Getting the Most from Class

AuthorBarbara Glesner Fines
Pages40-52
40
Chapter Three: Getting the
Most from Class
While class time actually is a very small percentage of the time you
spend on learning in law school, it is critical time nonetheless.
Research establishes that class attendance is one of the most
influential performance factors in predicting law school performance.
(Kimball, Farmer & Monson, Ability, Effort, and Performance Among
First-Year Law Students at Brigham Young University, 1981 AM. B.
FOUND. RES. J. 671, 689-92). For class time to extend your learning,
however, you must be deliberate about making the most of that time.
Most law school classes are very different from traditional
undergraduate classes. They are not passive exercises, and are not
intended to tie the material into a neat package. Instead, many law
school classes (and certainly those in the first year) are designed to
build on the basic understandings obtained from your careful
preparation, answer some of your questions, and raise many new
questions. The materials in this chapter are designed to help you get
the most from those classes.
What to Expect in Class (and Why)
Instruction in first-year law school classes around the country is
remarkably similar, regardless of the subject, professor, students,
location or school "rank." (Steven I. Friedland, How We Teach: A
Survey of Teaching Techniques in American Law Schools, 20 SEATTLE U. L.
REV. 1, 28 (1996)). In most law school classes, your professor will ask
questions and students will answer. This has been characterized the
"Socratic" method. Some professors are masters of the method. For
others, you may need to work harder to understand their questioning
method.
Professors differ in the methods used to select students for
participation in this exchange. Some professors call on students
randomly, others will ask for volunteers. In some classes, only two or
three students will be "on the hot seat" during class; in others, a

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