Call for Proposals for 2019 AALS Joint Section Workshop

Call for Proposals:  Joint Workshop

AALS Sections on Academic Support (ASP) & the Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession

January 2019 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA:  Thursday January 3, 2019, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

 Circling the Square: Fresh Partnerships to Understand Student Learning through Empirical Studies

Introduction. Academic support plays a critical role in promoting student success and learning, and empirical research into various learning processes can yield vital information to help all law faculty promote effective learning. The Section on Academic Support Programs and the Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession are joining forces to provide a three-hour workshop at the 2019 AALS annual meeting in order to help jump-start collaborative empirical research on understanding student learning and related issues.

Design.  The Workshop will have two major components.  First, a plenary panel presentation will highlight current research based on empirical studies and address the need for additional research focused on specific issues arising in several key areas, such as 1) assessment of law school programs and courses; 2) design and evaluation of law school academic support programs; and 3) the design and evaluation of measures intended to improve bar exam success.  This will be followed by presenters from the Academic Support community, who will identify areas of need for future empirical research.  Next, the program will break into multiple concurrent small-group break-out sessions focused on specific areas for empirical study in the area of academic support.  Each group will brainstorm and identify potential partnerships for future research, engage in constructive feedback to those with ongoing research and those who are beginning to identify questions for further study.  We hope that this format will strengthen individual research proposals, create potential for collaborative or parallel work in different institutions, and bring together insights from across a wide spectrum of law faculty and professionals.

Depending on proposals received, we may modify the focus and format slightly.  At this point, we anticipate 15 minutes allocated to each plenary presenter and one hour for the concurrent break-out sessions, which may include one or more facilitators and/or presenters who will be grouped based on common themes of interest.  Depending on the nature and quality of proposals, we may seek to publish associated papers in a law review symposium issue.  All submissions will be subject to peer review by a program committee composed of those from the two sponsoring sections.

Call for Proposals.  Based on the above-described program design, we are seeking proposals in three different areas:

(1) For the first part of the plenary presentation, we are soliciting proposals focused on empirical research in one of the identified areas.  These proposals should be 1-2 pages in length and contain the following:

(a) a title of your paper and/or presentation,

(b) a description of the objectives and/or outcomes of the research question you have pursued or are pursuing,

(c) a description of the empirical methods used,

(d) a statement of why your work would benefit from a collegial review process,

(e) a summary of the presentation methods to be used,

(f) an attached abstract and draft of a current paper on the subject, if appropriate, or an explanation of the stage of your research process, and

(g) an attached curriculum vitae and a brief bio explaining any teaching or scholarly expertise or experience in the area of your presentation.

 (2) For the second part of the plenary presentations, we are soliciting proposals that will identify and discuss areas of need for future research on issues relating to academic support. These proposals should be 1-2 pages in length and contain the following:

(a) a title of your presentation,

(b) a description of the objectives and/or outcomes of the research question you have pursued or are pursuing,

(c) a statement of why the research question presented would benefit from a collegial review process,

(d) an explanation about why the proposed research is important to academic support and/or legal education,

(e) a summary of the presentation methods to be used,

(f) an attached abstract and draft of a current paper on the subject, or an explanation of the stage of your research process, if any, and

(g) an attached curriculum vitae and a brief bio explaining any teaching or scholarly expertise or experience in the area of your presentation.

(3) For the concurrent sessions, we are soliciting proposals that will identify and discuss works in progress at any stage of research or thinking, with the goal of developing potential partnerships for future research and receiving constructive feedback and input on the ideas presented.  These proposals should be 1-2 pages in length and contain the following:

(a) a title and/or description of your area of interest,

(b) an explanation about why the research question is important to academic support and/or legal education,

(c) a statement of why the research question presented would benefit from a collegial review process,

(e) a summary of the presentation methods to be used,

(f) an attached abstract and draft of a current paper on the subject, or an explanation of the stage of your research process, if any, and

(g) an attached curriculum vitae and a brief bio explaining any teaching or scholarly expertise or experience in the area of your presentation.

The planning committee would prefer to highlight talent across a spectrum of law schools and disciplines and is especially interested in new and innovative ideas.  In addition, we welcome proposals from scholars and educators at all stages of research.  Please share this call with colleagues—both within and outside of the legal academy and the academic support community.

Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so please send yours as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, August 1^st, to Professor Raul Ruiz, Florida International University College of Law, [email protected] .  If you have any questions, please email Professor Ruiz or call 305-348-7821.

AALS Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession Program Committee:	AALS Section on Academic Support Program Committee:
Louis Schulze, Chair	Raul Ruiz, Chair
Jennifer Gundlach	Melissa Berry
Neil W. Hamilton	Robert Coulthard
Victor David Quintanilla	Jamie Kleppetsch
	Daniel M. Kocal
	Zoe Niesel
	Goldie Prichard
Empirical Study Section Chair: Judith Welch Wegner	ASP Section Chair: Staci P. Rucker