The Learning Curve
A Publication of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section of Academic Support
The Zen of Overcoming Procrastination
Whether you are in law school or teaching law school, there are always roadblocks that can keep us from being as efficient as we want. More and more, I find myself in office hours “teaching” how to overcome procrastination. This article is not just for the procrastinators out there, but for everyone who wants to …
The Science of Willpower and Exercising Power Over Your Will
This community understands that the successful study of law requires the exercise of willpower—sometimes more than a student seemingly has. How can we help students harness their willpower and use it effectively? “Willpower” is actually a form of self-control, or self-regulation.1While “self-control” is typically used in the context of refraining from doing something (e.g., not …
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Teach Me What You’ve Learned: A Classroom Technique for Repeated Spaced Retrieval
Why is it so difficult for some students to absorb legal principles? Scientists have found that unless we have a framework of knowledge it is very difficult to consolidate novel information. Once we get a framework, then novel information can be quickly assimilated. Consider for example a seasoned constitutional law professor versus the student …
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Helping Students: Lived Experience Provides Meaning For a World of Fiction
One day last summer, I gave my kid a hug. She looked at me and said, “You showered.” Then she threw a screaming fit. What does this #toddlermomlife anecdote have to do with bar prep? There are several things, but today we care about how our lived experiences impact how we interpret the words …
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Choose Your Own Academic Adventure: The Impact of Autonomy in Academic Support
In the late 1970s, Edward Packard created a unique literary experience that allowed the reader to sit in the driver’s seat of the story, making choices about the main character’s actions to shape the plot’s outcome. These wildly popular books, known as Choose Your Own Adventure, are lauded for capturing young readers’ attention by harnessing …
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Brick-by-Brick: Building Bar Success with a Comprehensive Academic Skills Program
The ubiquitous question on law school campuses today is: what does it take to help graduates succeed on the bar exam? The responses differ depending on who you ask, and many of those responses are more reflective of wishful thinking than long-term planning. Despite the wishes of many law school administrators there is no one-size-fits-all …
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What’s Gonna Work? Teamwork: The Hallmark of Good Academic Success Programs
For those of you with young children, you may recognize this title from the popular kid’s show Wonder Pets where, before embarking on an adventure to rescue a pet in trouble, the team chants the familiar song (“What’s gonna work? Teamwork!”) over and over. But teamwork isn’t limited to Wonder Pets and Paw Patrol; it …
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Flipping the Bar Classroom
For the past few years, I have co-taught a pre-bar course for students in their final semester. The course covers some heavily tested doctrine, as well as the academic and test-taking skills needed to succeed on the essay, multiple-choice, and performance components of the bar exam. In order to deliver the doctrinal material, we gave …
Effective Teaching Strategies for 2L Remedial Courses
In the past twenty years, law school academic support programs (ASP) have transformed from relatively new phenomena to a standard department in law schools across the country. Traditionally, these departments existed to assist students who faced cultural or economic disadvantages, academic difficulty, and those needing accommodations. In recent years, with respect to the wave of …
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A New Fish in a Big Sea: Welcome to the World of “ASP”
My work in ASP began nearly three years ago; I am still a baby fish in the ASP sea. This article discusses some of my experiences as a new fish in the big ASP ocean, three lessons I’ve learned about navigating the murky waters so far, and some of the challenges along the way. Experience …
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