FIRST ANNUAL UPSTATE/WESTERN NEW YORK & BEYOND REGIONAL CONFERENCE December 6 and 7, 2007

1. FIRST ANNUAL UPSTATE/WESTERN NEW YORK & BEYOND REGIONAL CONFERENCEDecember 6 and 7, 2007 “Forming a Regional Community to Share and Define Best Practices”

2. Morning Wake Up Session The Impact of “Best Practices” and “Carnegie” on clinical programs:EvaluatingOurselvesInternally & Evaluating our place in Legal Education.

3. Goals of Morning Session • For all participants to: • Become familiar with, and understand, the basics of the Carnegie Report and Best Practices. • Gain more particularized familiarity with Best Practices Chapter 5 (Experiential Learning), and how it relates to many other Best Practice recommendations. And Most importantly…

4. Develop Experience using Best Practices to assess ourselves, our programs, and our law schools. • a. Begin the process of assessing whether our • clinics are using “Best Practices”. If not, how can • we address weaknesses? • b. Develop a process for the on-going use of “Best • Practices” at your law school as a tool for • design, implementations, and assessment. • c. Consider whether “Best Practices”helps us to • evaluate the place and role of experiential education • at law schools. • d. Enjoy working with faculty from the other regional • law schools !!!

5. CONFIDENCE SURVEY: Learning About the Audience How many people feel: • Quite Confident in discussing what Best Practices & Carnegie advocates, and how it should be implemented at home. • Somewhat Confident • A little Shaky…

6. Methods for Reaching Goals • 9 am - 9:45 LECTURE AND POWERPOINT (Main Room) • Articulate Goals and Methods/Confidence Survey • Review History, Politics, and Pillars of Best Practices and • Carnegie. • Summarize Important foundational points in Chapters 2 • (Setting Goals), 3 (Organizing Instruction), 4 (Delivering • Instruction) and 7 (Assessing Student Learning) of Best • Practices. • 9:45-10:00BRIEF Q & A • Set up for small groups • 5 minute paper exercise! • Distribute Small Group assignment and the Table of Contents • to Chapter 5     • 10 - 10:15BREAK Get to small group room by 10:15 please!10:15 – 11:00Small Group EXERCISE • 11:00 -11:45 REPORT BACK TO MAIN ROOM • Small Group Reports • Confidence Survey/Assessment Survey

7. A Best Practices Model … or two. Our Goal: To create a healthy teaching and learning environment. Our Plan: Use Professor Gerry Hess’s 8 components for achieving such an environment: More on this LATER  • Inclusion • Feedback. • Expectation • Support • Respect • Collaboration • Delight • Engagement

8. Modeling Best Practices Cont’… • We will support your AUTONOMY and have HIGH EXPECTATIONS. • We will employ CONTEXT-BASED EDUCATION (See chapter 4 G) by placing you in hypothetical clinics during the small group sessions. • We will useMULTIPLE METHODSof instruction. (See pages 132-33 for discussion of the kinds of lecture methods). • We are attempting to ENHANCE LEARNING WITH TECHNOLOGY • We will consciously attempt to ASSESS THE LEARNING. • We have integrated PRACTICING LAWYERING into the teaching.

9. …and above all we will certainly take DELIGHT in our teaching!

10. History of Best Practices • Some Reflections from former CLEA president Carrie Kaas …

11. The Tipping Point By Roy Stuckey By William Sullivan Anne Colby Judith Welch Wegner Lloyd Bond Lee S. Shulman By Paul Maharg

12. Best Practices for Legal Education: a vision and a roadmap • Most law school graduates are not as prepared for practice as they could or should be. • Law Schools can do much better. They must make an Institutional Commitmentto do so. • Significant improvements to legal education are achievable, if the issues are examined from fresh perspectives and with open minds.

13. Educating Lawyers – The Carnegie Report • The “near exclusive” focus of law schools on systemic abstraction from actual social context has two major defects: 1.) The casual attention given “to teaching students how to use legal thinking in the complexity of actual law practice.” 2.) The failure to complement the focus on skill in legal analysis with effective support for developing the ethical and social dimensions of the profession.

14. The Three Apprenticeships:The signature pedagogy of all professional fields. Teach Students how to think, perform & conduct themselves like professionals. 1.) THINK – intellectual analysis, university teaching 2.) PERFORM – expert practice shared by competent practitioners. (Simulated Practice settings/ Case Studies / Actual Clinic Experience with Real Clients) 3.) ETHICAL / SOCIAL – introduce students to the purposes and attitudes that are guided by the values for which the professional community is responsible

15. Conferences Promoting Change in Legal Education - Legal Education at the Crossroads: Ideas to Action, Pt. I- brought together Deans, the AALS, the Carnegie Foundation, and leading legal educators to discuss reshaping legal education. University of South Carolina Stanford Law School - Coalition of 10 schools, headed by Stanford Law have pledged to discuss necessary changes in legal education. - Mercer University School of Law Leaders in legal education reform gathered to address Best Practices, Educating Lawyers, and the opportunities ahead in American Legal Education. For more information go to http://bestpracticeslegaled.albanylawblogs.com

16. What are other schools doing? • Case Law School’s Arc Program:A three year program that seeks to provide a completely integrated approach to teaching law and lawyering. • Dayton School of Law:Students are required to participate in one of three curricular tracks: 1) Advocacy & Dispute Resolution; 2) Personal & Transactional Law; 3), Intellectual Law, Cyberlaw & Creativity • Each track at Dayton includes: • Mandatory courses in dispute resolution and values and ethics • Participation in an externship • A clinic or capstone course that brings together skills, theory, research and • writing • Mandatory skills proficiency tests are being developed!!!! • Many schools, including Stanford are requiring clinics. • Schools, like Harvard, are overhauling curriculum to teach students to be more efficient practitioners. • Vanderbilt is redesigning the curriculum, with faculty departments setting goals and learning outcomes – in true Best Practices form!!

17. The Pillars of Best Practices • Setting Goals • Organizing the Program of Instruction • Delivering Instruction • Assessing Student Learning • Evaluating the Success of the Program of Instruction

18. Setting Goals • Demonstrate a commitment to preparing students for practice • Clearly articulate their educational goals • Shift from content-focused programs of instruction to outcomes-focused programs of instruction • The primary goal should be to develop competence, that is, the ability to resolve legal problems effectively and responsibly • Help students acquire the attributes of effective, responsible lawyers including self-reflection, lifelong learning skills, professional skills and professionalism

19. Organizing the Program of Instruction _ • Organize curriculums progressively • Integrate the teaching of theory & doctrine • Teach professionalism pervasively throughout all three years

20. Delivering Instruction • Use teaching methods that most effectively and • efficiently achieve desired educational objective • Employ context-based instruction • Employ best practices when using any instructional methodology • Maintain healthy teaching and learning environments • Enhance with technology and appropriate use of • practicing lawyers and judges • Have effective teacher development programs and • establish learning centers

21. Assessing Student Learning • Include criteria-referenced assessments, multiple formative and summative assessments, and various methods of assessment

22. Evaluating the Success of the Program of Instruction • Law Schools should regularly evaluate their effectiveness and use best practices for conducting such evaluations

23. Chapter 2 – Best Practices for Setting Goals for the Program of Instruction • A.) School Commits to prepare students to practice effectively and responsiblyin contexts they are “likely to encounter.”

24. Chapter 2 – Best Practices for Setting Goals for the Program of Instruction - Cont’ • B.) Clearly Articulate Educational Goals – for school, for courses, for each class. • Phase Shift – identified by Judith Wegner – see page 43. If educational objectives were made clear to students, students could reach the point at which they master the concept to “think like a lawyer” more quickly and with less stress.

25. Chapter 2 – Best Practices for Setting Goals for the Program of Instruction - Cont’ • C.) Articulate goals of institution in terms of desired outcomes. • OUTCOMES: what students will know and be able to do upon graduation and how they well they will do it. • when objective outcomes are not made explicit, the pre-occupation is specific knowledge. • GLOBAL MOVEMENT towards outcome education: up until now US Law Schools have ignored it

26. Seven Principles of Outcomes (1 – 4) • Collaborative formulation with bench, bar and others including students • Consistentand serve school’s mission • Adopted on faculty consensus after dialogue and deliberation • Measurable– not decimal place accuracy but a general judgment of whether students can know, think and do most of what’s intended. (see reference to how clinical profs do this all the time, page 49)

27. Seven Principles of Outcomes (5 – 7) • State outcome without jargon, explicitly and in plain English • Number of outcomes is based on what faculty can reasonably address and assessduring duration of law school • Outcome demands should be reasonablein light of the abilities of students and faculty

28. Task of Developing Outcomes • Should occur by collaboration among law schools and other entities • An American Institute for the Practice of Law • Various statements: LSAC Project to create new LSAT, ABA Legal Education Section, Judith Younger see pp. 50-55. • Chooses to use the Outcomes adopted in England and Wales

29. Articulate Goals for Each Course in Terms of Desired Outcomes • Do you feel overwhelmed? • Don’t – Instead listen to what Tom Brummond, who wrote a brief summary of the Best Practices in teaching says: page 55 of book. • Of course its unfamiliar to us, but we can do together with some help from overseas! • Some examples are given at 55-59.

30. Civil Court Best Practice: Example (pages 56 - 57) Aim: To develop skills in relation to the conduct, funding and resolution of civil ligation. • Learning Objectives: By the end of the course students should be able to: • Interview and advise clients on straightforward issues • Take basic precognitions • Draft basic pleadings • Demonstrate working knowledge of the rules of civil procedure • Explain how civil procedure may be funded • Explain how actions are settled • Know the role of, and conduct basic negotiations • Explain and discuss ethical rules associated with civil litigation and dispute resolution.

31. BOTTOM LINE: Help students acquire the attributes of effective responsible lawyers. • Self reflection and life long learning • Intellectual and analytical skills • Core knowledge of the law • Core understanding of the law • Professional skills • Professionalism

32. Practical Judgment as an Intellectual Skill • “Clinical judgment”– Medical education term, a “clinical” habit of mind, practical wisdom and often complex social circumstances. • The key needed to identify assess and propose concrete solutions in particular • Clinical Professor Mark Aaronson identified 6 key characteristics

33. The 6 Key Characteristics of “Practical Judgment” • Entails the application and tailoring of general knowledge to particular circumstances. • A dialogic process of deliberation or reasoning. • The ability to be empathetic and detached at the same time. • Knowledge is an instrument that should be used equitably for the benefit of humanity. • Lawyering judgment develops over time, and requires exposure to variety of problems, and repetitive practice. • Practical Judgment intertwines intellectual and moral attributes.

34. Professionalism: beyond the MPRE • Commitment to justice • Respect for the rule of law • Honor, integrity, fair play, truthfulness and candor • Sensitivity and effectiveness with diverse clients and colleagues • Nurturing quality of life

35. The 12 Outcomes of The Law Society of England & Wales (1 -6) • Demonstrate appropriate behavior and integrity in a range of situations, including contentious and non-contentious areas of work. 2. Demonstrate the capacity to deal sensitively and effectively with clients, colleagues and others from a range of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds, identifying and responding positively and appropriately to issues of culture and disability that might affect communication techniques and influence a client’s objectives. 3. Apply techniques to communicate effectively with clients, colleagues and members of other professions. 4. Recognize clients’ financial, commercial and personal constraints and priorities. 5. Effectively approach problem-solving. • Effectively use current technologies and strategies to store, retrieve and analyze information and to undertake factual and legal research.

36. The 12 Outcomes of The Law Society of England & Wales (7 -12) Demonstrate an appreciation of the commercial environment of legal practice, including the market for legal services. 8. Recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas. 9. Use risk management skills. 10. Recognize personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, to identify the limits of personal knowledge and skill and to develop strategies that will enhance their personal performance. • Manage their personal workload and manage efficiently and a number of client matters. 12. Work as part of a team.

37. Basic Principles • Strive to Achieve Congruence • Progressively Develop Knowledge, Skills, and Values • Integrate teaching of theory, doctrine, and practice • Teach professionalism pervasively throughout all three years Chapter 3 – Best Practices for Organizing the Program of Instruction

38. Harmonize: • Programs & Educational mission • Curricula & Educational Outcomes, building mastery • Course-by-course objectives & overall curricula Strive to Achieve Congruence • Identify Desired Outcomes • Then, Map the curricular and co-curricular opportunities • where students are introduced to the skills, values, and knowledge • where do students get to practice them • at what point are students expected to attain the desired level of proficiency.

39. MAPS identify depth and breadth of opportunities, as well as reveal curricular gaps, redundancies and inadequacies. Strive to Achieve Congruence – Cont’ • Evaluation processes should also be congruent – determine if the objectives are actually being accomplished.

40. Law Schools should be more than just a collection of courses. Schools should have sequential design for a “Pathway for Learning.” Systemic coherence is necessary, even if teachers lose some autonomy. Progressively Develop Knowledge, skills and values

41. Integrate cognitive, practical, and ethical-social apprenticeships. Integrate Teaching Theory, Doctrine and Practice • Too much time analyzing doctrine, and too little time for competence promoting abilities. • Move beyond “doctrine vs. other skills” dichotomy. • Not just “add” skills. Need to integrate them. “Law Schools cannot prepare students for practice unless they teach doctrine, theory, and practice as part of a unified, coordinated program of instruction.”

42. Ironically – law school breeds unprofessionalism • Competition between students for limited rewards foster unprofessional conduct. Instead, establish a culture of respect, civility, responsibility and honor. • Ethics should also be taught pervasively. Teach Professionalism Pervasively throughout all three years

43. Chapter 4 -Best Practices for Delivering Instruction: Principles applicable to all modes of teaching • A. Know your subjects extremely well (unfortunately this is not enough) • B. Continuously strive to improve teaching skills • C. Create & maintain effective teaching and learning environments • D. Explain goals and methods • E. Choose teaching methods that effectively and efficiently achieve desired outcomes • F. Use multiple methods of instruction and reduce reliance on the Socratic dialogue and case method • G. Employ context-based education throughout the program of instruction • H. Integrate practicing lawyers and judges into the program of instruction • I. Enhance learning with technology • J. Establish a “Learning Center”

44. Continuously Strive to Improve Teaching Skills • Excellence in teaching, means: • Command of subject matter • Clear communication of expectations • Enthusiasm and expressiveness • Classroom interaction • Rapport with students • Individualized feedback • Reinforcement of student performance

45. Continuously Strive to Improve Teaching Skills – Cont’ • Good Teachers are: • Approachable and accessible • Interested in student learning & well-being • Open to student ideas and questions • Concerned about actual progress • Laws Schools must: • Value teaching in hiring, retention & promotion. • Require teaching portfolios • ABA & AALS should define effective teaching.

46. Create and Maintain Effective Teaching & Learning Environments • Example: Hess’s 8 components • Respect, Expectation, Support, Collaboration • Inclusion, Engagement, Delight, Feedback • Do No Harm to Students– Avoid hostile, competitive, confusing classroom. • Support Student Autonomy (perspective taking, choice provision, meaningful rationale provision) • Foster Mutual Respect • Dialog • Explore ideas • Solve problems creatively • No humiliation or denigration – model respect • Learn student names & experiences / Let students know you

47. Create and Maintain Effective Teaching & Learning Environments – Cont’ • Have High expectations • Its an element of respect • No piling on work • Have FAITH - They can do it! • Model high expectation of yourself • Foster Supportive Environment • Attitude = concerned & helpful • Frequent student-faculty contact, including formal • Role model and mentoring role • Encourage Collaboration • Cooperative learning = higher team achievement • Helps students prepare for actual practice (team projects) • Teacher-Student collaboration in course design

48. Create and Maintain Effective Teaching & Learning Environments – Cont’ • Make students feel welcome & included • Enhances motivation • Motivated by sharing the goals of the course • Validates diverse perspectives • Teach to wide variety of learning styles & intelligences • Engage students & teachers - Power struggles negatively effect performance • Interest & eye contact • Solicit viewpoints • Encourage speaking • Active learning – Share Responsibility • Take Delight – Enthusiasm!!!

49. Create and Maintain Effective Teaching & Learning Environments – Cont’ • Give Regular and Prompt Feedback • Students need know what they know and don’t know • Oral & Written • Not everything needs to be written • Helps students improve their self-directed learning skills • Learn how to learn in the future • Reflective self-evaluation • Seek feedback • Model Professional Behavior • Basic moral attitudes, social responsibility • How to treat others • Use of power and authority

50. Explain Goals & Methods • Transparency