Last week, two things happened.
First, the phenomenon that is Wicked received ten Academy Award nominations.[1] I admit, the songs are catchy, and I often find myself humming the melodies in the short silence before my children ask “Alexa” to play the soundtrack again.
Second, a doctrinal law colleague vocalized concerns about the potential of devoting more resources to at-risk law students – students who, without intervention, will likely struggle on the bar exam. You see, like most law schools, there is much consideration regarding whether change, and how much, is required considering the looming NextGen bar exam.
Too often, doctrinal faculty and skills faculty operate in silos, missing opportunities to collaborate in ways that can significantly enhance student outcomes. Mulling over this colleague’s concern, I was reminded of Wicked. The witches sing: “Unlimited. Together, we're unlimited. […] If we work in tandem. There's no fight we cannot win.”[2] In the film, the witches realize that they could achieve more together than they ever could alone. The same holds true for doctrinal faculty and us in academic and bar support.
Often the divide comes from a lack of understanding or appreciation about what academic support and bar professionals do. Recognizing that everyone’s role is complementary rather than competing is the first step toward meaningful collaboration.
Here are some practical ways you might consider fostering meaningful collaboration between doctrinal faculty and academic support and bar professionals at your institution.
- Early Identification of Struggling Students: Academic support professionals can work together to identify students who may benefit from additional support early in the semester. For example, faculty might flag students who perform poorly on midterms or writing assignments and refer them to academic support services. In turn, academic support can speak with the faculty member on course coverage to offer practice question opportunities for at-risk students.
- Integrating Academic and Bar Support into the Curriculum: Embedding academic support initiatives as standalone courses or into doctrinal courses can reinforce skills development. For example, faculty could incorporate practice essays or multiple-choice questions into their course and collaborate with academic support staff to expand opportunities.
- Co-Teaching Opportunities: Collaborative teaching in a skills class can bridge the gap between doctrinal content and skills development. For instance, faculty can join academic support professionals in teaching sessions on exam strategies, outlining techniques, effective legal analysis, etc. in the context of the faculty member’s legal doctrine. These joint efforts can provide students with a holistic understanding of how to approach their studies.
- Faculty Development Workshops: Academic support and bar professionals can offer discussions and resources for faculty on how to integrate skills-based exercises into their doctrinal courses in light of the NextGen bar exam.
- Regular Communication Channels: Establishing regular communication channels between faculty and academic support teams can foster collaboration. These can be emails containing bar exam updates and access to sample questions. Or, they can be meetings used to discuss overall student progress, share insights, and develop strategies to address common challenges.
- Joint Efforts on Bar Preparation: Faculty and academic support professionals can work together to align curriculum content with bar exam requirements, ensuring students are well-prepared for the challenges ahead.
Collaboration between doctrinal faculty and academic support and bar professionals seems like an obvious yet elusive key for fostering student success. By working together, these groups can create a more integrated and supportive learning environment that addresses both the substantive and skills-based needs of law students. Breaking down silos and building bridges benefits everyone—most importantly, the students who rely on their professors and support staff to guide them through the rigors of law school and beyond. Academic and Bar Support is not a wicked initiative that should be shut out of the doctrinal classroom. Together we can work together for good.
(Erica Sylvia)
[1] Wicked Defies Gravity with 10 Oscar Nods, https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/wickeds-oscar-nominations-everything-to-know
[2] Defying Gravity Lyrics, https://genius.com/Cynthia-erivo-defying-gravity-lyrics
