What Law Faculty Want Students to Know

Shortly after the switch to online legal education, I surveyed the 99 students in my Corporations & Partnerships class about how they were doing generally and how they were experiencing online education. I included an open-ended question, "Is there anything you would like your professors generally to know?" Those results are here.

I recently surveyed an unrepresentative, unscientifically-selected group of U.S. law professors about their experiences of teaching in the pandemic. I solicited participants by emailing 61 local and national colleagues who I thought might be willing to respond. The colleagues taught at proverbial "T14" schools and schools of other ranks (measured by whatever conventional, if problematic, metric). I collected responses anonymously.

I received 37 responses from colleagues who taught in states on the West coast, East coast, and not-coasts. 36 respondents had recently finished teaching online during the Spring 2020 semester. One was scheduled to teach online this coming summer, but had not taught during the Spring 2020 semester.  Respondents' levels of experienced varied, perhaps skewed toward more senior faculty. Respondents included those with experience teaching 0-3 years (5.4%) and 35+ years (5.4%), with instructors having 25-35 years of teaching experience (29.7%) and 15-25 years of teaching experience (27%) well represented. Those with 3-7 years of teaching experience (10.8%) and 7-15 years of teaching experience (21.6%) rounded out the group.

Without making any claims about generalizability (the results decidedly are not generalizable), the responses are subjective snapshots of this particular time in American legal education.

Mirroring the question I had asked my students, I asked the (anonymous) faculty colleagues this open-ended question: "Reflecting about your personal experience or about the experience of faculty generally during the pandemic, are there things you would like your students in general to know?"  Representative responses appear after the fold.

• Sadly, some (many?) faculty members expected students to adapt to the circumstances and be resilient, but those same faculty members did not make any effort to adapt or learn how to best serve their students when things changed. The hypocrisy was appalling.
• It takes much longer to prepare for online teaching. It is demoralizing to lecture via the internet to 70 students who don't want to participate
• I wish students would feel as free during in-person semesters to pick up the phone as they have during the pandemic.
• While it took time for faculty to learn how to teach online, it also takes time for the students to learn how to learn online. I think they did not focus on that aspect as much as the former - and they are much more responsible now individually for their learning.
• Just like them, we are trying our best under difficult circumstances. Neither they nor we can expect perfection under the circumstances.
• It's been incredibly hard to maintain my teaching standards all the while being sick with covid and caring for two small kids, in addition to financial and other stress
• Teachers need your energy more than you realize. Invest in good internet and let me see you and hear you. It’s YOU that motivates me, not the sound of my own voice.
• Learning and critical thinking are most effective when you have active engagement with others/not passive listening.
• It really helps if they keep their video camera turned on or at least have a photo of themselves that shows when the camera is off.
• Faculty are also dealing with additional stress and a lot of extra work trying to figure out how to make the switch to online teaching with little notice. Faculty are also dealing with personal and professional matters that have been negatively affected by the pandemic. We are also scared about getting sick or having our loved ones get sick. Finances are also a source of worry, not only about our own finances but also members of our family and friends.
• Give us plenty of feedback about what works in online teaching! Unlike in-person teaching, we profs have probably never taken an online course, so cannot draw on our own experiences.

Comments

[anon]

Well, comparing the results, a few observations:

The students, predictably, attribute every problem to COVID (family members and kids distracting them, financial issues, no space to work at home, etc.) even where the connection (and lack of alternatives) really isn't that clear and convincing. (This is not to say some very real and terrible issues arose, of course.)

In other words, the students, who tend to whine a lot, whine a lot. Amazingly, few if any complained about the breach of their (very expensive) contracts calling for in person instruction.

The faculty seems to be more other directed, which was surprising to me, but a nice surprise. Who knew law professors would actually show any concern for anyone but themselves?

But, reading carefully, the overriding theme in the faculty comments, of course, deals with themselves and preemptive excuses: "don't blame us if we didn't do a good job" seems to be on the mind of many.

Actually, I don't discount this excuse: abruptly switching to online was an unbelievably taxing effort that administrators mainly imposed with no real support ("switch to Zoom, now, if you have any questions, ask Zoom. Maybe, once in a while, we'll try to have a Zoom meeting to provide some answers").

If anything, this crisis proved how authoritarian is the modern "liberal" mind.

[anon]

Another point, just noticed

ANONYMITY! Some of the faculty comments were critical of faculty policies, students, etc.

Where are all the brave and true souls condemning these faculty members as "cowards"? Shouldn't we ignore the comments of "anonymous" faculty members? Shouldn't we refuse to acknowledge or respond in any way thereto?

[anon]

"Shouldn't we ignore the comments of "anonymous" faculty members? Shouldn't we refuse to acknowledge or respond in any way thereto?"

He said anonymously.

[anon]

Exactly. Just like you, anon! See how that works?

[anon]

I wasnt trying to convince anyone of anything. Just pointing out your obvious inconsistency. OTOH - I doubt it needed to be highlighted.