LWI Conference Preview - Monday

The Legal Writing Institute Conference is the most important event for legal writing professors.  The number of sessions can be overwhelming (particularly for first time attendees) and you will usually find yourself wanting to be in more than one room at the same time. 

To help you plan your LWI experience, we will share with you the selections for each of the sessions.  Here are the choices for Session 2 on Monday, which follows the plenary session. 

(mew)

Monday, June 27, 2010 Session 2:  11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Islands Ballroom, Salons B&C	A is for Think-Alouds, B is for (Fill-in) the Blanks of Mindmap, and C is for Clickers. Robin Boyle-Laisure, Michael Hunter Schwartz & Danton Berube   We will begin our session with an interactive, clicker-based discussion of the student benefits of teaching to different learning styles.  We will then engage participants in other learning activities designed to meet a variety of learning styles, and we will conclude with a summary of a recent study involving the use of clickers in the classroom. Format:  Lecture with Q&A Objective:  Share teaching ideas, present research or scholarly work
Islands Ballroom, Salon F	A Conversation About What Cognitive Scientists and Composition Theorists Know That We Don’t about Using Examples to Improve Learning Terrill Pollman  Using sample documents and models like IRAC routinely generate controversy in the legal writing community.  After examining what some cognitive learning theorists and composition theorists have learned about exemplars and models, participants will have the chance to talk about these pedagogies and our teaching practices. Format:  Lecture with Q&A, round table discussion Objective:  Share teaching ideas, present research or scholarly work
Islands Ballroom, Salon G New Teachers	Writing an Effective Syllabus Is a Thoughtful Pedagogical Act Nancy Soonpaa    Writing an effective syllabus helps to set up a successful course.  This presentation explores not only the nuts and bolts of an effective syllabus, but also the intended and unintended messages conveyed via both substantive choices regarding the course and the language used to present them. Format:  Lecture with Q&A, pair and share Objective:  Share teaching ideas
Islands Ballroom, Salons H&J	Assessment Planning in Legal Research and Writing Courses Victoria VanZandt    Assessment in legal education is becoming increasingly important as the American Bar Association considers requiring assessment of student learning outcomes in its accreditation standards.  This presentation will introduce the basics of assessment planning generally and will focus on the assessment of student learning outcomes in legal research and writing courses. Format:  Lecture with Q&A Objective:  Share teaching ideas, present research or scholarly work
Capri Ballroom, Salon 1	Branches and Roots: Exploring New Directions for Strengthening the Field of Legal Research and Writing Education Judy Rosenbaum & Mary Barnard Ray    This presentation will introduce the audience to trends and theories in writing instruction being used by our colleagues who teach composition in other areas of the curriculum in higher education.  It will engage the audience in a discussion of ways that these trends and theories can be incorporated into the LRW curriculum to enrich and energize our teaching and scholarship. Format:  Lecture with Q&A, pair and share Objective:  Share teaching ideas, present research or scholarly work, identify new directions for teaching and scholarship
Capri Ballroom, Salon 6	Social Justice and Legal Writing: Perspectives of Faculty, Students, and Partner Organizations on Collaborative Legal Writing Mary Bowman, Janet Dickson & Deirdre Bowen    At Seattle University School of Law, legal writing faculty collaborate with legal service organizations to develop writing problems for our students that address questions posed by the partner organizations, and we provide the best student work product to our partner organizations, who use that work product in a variety of ways, such as litigation or lobbying.  The projects, though not without challenges, have proven to be an energizing and valuable experience for students, faculty, and the organizations.  We will offer some practical advice about how to implement similar projects at other schools, based on our reflections, not only from the professors perspectives, but also from the perspectives of the students and the partner organizations. Format:  Lecture with Q&A Objective:  Share teaching ideas, discussion of student engagement