variables to Consider

Review & Application to Your School• Course Subject– Required or elective– Bar tested or non-bar

tested• Forum for Delivery of

Academic Assistance– Casebook course or

supplement to casebook course

• Enrollment– 1L, 2L, and/or 3L– Voluntary or involuntary– Mixed ability levels or

exclusively struggling students

– Managing stigma• Class Size– Small or large

• Instructor– Full-time vs. adjunct

Integrating ASP & the Casebook Classroom• Craft learning objectives that focus on the

academic skills and substantive content you seek to develop– Sequence the objectives

• Tie the academic skill objectives to casebook content objectives

Crafting & Sequencing Learning Objectives

• Academic Assistance Skills– Derive rule statements from cases– Distinguish between rule statements and policy statements

in cases– Synthesize rule structures from cases– Generate an outline of a legal topic– Annotate a course outline with case descriptions– Draft an effective explanation of law for an exam response– Draft an effective application of law to fact– Use cases to support legal argument– Use policy to support outcome predictions

Crafting & Sequencing Learning Objectives

• Casebook Content Skills– State the three-part test for testator capacity– Explain the elements of undue influence– Apply the elements of undue influence to a fact

pattern

Link Skills & Casebook Content Objectives• Derive the three-part test for testator capacity from

American Red Cross v. Estate of Haynsworth• Use the courts’ opinions in Carpenter v. Carpenter, Hack

v. James, RBC Ministries v. Tompkins, Carter v. Carter, and Taragian v. Watt to synthesize the rule structure for undue influence

• Generate an annotated outline of undue influence in light of the courts’ opinions

• Through a mock client interview, assess whether a client’s testamentary plan is the product of undue influence

Assessment Strategies Linking Skills & Casebook Content

• Formative– Observations during class– Review of case briefs and outlines– Individual or small group conferences– Feedback on ungraded practice questions– Clickers or other surveys– Lawyering-skill exercises– Graded/ungraded quizzes

Assessment Strategies Linking Skills & Casebook Content

• Summative– Exam– Lawyering-skill exercises• Could use in place of traditional response to practice

question

Encouraging Other Faculty Members• Informal advocacy– Build relationships with casebook professors– Talk with casebook professors about assisting

struggling students– Provide workshops for casebook professors– Team-teach workshop(s) with casebook professors

• Formal advocacy– Make integration of skills part of strategic plan– Participate on faculty committees– Develop/revise academic policies to reflect

integration of academic policies

Objectives Review• Understand variables associated with integrating

academic assistance into casebook courses and evaluate how the variables may play out in their programs

• Consider an approach to integrating academic assistance into the casebook classroom

• Become familiar with formative and summative assessment strategies that measure academic skill acquisition as well as substantive understanding

• Discuss methods for encouraging other faculty members to incorporate academic assistance skills into their classrooms

Final Product