DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/BSDA-N563
Defense Date
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. David Coogan
Abstract
Traditional legal education is sorely imbalanced. A law student receives rigorous training in legal doctrine and analytical skillshe learns to "think like a lawyer"but is left with little training in practical skills or his ethical role in society. Moreover, law schools rely almost exclusively on the ineffectual pedagogy of the case-dialogue, or "Socratic," method. Several factors explain this entrenched imbalance, most notably the academy's top-down power structure and its budget constraints. Increasingly, however, the marketplace is demanding practice-ready lawyers who have strong training not only in doctrine but in practical skills and ethics. Law schools, responding to this market pressure, are beginning to implement pedagogies that foster this balanced legal training. Toward this end, I advocate implementing into law school curricula three specific, workable pedagogies: using group learning models, using writing as a learning tool, and using assessment as a formative and ongoing component of the learning process.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008