At this point in spring, the fall semester may seem light years away. For ASPers, the almost five-month ravine between April Fools Day and the first day of classes is filled with exam review sessions, post-exam counseling, degree plan advising, bar prep, and 1L orientation. Those of us homed in academic support and bar prep will have less than an ideal amount of time to engage in new class preps. It is natural for us to rely on our wonderful and knowledgeable community for textbook suggestions, sample syllabi, recommended assessments, and guidance on course design and delivery.
For those in the position of planning to teach a new first-year course for the first time, I highly recommend the following excellent (and easy to read) essay and article:
Brian R. Gallini, From Philly to Fayetteville: Reflections on Teaching Criminal Law in the First Year, 83 Temple L. Rev. 475 (2011). This short essay, approximately 15 pages long, chronicles a new professor’s queries, experiences, and resolutions as he reflects on his first semester of teaching. Though Professor, now Dean, Gallini’s essay focused on the Criminal Law course, his questions and admonitions apply directly to any core doctrinal course. He challenges the reader to be adaptive in teaching, to not be overly reliant on casebooks and common law doctrine. He also offers sage guidance for incorporating exam prep strategies into the course delivery. This essay is as good a read today as it was fifteen years ago. I highly recommend it for anyone teaching a first-year course.
Another gem for new law teachers or those with new course preps is Directed Questions: A Non-Socratic Dialogue About Non-Socratic Teaching, 99 U. Detroit Mercy L. Rev. 1 (2021) by Kris Franklin and Rory Bahadur. Professors Franklin and Bahadur offer detailed guidance on course delivery and strategies to maximize classroom discussion and that will also guide and incentivize student completion of required reading in a way that fosters deeper comprehension. This non-traditional pedagogy is explored in a traditional law review article that is a brilliant, but not quick, read. This article is a fabulous resource for experienced faculty who are looking to innovate their teaching. This is also a great piece for ASPers to add to their arsenal of faculty resources. When offering suggestions to your doctrinal faculty colleagues, you can say that Professors Franklin and Bahadur sent you.
(Marsha Griggs)
