Workshop for New Law Teachers

June 21–23, 2001
Alexandria, Virginia

Speakers were invited to submit materials from their presentations at the Workshop for New Law Teachers for posting on this website. You may scroll through the program for links to available Speaker materials. Also, you may view a Bibliography from the 1999 Workshop for New Law Teachers.

Program

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2001

4:00–7:30 p.m.
Registration

6:00–7:00 p.m.
AALS Reception

7:00 p.m. AALS Sponsored Dinner
Welcome
Harry G. Prince, AALS Deputy Director

Introduction
William J. Rich, Washburn University and Chair, Planning Committee for AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers [view material]

Composing a Law Teacher’s Life
Jean Koh Peters, Yale Law School [view material]

A new law teacher faces many new challenges in the classroom, interacting with students, colleagues and staff, beginning scholarship and understanding her roles in the community. How does the teacher think about the many parts of her life and begin to conceive it as a whole, greater than the sum of its parts? Professor Peters offers reflections on law teaching and an approach to composing the law teaching life to open this workshop.
Following the presentation there will be an informal session with Jean Koh Peters.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2001

8:30–8:50 a.m..
Coffee, Tea and Breakfast Pastry

9:00–9:45 a.m..
33 Tips for New Law Teachers
Karen M. Gebbia Pinetti, University of Hawaii [view material]

Even after years in the classroom, dedicated law teachers struggle to master difficult subjects, achieve multiple learning objectives, employ creative and effective teaching methods, and engage and challenge every student. It is easy to feel overwhelmed. Professor Gebbia Pinetti will offer tips for: reducing stress before the semester begins; making your classroom a professional, respectful, positive learning environment; asking and answering student questions; encouraging students to prepare and participate; and doing it all without killing yourself.

9:45–10:45 a.m..
Teaching Nuts and Bolts
Charles R. Calleros, Arizona State University [view material]
Jennifer Lorraine Rosato, Brooklyn Law School

In this give-and-take session, two experienced and successful teachers exchange views on a variety of “nuts and bolts” issues for the new teacher, including: choosing a casebook, preparing a syllabus for students, creating your own notes for teaching, establishing your authority in the classroom, selecting a teaching “style,” and dealing with difficult students.

10:45–11:00 a.m..
Refreshment Break

11:00 a.m.–12:00 noon
Small Group Discussions: Teaching

12:00 noon–1:30 p.m..
AALS Luncheon
How Service Can Drive Your Scholarship and Teaching
Jamin Ben Raskin, American University [view material]

1:45–2:45 p.m..
Teach to the Whole Class: Barriers and Pathways to Learning
Paula Lustbader, Seattle University [view material]
Laurie B. Zimet, University of California, Hastings

Professors Lustbader and Zimet will model a variety of interactive teaching methods. A highlight of this session will be a videotape of law students discussing their learning experiences. This will stimulate a conversation about learning theory and effective teaching methods.

2:45–3:45 p.m.
Small Group Discussions

3:45–4:00 p.m.
Refreshment Break

4:00–5:15 p.m..
Exams and Other Methods of Assessment
Gerald F. Hess, Gonzaga University [view material]

Professor Hess will address four topics: principles of effective assessment, lessons learned by experienced teachers, feedback to students, resources for constructing exams and other forms of assessment.

5:15–6:00 p.m.
AALS Reception

5:30–6:30 p.m.
AALS Section on Gay & Lesbian Legal Issues Informal Gathering

8:30–9:00 a.m.
Coffee, Tea and Breakfast Pastry

9:00–9:45 a.m.
Scholarship I: Finding a Topic, Setting an Agenda
Rachel Moran, University of California at Berkeley [view material]

One of the most daunting challenges for the new professor is figuring out how to create a research agenda. How can the new professor approach that first article with an appreciation both for the practicalities of succeeding with the initial piece and for the longer term implications of being able to build on the earlier work? Professor Moran shares her thoughts on these difficult questions.

9:45–10:30 a.m.
Scholarship II: The Professor as a Scholar: Nuts and Bolts
Cheryl Hanna, Vermont Law School [view material]

Professor Hanna will address many of the hard questions that would impede successful scholarship. How do you get started? How do you get ideas for articles and then how do you select the ideas that are most likely to lead to a finished product? How do you write the separate parts of the article, glue them together and do the footnotes? When, where, and how should you submit your manuscript? How do you handle student editors? What should you do when it (finally) is in print?

10:30–10:45 a.m.
Refreshment Break

10:45 a.m.–12:00 noon
Small Group Discussions: Scholarship and Assessments

12:00 noon–2:00 p.m.
AALS Luncheon Satisfying Your Multiple Constituencies (How Your Dean Can Help)
Gregory Howard Williams, The Ohio State University

2:00–3:00 p.m.
Reports from New Law Teachers
J. Stephen Clark, Albany Law School
Spencer A. Overton, University of California at Davis
Leti Volpp, American University [view material]
Moderator: Kate E. Bloch, University of California, Hastings

This panel will include three “alumni” of past AALS New Law Teachers’ Workshops. They will address the variety of issues and challenges new law teachers face, telling you what they wish they knew then that they know now.