INTEGRATING ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE
INTO THE CASEBOOK CLASSROOM
Courtney G. Lee
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Jeff Minneti
Stetson 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