This post is part of a series on preparing to teach in the fall. For the other posts in the series, see here and for the five step approach that I am using, see here. This post and other recent posts focus on the third step—building connections and community in our physically distanced, remote, or hybrid courses.
Comments
Totally agree with Jessica who has spent alot of time providing this free service for the common good. Less so than in the spring, but for some students the online class time may literally be the only or few times a week where they are interacting with a human being. Some live alone and may not have family nearby. It is especially hard for 1Ls who have no law school friends, so yeah, I think in this difficult time, it is part of the profs’ duty to at least offer the option for some students to “meet” outside the classroom in the online world. Some law schools also have staff that do this or clubs but nothing can really replace the classroom.
For many of us, the most enduring friendships we have from 1L year are from our sections or the dorms. Law students now have neither to foster this connections. Jessica’s posts provide an option for people who can’t take online learning classes to learn strategies in a quick and easy assessable format. I don’t blame students when they complain if many profs proceed as business as usual.
Posted by: anon | Aug 13, 2020 11:29:01 AM
Jessica, you’re continuing to provide such helpful posts. Thank you!!
Posted by: Anna | Aug 13, 2020 9:43:05 AM
Phil — I am well aware that students are paying *a lot* of money to be in law school. That weighs on me day in and day out, and rest assured that my students will learn the law inside and out. No one has ever accused me of being too easy. But the view that learning has to be a grind is just wrong — the data shows that connections and community increase learning. Usually connections develop naturally because we are in physical proximity with each other, but that’s harder now, which mean professors should take some steps to build these connections into their courses in a more intentional way.
I certainly wouldn’t do all of the things in my post in my class. These are ideas all taken from experts in online teaching, and professors should pick and choose ones that work for them. And as I note, I’d give students a choice on a lot of it, so they can opt out if they’d rather learn on their own. At the end of the day, although I can be a pretty serious teacher, I certainly don’t object to incorporating a few things to bring a bit of fun into the semester. Smiling and learning the law are not mutually exclusive.
Posted by: Jessica Erickson | Aug 12, 2020 8:21:57 PM
Why do you assume it is a law professor’s responsibility to ensure students socialize with one another? “a movie watching party”?? “what’s your favorite board game?” Assigned study groups? Your students paid tens of thousands of dollars to learn the law, not to be compelled to have a buddy. If you were my law professor, I would drop the class.
Posted by: Phil | Aug 12, 2020 2:20:40 PM
One could use the whiteboard function in Zoom at the beginning of class for students to put answer to the intro questions. it is anonymous and students can draw or write on it.
Posted by: anon | Aug 11, 2020 3:30:38 PM