Program Design for Newcomers
a presentation byKen Rosenblum
Touro College – Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law CenterCharlotte Taylor
DePaul University College of LawDennis Tonsing
Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of LawCarole Wastog
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville
Identifying the goals of your program
Identifying the different ways to meet those goals
This presentation willconsist of two parts:
What are theGoals of the Program?
From the perspective of:
• The Dean
• The Associate/Assistant Dean
• The Faculty
• The Students
• You – the ASP professional
What are theGoals of the Program?
• Retention• Recruitment tools• Access to information• Increase Diversity• Resource for
Students• Prevent isolation of
minority students• Appease students
• Bar Prep
• Teach Skills
• Teach Substance?
• Help the bottom of the class
• Target “at risk” students
• Make your school look good
Looking at four different “case studies”– Touro College
• Ken Rosenblum
– Roger Williams University• Dennis Tonsing
– DePaul University• Charlotte Taylor
– Louis Brandies School of Law• Carole Wastog
How do you implementthose Goals?
Program Design for Newcomers
a presentation by
Charlotte TaylorAssistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs
DePaul University College of Lawco-author of Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies
for Success (Carolina Academic Press 2001)
How do you implementthose Goals?
• A Case Study – DePaul– Goals at DePaul
• Target & retention of “at risk” students• Assist students in jeopardy• Access to information
– DePaul began as a program for minority students and has now become a program for all “at risk” students
Goal – Target & Retention of “at risk” students
• “Small” twice weekly classes for “at risk” students– Other students can get in from
wait list– 2 strikes and you’re out– Class focuses on skills and
NOT substance– Use as text Bridging the Gap
Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success by Stropus and Taylor
Goal – Assist students in academic jeopardy
• Small classes and/or individualized help for students in academic jeopardy– Depends on what students
need and want– Offer counseling for personal
and academic problems– Same focus is on teaching
skills (outlining, exam prep, etc. again using Bridging the Gap by Stropus and Taylor)
Goal – Access to Information• Monthly workshops
– that focus on skills for all 1st year students
• Website– that includes presentations from
monthly workshops, tips on time mgmt, outlining, etc., links to websites with practice exams & more
• ASP library – with various study aids for students to borrow
• Materials on reserve in law library – with videotapes from monthly workshops
as well as handouts, study aids, etc.
Remember: two steps to creating or modifying a program:
1. What are the goals of your program?
2. How will you implement those goals?
Chrissy Mann
Chrissy Mann Bruce
Kogan
Bruce Kogan
InputConferences with Law SchoolFaculty & Administration . . .Laurie
Barron
Laurie Barron
Kathleen Burch
Kathleen Burch
Lucinda Harrison-Cox
Lucinda Harrison-Cox
Kim BakerKim Baker
Robert KentRobert Kent
John Kunich
John Kunich
Debra Cohen
Debra Cohen
Jessica Elliott
Jessica Elliott
Peter Margulies
Peter Margulies
Elizabeth Colt
Elizabeth Colt
Linda Vieira
Linda Vieira
Diana HasselDiana Hassel
Andrew Horwitz
Andrew Horwitz
Christel Ertel
Christel Ertel
Carl Bogus
Carl Bogus
Kathy Massa
Kathy Massa
Lisa McElroy
Lisa McElroy
John Moffa
John Moffa
Colleen Murphy
Colleen Murphy
Chelsie Horne
Chelsie Horne
Harvey Rishikof
Harvey Rishikof
David RiceDavid Rice Ed Eberle
Ed Eberle
Emily Sack
Emily Sack
Ellen Saidema
n
Ellen Saidema
n
Denise Roussea
u
Denise Roussea
u
Larry Ritchie
Larry Ritchie
Louise Teitz
Louise Teitz
Tony Simpson
Tony Simpson
Jonathon Gutoff
Jonathon Gutoff
Gail Winso
n
Gail Winso
n
Robert Webster
Robert Webster
Paul Vivieros
Paul Vivieros
Nancy Waggner
Nancy Waggner
Michael Yelnosky
Michael Yelnosky
David Zlotnick
David Zlotnick
InputConferences & Luncheons with University
Administration & Law School Student Groups . . .
Academic Developmen
tDean
Michael Cunningha
m
Academic Developmen
tDean
Michael Cunningha
m
Moot CourtMoot Court
Security Director
Bruce Bowie
Security Director
Bruce Bowie
Multicultural Law Students Association
Multicultural Law Students Association
Learning Specialist
Laura Choiniere
Learning Specialist
Laura Choiniere
The Docket(School
Newspaper)
The Docket(School
Newspaper)
SBA Officers & Class Reps
SBA Officers & Class Reps
Law Review
Law Review
Student Affairs Dean
Richard Stegman
Student Affairs Dean
Richard Stegman
Class of 2003
Class of 2003
Class of 2004
Class of 2004
AlumniAlumni
Evening Division Students
Evening Division Students
Class of 2002
Class of 2002
Academic Support Program Specific Objectives
Provide a comprehensive network of presentations, activities, tutorials, and workshops designed to stimulate learning and amplify the classroom experience.
Supplement the curriculum with a variety of opportunities to enhance learning skills and develop more efficient, effective methods of studying, comprehending, and writing in the law school environment.
Assist students with Bar Examination preparation.
Prepare Students for Law Practice
Prepare Students for Law Practice
Academic Support Program Overarching
ObjectivesDemystify Law School
Demystify Law School
Accommodate Disabled Students
Accommodate Disabled Students
Provide Schema
Provide Schema
Decrease Isolation
Decrease Isolation
Maximize Academic Potential
Maximize Academic Potential
Teach Students to Teach
Themselves
Teach Students to Teach
Themselves
Encourage Bar Exam
Preparation
Encourage Bar Exam
Preparation
Help Students Achieve Fluency in the
Language of the Law
Help Students Achieve Fluency in the
Language of the Law
Familiarize with Law School
Exam Preparation
Familiarize with Law School
Exam Preparation
Achieve your triple objective:
• Personal best grades
• First time bar passage
• Deep, rich foundation
for the professional practice of law
ASP Program Components
. . . designed to help students develop fluency in comprehension and production, as well as specific classroom, examination, and practice-related skills.
Fall 2002 Program Components
Orientation 2002
Weekly writing sessions
Essential skills presentations
Simulated examination sessions
One-to-one mentoring
Orientation 2002
Objective
Empower the students to learn, so they may begin their law school studies as informed, confident
students from the first day of class.
Weekly Writing Sessions(directed toward exam writing)
• Group instruction
• Immediate feedback
• Principles of organization
• Automatization of process
• Emphasis on analysis
This is th
e studen
ts’
introducti
on to ex
am-
answeri
ng
Essential Skills Presentations
• How to Brief Cases• Taking Notes in Class (& What to Do with Them)• Manage Your Life & Manage Your Time• Creating Super Course Summaries (Outlines)• Study Environment, Study Tips, Study Groups• Powerful Exam Answering • Flow Charts and Graphic Organizers
Your Academic Support Program announces…
A lawyer’s time is her stock in trade.Your time – your life – is valuable.
Learn “hands-on” management skills every law student should know
– and every lawyer must know!
You can’t afford the time to miss this
presentation. I’ll show you how to make time
for law and life!
Busy Lawyers Carefully Balance their Professional
Practice with . . .
Family Social Spiritual Physical
Needs & Obligations
How much do lawyers work?
8:00 – 6:00 & 7:30 – 9:30
7:00 – 6:00
8:00 – 5:00 & 7:00 – 9:00
8:00 – 5:00 & 6:30 – 10:00
8:00 – 5:00
Saturday – 9:00 – 1:30
(Example of a light work schedule)
That schedule allows for . . .Eight hours of sleep each night
Dinner with family or friends each evening
One night out or with family during the week
Friday nights out or with family
Exercise five times during the week
Saturday afternoons and evenings to relax
Sundays completely free
Light (or “working”) lunches each day
Sample One-Week Schedule
Monday Tuesday Wed. Thursday Friday Sat. Sunday
7:00 to
9:00
9:00 to
10:00
TORTS CIVILPROC.
TORTS CIVIL PROC.
10:00 to
11:00
CRIM.PROC.
11:00 to
Noon
CONT. CONT. LEGALMETH.
Noon to
2:00
LEGALMETH.
2:00 to
3:00
PROP. CRIM.PROC.
CRIM.PROC.
PROP. CIVILPROC.
3:00 to
6:00
6:00 to 7:30
7:30 to
9:00
9:00 to
11:00
Sample One-Week ScheduleMonday Tuesday Wed. Thursday Friday Sat. Sunday
7:00 to
9:00
9:00 to
10:00
TORTS CIVILPROC.
TORTS CIVIL PROC.
10:00 to
11:00
CRIM.PROC.
11:00 to
Noon
CONT. CONT. LEGALMETH.
Noon to
2:00
LEGALMETH.
2:00 to
3:00
PROP. CRIM.PROC.
CRIM.PROC.
PROP. CIVILPROC.
3:00 to
5:00
5:00 to
6:00
6:00 to 7:30
7:30 to
9:00
9:00 to
11:00
CLASSHOURS
15
STUDYHOURS
40
OTHER PARTS
OF LIFEHOURS
57
SLEEPHOURS
56
Sample One-Week Schedule
CLASSHOURS
15
STUDYHOURS
40
OTHER PARTS
OF LIFEHOURS
57
SLEEPHOURS
56
NOTICE THE
BALANCED
LIFE
We help students become lawyers.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION ANNOUNCEMENT
Creating the Exam-TargetedCourse Summary
How to Create Your Course Summary
Think of your outline as a completed jigsaw puzzle – put all the pieces of what you’ve learned into one cohesive picture.
How to Create Your Course Summary (cont’d.)
• Break each rule into component parts (elements)– Provide the standard, test, and any exceptions for each
element
– Define each term• (These standards, tests, exceptions, and definitions will
eventually provide shape and structure for your examination answers)
Important!
How to Create Your Course Summary (cont’d.)
WHY?
• Identify the policy reasons behind each rule, element, standard, test and exception
Professors lovepolicy!
Summarizing without policy is like learningchess moves without learning when
or why to make the moves . . .
Study Tips• Recognize (discover?) your most effective learning styles, and
adjust accordingly
http://silcon.com/~scmiller/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.cgi
–Visual/Verbal–Visual/Nonverbal–Tactile/Kinesthetic–Auditory/Verbal
• Try the “Learning Style Survey”
Exam answer analysis
• “Interweaving” begins . . .– Ask: How do relevant facts relate to this law?
• Scrutinize the facts in relation to the law– Ask: Are any facts ambiguous as related to this law? If so
Address alternative interpretations
Congratulations! You have discovered a discussible issue . . .
Hint: Usually, Plaintiffs and
Defendants have different interpretations
Presentation Aspect
• Never discuss what the professor expressly tells you not to discuss
• Always discuss what the professor expressly tells you to discuss
Simulated Exam Sessions“Students who took practice exams in the fall session raised their GPAs by 1.5 points if they
attended at least one workshop. …Students who actually write out a dry-run test or
two are less likely to be shocked into writer’s block when they face their first real exam.”
Kristine Knaplund
UCLA Law School
Simulated Exam Sessions“The best way to prepare for your law exams . . . is to take some law exams. If you want to develop a
facility for clearly applying the law you have studied to new facts, the best way to do it is to
practice at it.”
Joseph Glannon
Suffolk University
Law School
Simulated Exam Sessions
• Two-hour Torts session
• Two-hour Contracts session
• Each repeated several times– Thursday, Friday, Saturday
• Answer guides (not answers)
• Self-critiquing guides
• Peer-critiquing encouraged
Bar Exam Preparation
Panel of Experts
Conference with Dean of Students
Bar Mentoring Program
MBE Preview Sessions (Litvin)
Essay Exam Writing Workshop
Practising (sic) Law Institute Multistate Review
RWU Professors on R.I. topics
“Program Design for Newcomers”
Thursday June 20, 2002
2002 LSAC National Academic Assistance Training Workshop
Carole A. Wastog
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville
• Law school is affiliated with the university.
• Total law school enrollment approximately 380 students.
• One academic support professional, Director Carole Wastog, half-time. My Office
Brandeis Academic Support Program
• Justification of the Program• Summer Program• Advising• Tutoring• Resource Library• Workshops• Probation Students• Web Page
Justification of the Program
• Lower Attrition = More Money
• “Plus” for Recruitment• Happier Alums =
More Money
Summer Program
• Monday through Thursday, 6:00 – 8:30 pm for four weeks
• Legal Writing with a law professor
• First-year doctrinal course with a law professor
• Introduction to law school, studying, exams, etc. with Academic Support Director.
• (See Linda Feldman’s “Summer Program Design” on Friday at 1:30.)
Advising
• Assessment for all students (learning styles).
• Course selection
• Personal concerns affecting academic performance (with severe problems referred to professional counselor)
• Liaison between students and administration
Tutoring
• Optional attendance• Selection of tutors• Tutor training• First-year classes only• (See Kristine
Knaplund’s “Using TA s Effectively” on Friday at 1:30 pm)
Resource Library
• Various study aids available for all students to sign out free of charge
• Materials donated by students or publishing companies
• Students help themselves
• Benefits for students
Workshops
• Time/Stress Management
• Test-taking tips and study strategies
• Bar Exam (see Kamita and Nygren’s “Programs for Improving Bar Pass/Upper-Level Students) on Friday at 1:30pm
Probation Students
• Students with a cumulative GPA of below 2.0 are required to meet with Director
• Students’ responsibility to continue working with Director
Web Page
• Resource library database
• Tutoring schedule
• Workshop schedule
• Link to other important sites
• (see “ASP Outreach: Technology and Web Design on Friday at 1:30)
“Program Design for Newcomers”
Thursday June 20, 2002
2002 LSAC National Academic Assistance Training Workshop
Carole A. Wastog
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville
• Law school is affiliated with the university.
• Total law school enrollment approximately 380 students.
• One academic support professional, Director Carole Wastog, half-time.
Brandeis Academic Support Program
• Justification of the Program• Summer Program• Advising• Tutoring• Resource Library• Workshops• Probation Students• Web Page
Justification of the Program
• Lower Attrition = More Money
• “Plus” for Recruitment• Happier Alums =
More Money
Summer Program
• Monday through Thursday, 6:00 – 8:30 pm for four weeks
• Legal Writing with a law professor
• First-year doctrinal course with a law professor
• Introduction to law school, studying, exams, etc. with Academic Support Director.
• (See Linda Feldman’s “Summer Program Design” on Friday at 1:30.)
Advising
• Assessment for all students (learning styles).
• Course selection
• Personal concerns affecting academic performance (with severe problems referred to professional counselor)
• Liaison between students and administration
Tutoring
• Optional attendance• Selection of tutors• Tutoring training• First-year classes only• (See Kristine
Knaplund’s “Using TA s Effectively” on Friday at 1:30 pm)
Resource Library
• Various study aids available for all students to sign out free of charge
• Materials donated by students or publishing companies
• Students help themselves
• Benefits for students
Workshops
• Time/Stress Management
• Test-taking tips and study strategies
• Bar Exam (see Kamita and Nygren’s “Programs for Improving Bar Pass/Upper-Level Students”) on Friday at 1:30pm
Probation Students
• Students with a cumulative GPA of below 2.0 are required to meet with Director
• Students’ responsibility to continue working with Director
Web Page
• Resource library database
• Tutoring schedule
• Workshop schedule
• Link to other important sites
• (see “ASP Outreach: Technology and Web Design” on Friday at 1:30)