Over the years, I’ve seen many students struggle in preparing for final exams, particularly with uncertainty about how best to prepare.
Without exception, that leads to a question. In the past, how have you learned to solve problems? And, without exception, students say that they learn to solve problems…by practicing problems (usually with lots of ups and downs, turbulence, and bumps and bruises). That’s because we don’t learn how to solve problems by watching others solve problems.
And, that’s the rub about law school learning.
Simply put, much of our law school experience has been us watching others solve problems (whether observing a professor run through a hypothetical problem, listening to a student in Socratic dialogue, reading and briefing cases, or even in the midst of preparing massive outlines as study tools). Unfortunately, you are not tested on your case briefs, outlines or study tools. Rather, you are tested on your abilities to solve legal problems.
So, here’s the key. Change your focus from passive learning into active learning by grabbing hold of lots of practice problems, sweating over them, stretching yourself through them, and exercising your “brain muscles” in tackling complex legal issues. In short, take charge of your own learning by practicing lots of final exam problems.
To help you visualize what active learning for final exams might look like, here’s a short video animation of the Hudson River airplane crash, spliced with the pilot and aircraft controller communications.
First, as you watch the video, you’ll can see that all is calm. It’s a great smooth takeoff. The flight is well on its way to a far-away destination, and, then, suddenly, there’s flock of geese in the way. That’s how I always feel when I practice exams. All is relatively peaceful and then I turn to the first question and it looks like I’ve just flown into a flock of geese with my engines flaming out as a result. So, here’s lesson one – prepare for geese. You will have problems that are difficult on your final exams. But, you won’t learn how to tackle them until you start working through them first, well, right now, before you take your final exams.
Second, notice the pilot’s voice. Is it calm or ruffled? Yes, the engines have quit. Yes, the plane is not flying to a far-away place anymore. But, it is still an airplane. It still has wings and radios. It is still flying. It’s just not going to Chicago or Phoenix or Los Angeles today. So, here’s lesson two – don’t ever give up, even in the midst of your exam prep and final exams. Keep flying your airplane. Keep working on learning by doing.
Third, as you continue to watch the video, you’ll start hearing lots of air traffic controllers trying their best to help the pilot make a successful return, first to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and then to Teterboro Airport across the Hudson River in New Jersey. The controllers are busily clearing runways and directing the pilot to turn to this heading and that course. But, the pilot stays in control. Finally, the controllers ask which runway the pilot would like to land on, and, instead, the pilot says – frankly and calmly – the Hudson River. So, here’s lesson three – fly your own airplane. Don’t let others control your destiny. You’re the one that is taking the exam (not those that are giving you lots of advice). And, only you know yourself. So, make your own decisions. Just like pilots do, practice solving legal problems through lots of "simulator flight" time.
Here's the secret about learning. You see, that wasn’t the first time that the pilot lost his engines in flight. The pilot had experienced dual engine failure lots of times…in the simulator. Yes, the pilot had read the horn books on how to land on a river, the cases of previous airplanes successfully ditching in the water, and the manuals on how to stay calm and collected in the midst of a flock of geese. But, reading is not sufficient to learn how to fly an airplane. That’s because no one learns to fly by reading about flying. You learn to fly…by flying. Similarly, you learn to solve legal problems…by solving legal problems. So, get flying today as you prepare for your final exams tomorrow. And, good luck on them all! (Scott Johns).
