The Curse of Tradition in the Law School Classroom: What Casebook Professors Can Learn from Those Who Teach Legal Writing

Abstract

Tradition runs deep in law school teaching, but that tradition is a curse when it supplants the ongoing self-evaluation needed to adapt to changing circumstances and new information. This essay challenges law schools to think differently about their pedagogy and curriculum to engage students more fully in the classroom and to facilitate the deep learning experiences that ultimately will lead to mastery. Based on what we know about learning, course material needs to be presented logically and be appropriately layered; students need more helpful course materials than casebooks for many of their courses; and classroom teaching needs to engage all students in a way that the quasi-Socratic method cannot. This essay seeks to stimulate, as well as structure, much-needed discussion about how to improve law school teaching.

Keywords: law school, pedagogy, teaching, learning, curriculum design, casebooks, Socratic method