Experiential Teaching in Theory and Practice: An Annotated International Business Transactions Syllabus

Abstract

In this short piece we provide an interactive, annotated International Business Transactions (IBT) syllabus. The introduction and annotations seek to connect the current discourse on experiential legal education to andragogy — the study of adult learning.

In 2013 we set out to re-develop a 3-credit IBT course. We applied various experiential pedagogical methodologies — developed initially to train Israeli air force pilots and later adapted to medical training and grounded in theoretical and empirical education research — to serve in a traditional IBT course. The goal was not only to develop legal skills such as negotiation, contract drafting, and client counseling but more importantly to impart knowledge including legal doctrine, legal theory, and policy considerations through the use of a series of structured, in-class experiences.

The piece includes embedded documents as part of the interactive reading experience. It is therefore best viewed in Adobe.

Note: If you find this short piece useful you may also wish to view a short youtube video in which Orit and Maya walk through the recently-launched Simulation and Training Center at the Ono Academic College, Israel.

Keywords: Experiential learning, experiential teaching, adragogy, pedagogy, flipped class room, socratic method, international business transactions