NOTE: This page can be found at nathenson.org/theory
MACCRATE REPORT (1992)
(1) Problem Solving
(2) Legal Analysis and Reasoning
(3) Legal Research
(4) Factual Investigation
(5) Communication
(6) Counseling
(7) Negotiation
(8) Litigation and Alternative Dispute-Resolution Procedures
(9) Organization and Management of Legal Work
(10) Recognizing and Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
The Three Apprenticeships of the CARNEGIE REPORT (2007)
1) Cognitive (doctrine & theory)
2) Practical (lawyering skills)
3) Formative (professional values)
BEST PRACTICES IN LEGAL EDUCATION (2007)
1) Identify educational objectives
2) Select learning experiences useful in reaching the educational objectives
3) Organize the learning experiences for effective instruction, and
4) Design methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning experiences
ABA STANDARD 303: CURRICULUM
(a) A law school shall offer a curriculum that requires each student to satisfactorily complete at least the following:
. . . .
(3) one or more experiential course(s) totaling at least six credit hours. An experiential course must be a simulation course, a law clinic, or a field placement. To satisfy this requirement, a course must be primarily experiential in nature and must:
(i) integrate doctrine, theory, skills, and legal ethics, and engage students in performance of one or more of the professional skills identified in Standard 302;
(ii) develop the concepts underlying the professional skills being taught;
(iii) provide multiple opportunities for performance; and
(iv) provide opportunities for self-evaluation.
ABA STANDARD 304: SIMULATION COURSES AND LAW CLINICS
(a) A simulation course provides substantial experience not involving an actual client, that (1) is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a set of facts and circumstances devised or adopted by a faculty member, and (2) includes the following:
(i) direct supervision of the student’s performance by the faculty member;
(ii) opportunities for performance, feedback from a faculty member, and self-evaluation; and
(iii) a classroom instructional component.
. . . .
ABA STANDARD 314: ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING
A law school shall utilize both formative and summative assessment methods in its curriculum to measure and improve student learning and provide meaningful feedback to students.
“HOW PEOPLE LEARN”
A learning environment should be “learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered.”
JOHN D. BRANSFORD ET AL., HOW PEOPLE LEARN: BRAIN, MIND, EXPERIENCE, AND SCHOOL 147 (2000)
COMEDY IMPROV AND EDUCATION
Collaboration. “The performance should be fully collaborative, with no one person ‘driving’ the narrative.”
Acceptance. “Players should not ignore or contradict each other’s contributions to the scene . . . .”
Advancement. “The ‘platform,’ or narrative elements such as setting, character, and conflict, should become clearly defined as the performance progresses, and scenes should be steadily ‘advanced,’ meaning that new information and events should be added with each turn of dialogue.”
Truthfulness. “No matter how outrageous things may get, scenes should still be ‘honest’ or ‘truthful[.]’”
Stacy DeZutter, Professional Improvisation and Teacher Education: Opening the Conversation, in STRUCTURE AND IMPROVISATION IN CREATIVE TEACHING 34 (R. Keith Sawyer ed., 2011) (as quoted in my Best Practices for the Law of the Horse article).