Suffolk law professor Jeff Lipshaw (pictured) posted "Of Pedagogical Epiphanies and the "On Call" List – Will the Deontological Prevail Over the Consequential in Class Participation?" yesterday at the Legal Profession Blog (where he is one of the founding contributors). In his post, Jeff reflects on the topic of "classroom participation," sharing what has (and has not) worked well for him. His thoughts are worth reading. Here's the link.
I hope others will comment on what has and has not worked in the classroom. Perhaps some of us are too set in our ways to change (not me, as I'm reminded each semester by section 1-103(a)(2) of the beloved UCC) , but perhaps our readers include law professors just getting their feet wet. Genuine enthusiasm for the subject is a must, but only goes so far. What other factors might influence student participation? First-year courses v. upper level courses? Required courses v. electives? Cases v. problems? Random recitation v. panels v. rows v. volunteers? Morning v. afternoon v. evening courses? Attendance taken (or not)? Laptops permitted (or prohibited)? Small enrollment v. medium v. large? Classroom configuration (auditorium, conference table, etc.)? Participation graded (or ungraded)?
I was glad to see that someone else uses name-cards instead of a seating chart. I first encountered that up when I took a Business School course while in grad school, and thought it was a great idea. It may seem a small thing, but I've found a seating chart awkward to consult while teaching, and the name cards seem to make it easier to actually learn the students' names.
I always use name cards myself – I find them much easier than consulting seating charts. You don't constantly need to lose eye contact with your students. A colleague is also using a new iPhone app that allows you to see your Keynote (like PowerPoint) slides and notes while wandering around the classroom and you can remotely change the slides on the projector directly from the iPhone. While I don't have an iPhone myself, this sounds like a good way of organizing things.
I am only too happy to be paternalistic in the classroom — one of the things that students should receive with their tuition money, in my view, is the benefit of my experience and knowledge with respect to the skills they must develop to succeed in the practice of law. One of those skills, in turns out, is learning to prepare effectively for any important meeting, and another is the ability to present one's ideas to a group. In virtually every area of legal practice, effective preparation and effective oral communication are required. Law school insist that students develop those skills — after all, we have little reason to believe that students will appreciate how important it is to consistently and effectively prepare and to express themselves effectively in a profession that they have not yet entered. For all these reasons, I am only to happy to require students to prepare for class, and to participate when called on (caveat — my students are permitted to skip or pass in class in to five classes per semester without penalty as long as they indicate in advance that they are not prepared).
Larry Rosenthal
Chapman University School of Law