Law School Academic Support Blog

Researching the Researchers and Testing the Testers

In light of the rough and tumble bar passage declines over the past half-dozen years of so, numerous blogs and articles have appeared, trying to shed light on what factor or factors might be at play, running the gamut from changes in the bar exam test instrument, changes in law school admissions, changes in law school curriculum, etc.  In addition, the academic support world has righty focused attention on how students learn (and how we can better teach, assist, coach, counsel, and educate our students to "learn to learn").  Indeed, I often prowl the internet on the lookout for research articles exploring potential relationships among the social (belonging), the emotional (grit, resiliency, mindset) and the cognitive in relationship to improving student learning.  

Nevertheless, with so much riding on what is really happening to our students in their law school learning and bar preparation experiences, I am a little leery about much of the research because, to be frank, I think learning is, well, much more complicated than some statistical experiments might suggest.

Take one popular issue...growth mindset.  Studies appear to demonstrate that a growth mindset correlates with improved test scores in comparison to a fixed mindset.  But, as statisticians worth their salt will tell you, correlation does not mean causation.  Indeed, it maybe that we ought not focus on developing positive mindsets but instead help our students learn to learn to solve legal problem and then, along the way, their mindsets change.  It's the "chicken and the egg" problem, which comes first.  Indeed, there is still much to learn about the emotional and its relationship with learning.

Take another popular issue...apparent declines, at least with some segments of bar takers - in LSAT scores.  Many argue that such declines in LSAT scores are indeed the culprit with respect to declines in bar exam outcomes.  But, to the extent LSAT might be a factor, by most accounts, its power is very limited in producing bar exam results because other variables, such as law school GPA are much more robust.  In short, LSAT might be part of the story...but it is not the story, which is to say that it is not truly the culprit.  Indeed, I tend to run and hide from articles or blogs in which one factor is highlighted to the exclusion of all else.  Life just isn't that simple, just as learning is not either.

So, as academic support professionals indebted to researchers on learning, particular cognitive scientists and behaviorists, here are a few thoughts - taking from a recent article in Nature magazine - that might be helpful in evaluating to what extent research findings might in fact be beneficial in improving the law school educational experience for our students.

1. First, be on the lookout for publication bias.  Check to see who has funded the research project.  Who gains from this research?
2. Second, watch out for positive statistical results with low statistical power.  Power is just a fancy word for effect or impact. If research results indicate that there is a positive statistical relationship between two variables of interest, say LSAT scores and bar exam scores, but the effect or impact is low, then there must be other latent factors at play that are even more powerful.  So, be curious about what might be left unsaid when research results suggest little statistical power.
3. Third, be on the guard for research results that just seem stranger than the truth.  They might be true but take a closer look at the underlying statistical analysis to make sure that the researchers were using sound statistical tests.  You see, each statistical test has various assumptions with respect to the data that must be met, and each statistical test has a purpose.  But, in hopes of publishing, and having accumulated a massive data set, there's a temptation to keep looking for a statistical analysis that produces a positive statistical result even when the most relevant test for the particular experiment uncovers no statistically meaningful result.  Good researchers will stop at that point.  However, with nothing left to publish, some will keep at it until they find a statistical test, even if it is not the correct fit, that produces a statistical result. As a funny example, columnist Dorothy Bishop in Nature remarks about a research article in which the scientists deliberately keep at it until they found a statistical analysis that produced a positive statistical result, namely, that listening to the Beatles doesn't just make one feel younger...but makes one actually younger in age. 
4. Fourth, do some research on the researchers to see if the research hypothesis was formed on the fly or whether it was developed in connection with the dataset.  In other words, its tempting to poke around the data looking for possible connections to explore and then trying to connect the dots to form a hypothesis, but the best research uses the data to test hypothesis, not develop post-hoc hypothesis.

Here's a link to the Nature magazine article to provide more background about how to evaluate research articles: https://www.nature.com. (Scott Johns).

Worthwhile Debt

Occasionally I find myself in the surprising position of encouraging students to take on more debt. It's a odd situation for someone who is customarily espouses frugality. For law students, minimizing student loan debt not only reduces stress but also opens the door to a wider range of practice choices when maximizing income isn't the primary driver for employment choices. 

Sometimes, however, I find students so fearful of taking on additional student loan debt that they deny themselves opportunities which would pay abundant dividends in the long run. For investors, putting a portion of one's portfolio in stock funds, even though they carry higher risk, ultimately pays off better than socking everything away in a savings account. But I'm running into more students nowadays who, fearful of increasing  debt, are doing the equivalent of stuffing dollar bills under the mattress. One student, for example, eschewed any legal practice experience during summers or the academic year, choosing instead the immediate paychecks coming from work in the hospitality industry. While the income stream meant that s/he graduated with less debt than many classmates, s/he found it an uphill battle to land legal employment after graduation with no practice experience. Some reject out of hand the possibility of taking plum summer positions in a field they are passionate about if it would mean paying extra rent in another city for a month or two. Even decisions as mundane as choosing local housing can have an impact: I've known students who have settled so far out in their quest for cheap housing that the long commute saps the time and energy they should be devoting to law school.

Law school is an expensive proposition, but students get to choose whether to make it a money pit or a worthwhile investment. When I suspect students are being penny-wise and pound-foolish, I encourage them to do a cost-benefit analysis, focusing on the long term with their goals in mind. Extraordinary opportunities often carry short-term costs. Keeping your eyes on the prize, would this opportunity provide a great experience to learn, to grow, to interact with expert lawyers? Will it provide an unparalleled opportunity to let you explore your passions? Will it pay dividends in helping you become an extraordinary lawyer? If so, it's probably worth the the relatively minimal amount it will add to your student loans. Be frugal, certainly, but take advantage of opportunities to suck the marrow out of your law school experience. 

(Nancy Luebbert)

Are You Having Trouble Sleeping?

Exams have started at our law school, and law students are looking much more sleep-deprived than usual. It is tempting to skimp on sleep to study. It is also easy to toss and turn instead of sleeping once getting into bed. Here are some hints to help in the sleep department:

• Realize that a good night's sleep of 8 hours will do your brain more good than late-night cramming. You will be more alert, focused, and productive the next day.
• Exercise expends stress and helps you sleep. Even a 30-minute walk can help. Most research suggests that your exercise should be before 8:00 p.m. to get the most sleep benefits.
• Avoid naps because they ultimately can disrupt your night's sleep routine. If you must nap, make it a power nap of no more than 15-20 minutes.
• Take at least one hour as a wind-down break before bed each night. Make that hour non-law and non-electronic time. Walk your dog. Pack your lunch for the next day. Chat with your spouse. Read a fluff novel.
• If possible, stop studying by 8:00 p.m. at the latest on the night before an exam. Spend time doing something you enjoy that will occupy your mind fully and prevent you thinking about law school. Play the piano. Join a pick-up basketball game. Go to the IMAX theater. 
• Do not stress if you need 30 or so minutes to fall into a deep sleep. Most people do not fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. Breathe deeply; relax your muscles; think happy thoughts (a memorable vacation, a walk on the beach, inspirational quotes or scripture).
• Improve your sleep environment to optimize your chances for a good night's ZZZZs: a cool room temperature; blackout curtains; total quiet (for some) or an eco-sound machine as white noise (for others); a cool air mister to add moisture to a room with dry air.
• Go to bed and get up at the same time each day no matter what your exam schedule is. Your body likes a set routine. You will be more likely to get sleepy before bed and wake up alert if you stay on a schedule.
• If you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back asleep, get up and go to another room. Don't stay in bed and toss and turn. Read a few pages in a novel or some magazine articles. Avoid electronics. As you begin to relax and get sleepy, go back to bed.
• Try one of the old-time remedies that seem to work for lots of people: drink a cup of herbal tea before bedtime; drink warm milk before bedtime; take a lavender bubble bath.

May you fall asleep and have sweet dreams! (Amy Jarmon)

Understanding Apathy

I encountered an exciting challenge the last 3 Aprils.  The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is at the end of each April, and OCU sponsored a relay team each of the last 3 years.  I joyfully volunteered to participate with coworkers for such a meaningful event for our community.  My excitement came with some trepidation.  I played sports as a kid, but I never participated in running events.  Running was the necessary evil to playing anything.  To my surprise, I embraced the challenged and enjoyed the races.  I noted last year in a post the purpose for running helps motivate, but I also enjoyed the alleged health benefits. 

This year's experience helped me understand my upper level students more.  My first year, I worried I wouldn't make it the full 5k.  I imagined getting past the halfway point and collapsing from a combination of exhaustion and cramps.  The fear propelled me to train consistently for 8 straight weeks.  I ran my first 5k in 29 minutes, which was faster than I could imagine.  Adrenaline and training led to my best performance.  Last year, the team moved me to the 10k leg.  Again, I thought I would fall apart after 5k.  I trained hard, and in training, my body hurt after 5k each time.  I couldn't run/jog/speed walk the entire 10k.  Once again, I exceeded my expectations running the 10k in 1 hour and 5 minutes.  I started getting confident that I was a decent runner.

This year was much different.  The team needed me to run the 5k leg again.  I ran 5k reasonably well before and wasn't worried about it.  My training was terrible as a result of that confidence.  I trained more in the first month 2 years ago than I did all of 2019.  I planned the race day poorly.  I wasn't able to run/jog/speed walk the whole 5k.  I slow walked a couple times to catch my breath.  I thought I would collapse at the end from exhaustion.  My time ended up between 31 and 32 minutes.  Official results online (which my apple watch slightly disagrees with) indicate my pace was 9:30 per mile.  If I can do everything wrong and still run under 32 minutes, why train constantly for 8-10 weeks?  Is 3 minutes on race day worth hours of preparation that could be used relaxing, playing with kids, research, playing golf, or any other task?

Students make similar choices for classes in spite of all the advice we give them.  In my experience, first semester students tend to train like I did my first year.  Some of them go overboard, but many students feel like they put in significant effort.  Their effort may be misguided or lacked feedback, but their perception is they studied enough to succeed similar to previous educational experiences.  Half of all students are in the bottom half of the class, and that reality hits many students hard after grades.  Some of them respond by studying a little less the next semester.  As they enter 2L year, some will have jobs that cause them to study less.  Many students feel they learn more in their jobs, and their ultimate goal is to become a successful attorney.  Studying decreases again.  Unfortunately, the consequence of studying a little less isn't normally a large decrease in grades.  Bs turn into B minuses.  Grades don't appear much different, and time is spent on tasks that seem more important.  This experience is an over-generalization, but I see it happen to large groups of students every year, especially 2Ls and 3Ls whose job prospects don't hinge on grades.

My competitive nature does make me want to save 3 minutes, or even more, but I understand the logical choices students make.  Time is a finite resource.  Students feel pressure to get jobs and gain experience.  Student groups, simulation classes, and other extracurricular activities are more fun than completing a Secured Transactions practice question.  I experienced more fun coaching little league baseball than running, which is one of many excuses for training less.  ASPers task is to find ways to help students overcome studying apathy.

The first tip to help students overcome apathy is to know the students.  I can't give one approach to motivate every student.  Each student's motivation is different.  For me, appealing to my competitive nature would help.  Setting up a challenge to complete a certain number of practice questions by a particular date would help.  For other students, interaction with classmates working together may work.  Some students won't want to let a professor down, so the accountability of a weekly meeting will increase work.  The key is to know students individually to understand what will motivate them.

The second thing we need to do is emphasize the importance of class to change students' cost benefit analysis.  The problem with my analogy above is running has no impact on my everyday life (outside those alleged health benefits).  3 minutes has no real impact other than the joy of beating a personal best.  Different grades and understanding material does have a real impact on students' lives and ability to become a lawyer.  We should start messaging from the first day of orientation that studying and learning, whether grades follow, impacts whether someone will pass the bar exam.  Cassie Christopher's article correlating certain classes at Texas Tech with scores on the Texas bar is a good illustration for students that the C they received in Secured Trans may not impact where they work, but the lack of knowledge may be 5-10 points on the bar exam.  I follow up any discussion of points with anecdotes of students who didn't pass the exam by less than 5 points.  Telling students once won't be enough.  Constant messaging with the importance of classes even beyond the bar exam could improve motivation.

Lastly, individual work with students should start small.  Overwhelming students with massive changes can also skew the cost benefit analysis.  Meetings with small changes and feedback makes improvement seem manageable.  I won't go from running 0-1 time a week to 4 times a week.  I know it won't happen.  Students won't add in daily hypos if they aren't completing any now.  They need manageable changes.

Most of us do everything we can to encourage students to be more productive, but understanding their logical analysis can help us motivate them to change.  Seeing their cost benefit analysis is our first step to empathizing and helping students succeed.

(Steven Foster)

 

   

Congratulations to Amy Jarmon for a Top 10 Blog Post this Week!

 

Congratulations to Amy Jarmon, contributing editor, for her Top 10 Blog Post recognition by the Texas Bar Today.  If you missed her April 29th post, you can find it here:  Practicing the Art of Rebuttal.

Great job Amy.

Academic Support Specialist at The John Marshall Law School

 Job Announcement - Academic Support Specialist, Academic Achievement & Bar Preparation

General Overview: The John Marshall Law School, located in Chicago, is seeking an experienced teacher for its Academic Achievement & Bar Preparation Program. This is a full-time staff position beginning between June 1 and July 16, 2019. This appointment is for twelve months with the possibility of renewable one-year terms.

Other Information: The John Marshall Law School is in the process of being acquired by the University of Illinois at Chicago. It is anticipated that this process will be completed in August 2019. The successful candidate will become an employee of the University of Illinois at Chicago after the transaction closes.

Responsibilities: The Academic Support Specialist will report directly to the Associate Dean for Academic Achievement, Program Assessment, and Bar Preparation. The Specialist will provide support to law students (day and evening), beginning in their first year, on study skills, critical and analytical thinking, exam strategies, time management techniques, and prepares students and graduates for the bar exam. The Specialist will teach skills courses, conduct workshops, and review and provide critical and constructive feedback on exercises and practice exams. The Specialist will also spend a significant time providing academic advising and counseling with a diverse range of students.

 

Additional responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with the Academic Achievement Team to develop the curriculum for the 1L Expert Learning courses and teach a section or two in the fall and spring semesters.
• Collaborate with the Academic Achievement Team to develop the curriculum for the bar preparation courses and teach a section or two in the fall and spring semesters.
• Teach workshops, such as the Bar Boot Camp, and work directly with recent graduates in the bar preparation program.
• Counsel and assist law students and graduates on law school and bar exam success. Many of our students are from diverse backgrounds and are first generation law students.
• Review and provide meaningful feedback on practice exams and other formative assessment exercises submitted by law students and graduates.
• Stay abreast and regularly update the deans and faculty of best practices and trends in law school academic support and bar preparation programs.
• Communicate and coordinate with and stay abreast of the recent trends in commercial bar review programs.

Requirements:

• J.D. degree from an ABA-approved law school.
• Admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction and have at least three years of teaching experience, with at least one year at a law school.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment; strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Desired Skills

• Works collaboratively with members of a professional team;
• Excellent and patient listener;
• Interacts with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures;
• Diagnoses student challenges with a holistic approach;
• Familiarity with psychological barriers that affect student performance;
• Optimistic and positive outlook;
• Creative and innovative problem solver;
• Effective verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills;
• Manage time efficiently to handle multiple tasks;
• Strong technology skills in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

How to Apply

Submit (1) your cover letter summarizing your reasons for applying for this position and your qualifications, (2) your resume detailing relevant experience, and (3) a list of at least three professional references to Rodney Fong, either by mail to The John Marshall Law School, Attn: Associate Dean Rodney Fong, 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois 60604 or by email to [email protected].

Salary: Based on experience.

Deadline to apply: May 6, 2019

Questions should be directed to Associate Dean Rodney Fong at [email protected] or 312-427-2737 ext. 312.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The John Marshall Law School, finding any invidious discrimination inconsistent with the mission of free academic inquiry, does not discriminate in admission, services, or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact Nancy Shalowitz, General Counsel & Assistant Dean for Human Resources at [email protected] or at 312-427-2737 ext. 396.

Whom Do You Want to Serve? How Can You Best Serve Them?

At my law school, it is a truism that no one wants to speak after our former dean, Don Burnett: his eloquence makes others' comments pale in comparison. More than once listening to him, tears have filled my eyes: I glance around surreptitiously and find that he is having the same effect on others. Dean Burnett's eloquence stems from his core belief in the nobility of the legal profession. We bear a weighty responsibility, he reminds us: people entrust lawyers with their property, with their families, with their liberty, and sometimes with their very lives. Law is a noble profession, a serving profession.

In my experience, relatively few students come to law school without a vision of helping others. I have been privileged to read thousands of law school admissions statements and hundreds of essays explaining students' academic choices for their upper-division years. The overwhelming majority of students have a vision, however hazy, of people, communities, or causes they would like to serve: children, families in crisis, artists, inventors, the elderly, immigrants, ranchers, wilderness, inner cities, healthy rivers, women's rights, freedom of expression -- the list is as varied as the welcome diversity of each class. I firmly believe law schools have a duty to affirm and strengthen that flame of service even as we give students the often hard-edged tools it takes to plan and advocate for clients in the worlds of government, business, and the law. Academic support becomes most powerful when what we do explicitly connects with our students' yearning to serve -- not just to help our graduates become practice-ready in the broad sense, but to become ready to practice on behalf of the communities and causes about which they care most deeply. 

In 2011, solo practitioner Laurie Daniel-Favors wrote a wonderful celebration of "servant lawyers" that is just as relevant as it was a decade ago. When you think about whom you consider the "sheroes and heroes" of the legal profession, she writes:

"[T]hey likely have one thing in common: they were the greatest servants. They are the attorneys who were committed to their passion and even more committed to helping the people who needed them. It is this spirit of service that makes them stand out in our minds as people who got it right."

Law school academic support is, by definition, a profession dedicated to service. No one ever entered or stayed in the profession for réclame, short hours, or high pay. At our various institutions, we serve and advocate for different constituencies -- under-represented populations, students with disabilities, students in academic difficulty, veterans, bar takers, bar repeaters, or the entire student body. We span the gamut from associate deans and full professors to unheralded staff. Like the students we serve, we have a vision of serving a community.  When I entered law school, all I knew was I wanted to help ordinary people: I have been privileged that all my legal positions, but especially this one, have enabled me to in some way touch the lives of others. I'm looking forward to the upcoming AASE conference, partly to reinforce my skills and learn new approaches to help my students, but mostly to be energized and inspired by peers who show the legal profession at its best.

(Nancy Luebbert)