Law School Academic Support Blog

Keeping Perspective

Tiger Woods won over 25% of tournaments he entered in his prime.  No one in his era came even close.  Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian.  Tom Brady won the most Super Bowl titles for a quarterback.  As a society, we celebrate the best/most/greatest.  Society goes even further to denigrate those who aren't the best.  The last player picked in the NFL draft is called Mr. Irrelevant.  A controversy erupted this week about a former basketball player who was picked #1 in the draft and then never played well.  Those players are still elite athletes making it to the highest stage in their profession.  Unfortunately, a multi-billion dollar industry exists that basically talks about relative strengths of elite athletes.  Elite becomes the standard that no one can live up to.

The norm permeates through to everyone, including our kids.  I was talking to my son a couple weeks ago about golfers.  Like many kids his age, anything less than perfection and winning is unacceptable.  I asked him whether the 2nd place PGA Tour golfer was good, and he said yes.  That is obvious because he is second.  I then asked him about a few middle of the pack PGA Tour golfers.  He said they weren't good.  I was shocked.  The players I named are top 100 golfers in the world.  They make a few million dollars a year and play a game for a living better than 99% of the population.  In his eyes, they aren't #1, so they aren't good.  

The elite perspective is impossible to live up to, and we all set that as the standard.  There will always be someone better.  Someone who makes us feel not as good about our own performance.  I don't want anyone to take that attitude into bar prep.  I hear it every summer.  Someone graduated higher in the class.  Someone completed more practice questions today.  Someone's simulated MBE score is higher.  Someone did something better, and thus, I am on the wrong track. 

Continued comparisons are crippling.  Don't let it stop you from achieving your goals.  Someone may have done more, but that doesn't mean you can't also pass the bar.  You can put the work in to succeed.  Don't compare yourself to the Tiger Woods of law school.  No one will get to that standard.  2nd, 3rd, and even 103rd still have J.D.s with the opportunity to become a practicing attorney.  Focus on the work you put in, and you will walk into the bar exam prepared.  Worry about what you can control, and you will be in a great position to succeed.

Everyone compares our own performance to others.  The comparison steals the joy of our accomplishments.  Stop the comparison and enjoy your opportunity to become an attorney.

(Steven Foster)

Jazz Hands

This has been a year (and a half!) of teaching while sitting down. It has been 18 months of waist up business attire and knowing what our neighbors are up to 24/7. It has been so many things, both good and bad, and I hope it is just about over so we can go back into the sunlight.

Have you ever gone through a series of tunnels when driving? Here in Boston, when you are going to the airport, your route may take you underground (where we buried the highway) and then outside-- for a brief moment --before you are plunged into another tunnel that goes under Boston Harbor. The tiles on the inside of the tunnels are coded to let you know what you are under: brown for under land and blue for under water. Or to put it in Paul Revere: brown if by land and blue if by sea and the airport on the other end of the second tunnel will be…

But, last year when we were all pivoting to teaching remotely, it was like entering the first tunnel. It took a bit of time to get our eyes adjusted to the dark and we may have lost our navigator for a few minutes, but we looked at the walls, figured out what we were under and hoped to settle in for the ride. For any of you who have ever driven to the airport in Boston, you would not be surprised to know that there was, of course, bumper to bumper traffic in the tunnel. And for further frustration, you entered the tunnel in the left lane and your exit was four lanes over on the right. So now, you cannot tell how much longer you will be in this tunnel or when your exit is coming up. I think that sums up pandemic teaching: you are plunged into darkness, you need to recalibrate your bearings, people are a bit panicked and all trying to get to the same place, and you don’t know how much longer the journey will go on in this lane before you need to move over and get out.

So, we learned how to teach remotely; we did it quickly and mainly in fits and starts. Then we re-started in the fall as masters of breakout rooms, shared screens, and the elusive polling feature.  We learned how to write online quizzes and exams. We saw students at times and on days we ordinarily would not be available, because, honestly, where were we going? We got used to seeing our students in class as if they were a grandmother’s wallet full of school pictures.  It seemed fitting that this part of the journey was tiled in brown. And then, there was talk of a vaccine and we emerged from the first tunnel into the light. It was a brief respite from the crowded darkness and we blinked because the light was a big change.

It was, however, like the trip above, just a moment before we entered the next tunnel. We had left the one that had us buried underground and moved onto the one that is underwater. It has more clearly marked exits and will get us to our destination more smoothly.  It is newer and brighter than the one we just left, but it is still tiled in blue. Blue for people who didn’t make it there, blue for the students who didn’t have the experience they were anticipating, and blue from the isolation of all this time underwater.  I think we all have some fear of being blinded a bit when we leave this tunnel as my esteemed colleague Steven Foster mentioned in his last post here. He raises the issue of how much time will we need to get readjusted to our surroundings? Even good changes are hard.

I know that in time, we will forget the feeling of being in these tunnels—and I also know that today is not that day-- but it will come. As we look in the rearview mirror, we will have glimpses of this tunneled life—something we see or hear that brings us back to the tunnel—and for me I think it will be saying goodbye with jazz hands instead of a casual wave. And I’ll sigh and be glad we made it to the airport and on to the next journey.

(Elizabeth Stillman - Guest Blogger)

AASE Excellence Award Winners!

Congrats to the 2021 AASE Excellence Awards Winners!

 

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight II

With apologies for a second post today, the following just came to my attention: 

AccessLex Institute,  Analyzing First-Time Bar Exam Passage on the UBE in New York State.  

From the Executive Summary:  

This report is the culmination of three years of work to collect, analyze, summarize, and interpret data on the experiences and outcomes of first-time and second-time New York State Bar candidates.... 

[The Executive Summary then lists six findings]:

1.  “The key ingredient to first- and second-time bar passage is extensive time dedicated to bar exam preparation.” 

2.    "The quality of time spent on bar preparation is equally paramount to the amount of time spent studying for the exam."  [Importantly, the report noted that this includes working on weak areas instead of blindly re-studying all material just to keep up with a bar company schedule.  In other words, metacognition and self-regulated learning were important.]

3.  "[In-exam] time-management is a key bar passage strategy.  Running out of time on multiple-choice and essay items negatively impacts bar exam performance for first- and second-time takers."

4.  Positive law school experiences can have a lasting influence on candidates, possibly improving their bar exam performance.

5.  "Completing courses in bar-tested subjects was not strongly associated with first-time or second-time bar passage."  [But the study found that taking Evidence and Business Organizations was positively correlated with bar passage.]

6.  "Managing non-academic factors such as debt, unemployment, mindset, and significant life events is a critical aspect of bar exam preparation."

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

 

 

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Aaron N. Taylor, Jason M. Scott, and Josh Jackson, It’s Not Where You Start, It’s How You Finish:
Predicting Law School and Bar Success (AccessLex Institute Research Paper No. 21-03, April 21, 2021).

National Report of Findings for the AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative.  From the abstract:

The AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative is the first multi-institutional investigation into the factors that help predict law school academic and first-time bar exam performance. Mixed effects linear and logit modeling techniques are used to analyze pre-admission data; law school transcript data; and bar exam performance data for almost 5,000 Spring 2018 and 2019 graduates from 20 law schools that participated in this study. Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) response data were also analyzed for a subset of about 2,000 graduates.

Our modeling techniques allowed us to localize the impact of the factors of interest, while also accounting for other factors. For example, our analyses of the impact of various student engagement factors on bar exam performance account for other potentially relevant factors such as law school grades.

We find that:

• LSAT score and undergraduate GPA (UGPA) are modestly associated with law school GPA (LGPA). LSAT score and first year (1L) LGPA yield the strongest association. Across our sample, a one-point increase in LSAT score is associated with a 0.04 increase in 1L LGPA. A one-tenth point increase in UGPA is associated with a 0.03 increase in LGPA (Figure 2).

• LGPA is the strongest predictor of bar exam performance, even at the early stages of matriculation. For example, a one standard deviation increase in 1L LGPA is associated with a 402 percent increase in the odds of bar passage (Figure 3).

• Positive growth in LGPA between the end of the first semester and graduation is associated with greater odds of passing the bar exam, particularly among graduates who struggled early on. Graduates with below average first-semester grades who experienced no LGPA growth had a 25 percent chance of passing the bar exam, compared to 43 percent among their peers who experienced average growth of about 0.17 grade points (Figure 5).

• Graduates who spent more than 21 hours per week on responsibilities such as caring for dependents or working a non-law-related job had lower third year (3L) LGPAs and bar passage odds than their peers who spent 0 to 5 hours on these activities (Figure 12).

• Graduates who worked in law-related jobs while in law school (Figure 9); graduates who felt that their law school experience contributed “very much” to their skills development (Figure 10); and graduates who regularly participated in class (Figure 11) were modestly more likely to pass the bar exam than other graduates.

Collectively, our results suggest that academic and bar exam success are driven by what happens in law school, not just early on, but throughout the experience—and the greatest opportunities for impact exist among those who struggle the most early on.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

Back to Normal?

The spring semester included many of the same precautions as last fall.  Social distancing, masks, and some online classes.  Last week, all that changed in Oklahoma.  Nearly every major University announced new guidelines which included no masks on campus for vaccinated individuals (some campuses no masks at all) and no social distancing in classrooms.  The message is go back to normal, but is that possible?  Should we?

I am having trouble describing my feeling with the sudden back to normal message.  Many summer classes are following the new protocols.  The message seems to ignore 18 months of tragedy that changed the way we delivered education and interacted with the world.  We should turn the clock back to 2019 and proceed as if the pandemic never happened.  Businesses and schools seem to be in a rush to claim everything is normal.  I am not sure the community members feel the same way.

I cannot speak for those who experienced unimaginable tragedy the past year.  However, I can imagine some feeling the sudden dismantling of the vast majority of regulations as ignoring the last 18 months.  The sudden change doesn't feel sympathetic to our communities.  I also believe the insatiable drive to be back to normal ignores progress we made delivering education.  We should take advantage of new innovations.  We can use the new tools to help students learn.  Within our Universities, the message should be to utilize the best forms of all the delivery methods to reach all our students.  Some students thrived over the last 18 months.  We should help them continue to thrive by teaching them how to use their new forms of learning in their "normal" classes.  They shouldn't go back to former ineffective techniques.  We should help others get back to their better studying techniques because they didn't do as well.  They will also require help recalling what worked best prior to last fall.  Students and professors will need time process how to proceed going forward.  

The pandemic affected everyone, but ASPers can be at the forefront of the transition to a new normal.  You will help some people cope with what happened over the past year.  You will help others try to utilize those great new study techniques.  Faculty may ask you how to integrate new technology or teaching techniques into classes.  The last year was extremely hard on students, so ASPers will be tasked with helping those catch up to be ready for the bar exam.  ASP can and will be at every step of the oncoming transition.  

The last 15 months has affected everyone in a myriad of ways.  No one experienced the pandemic the same.  Everyone will need a little different help, and ASPers (all of us) have the unique opportunity to impact people.  We can help individuals and entire communities.  Also know, that we (all of us) will also need similar help transitioning back to our jobs.  I encourage everyone to do 3 things.  Help your law school community, help other ASPers in your state/region, and seek out help from someone in your area.  For some, the change will come fast.  Let's all seek the help we need so we can keep helping others.

(Steven F0ster)

Learning Curve Seeking Submissions

The Learning Curve is soliciting articles for the Spring/Summer 2021 edition.  Please send your submissions by June 1 to [email protected]. 

This is a great opportunity to publish.  You are also helping our community continue to improve.  

If you have any questions, you can email the editors at the above address.

 (Steven Foster)

More or Less: That is the Question...

Like you, I've been approached - many times over - by companies and publishers trying to sell resources to our law school, whether 1L materials, study tools, some sort of 2L assessment, or bar exam materials.  And, it rattles me because I start to think that I might need them.  That's sales for you.  

But our law school has not taken the dive into buying academic success or bar exam materials from commercial companies for one primary reason - none have yet asked about our students, our community and our goals.

It seems to me that purchasing tools without knowing how the tools fit a particular educational community is like trying to hit a nail with a banana.  

It makes for an entertaining video clip but lacks purpose and promise.  It's assuming that the problem, whatever the problem is, is one-size-fits-all.  But, at its root, many academic skills issues have less to do with content or skills and more than ever to do with learning to learn, well-being, and belonging.

I'm not saying that skills and content are not important.  They are.  And, I'm not saying that schools shouldn't partner with companies for tools.  After all, we do all the time, whether it's casebooks or a LMS platform like Canvas, or catering graduation receptions (at least before the pandemic).

But focusing on all skills and content without a co-commitment to developing the heart, mind, and spirits of our students leads to mechanical robotic lawyering.  Cut and paste lawyering, if you will.  And that's not what our communities need or expect.

Rather, society is desperate for the intervention of creative, compassionate attorneys, grounded in justice, who think big about the law, who know not just how the law shapes society but how they can shape the law.  That takes more that knowing the so-called black-letter law.  It requires understanding it, seeing its weakness and strengths and probing its contours. In short, the black-letter law is the start but not the end. 

So, with the end of the academic year upon us, a year like no other, take time out to reflect on your goals, your law school community, and your students, faculty, and staff.  Let this be a chance to learn from what you've experienced with your students and in the midst of your educational community.  

Then, based on what you learn, build your academic support program around those core observations with core principles.  Think big.  Act big.  But thinking big and acting big doesn't always require us to do more, to look for the next tantalizing possibility to help our students.  Rather, it starts with knowing ourselves and our students as learners, filled with passions and hopes and aspirations, as participatory partners in our educational communities.

Free Virtual Workshop Series this Summer's Focused on Law School Hiring

Navigating the 2021-2022 Law Faculty Hiring Cycle

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), and LatCrit (Latina and Latino Critical Legal Theory Inc.) collaboratively present a workshop series,“Navigating the 2021-2022 Law Faculty Hiring Process” to be held virtually during summer and fall 2021.

Here's the link to learn more and to sign-up to participate in one of more workshops, with the first workshop on June 8, 2021:

https://www.law.du.edu/sites/default/files/2021-05/Virtual%20Workshop%20Series%20-%20DU%20SALT%20LAT%20CRIT%20FINAL_5-13-2021.pdf

Finish Your Marathon this Summer

Congrats to everyone graduating across the country.  Obtaining a J.D. is an amazing accomplishment.  You should celebrate your victories, but for most of you, the J.D. is not your final hurdle.  You still have 10 more weeks of preparation and one more test.  Don't get distracted now.  Finish strong on this last obstacle.

I know many students looked at their bar prep schedule and saw a little time before full time studying begins.  My advice is to start bar prep early.  Every major course pre-recorded all the lectures, so you can start the full course right after graduation.  Don't wait until June.  You need to study 400-500 billable hours.  Spreading it over 10 weeks increases the likelihood of completing the work.  You can also spend extra time on your weak areas later in bar prep if you are ahead.  

I hope everyone enjoyed graduation.  Congratulate yourself on your accomplishment.  Also know, you have the grit to pass the bar.  Most of you completed 3 semesters of school online or in a hybrid format.  You experienced social upheaval while navigating a pandemic.  You already overcame obstacles for the opportunity to take the bar exam.  Seize your opportunity and finish the summer strong.  Good luck!

(Steven Foster)

Is Bar Prep Too Slick?

I recently had lunch with one of my colleagues from across town - Professor Denise DeForest at the University of Colorado.  

As we talked through our thoughts on learning, legal education, and bar prep, Prof. DeForest explained something to the effect that she teaches students to expect the unexpected in bar prep, that nothing will every quite feel right, at least not until the very end, because bar prep is just difficult preparation indeed. In Prof. DeForest's words, bar prep is "going from one disaster to another disaster."  That's because bar prep is about learning to solve problems, which means making lots of mistakes and wrong turns along the way.

Sometimes I wonder if bar prep can be too slick, with too many "learning" tools and pithy lines that serve to blur one of the most blunt facts of life, that learning involves challenging ourselves, finding out what we know and what we don't know, and then working on ways to learn what we still have to learn.  In short, it's hard work.  Not impossible work.  But difficult work.

As Prof. Melissa Hale at Loyola University Chicago reminds us, bar prep is  "a taxing full time job." Hale, M., How Do I Study for the Bar Exam? (May 12, 2021).   But, as Prof. Hale also points out, that means treating bar prep as a job, nothing more and nothing less.  Id.  Just like work, take breaks.  Id. Even take mini-escapes because they can rejuvenate your mind and uplift your spirit.  In short, "it's a marathon - train accordingly." Id.  

For our graduates soon to be embarking on bar prep, this is a time to remind them that they can do it, that they can succeed, and that success hinges - not so much on feeling well-prepared - but rather in facing the challenges of learning head on, with adventurous curiosity, recognizing that mistakes are the valuable stepping stones to success, real success, not just on the bar exam, but throughout life, too. (Scott Johns).

 

 

 

Surprising Antidotes to Combat Anxieties

As relayed by Elizabeth Bernstein in an article entitled "New Ways to Calm Pandemic Anxiety," psychiatrist and neuroscientist Judson Brewer suggests "two surprising strategies to combat [worry]: Curiosity and Kindness.  Bernstein, E., Health & Wellness, Wall Street Journal, p. A10 (Mar. 2, 2021).  

Let me say at the outset that I am plagued by anxiety, stress, worry.  I won't go into the gory details but, at its heart, I suspect is a sense that I don't quite fit, don't quite measure up to what it takes to serve as an educator, and that someday I will be found to be lacking.  I suppose I often label my successes, to the extent that I see them, as just the products of serendipity and good luck.

I suspect that many students also feel that way.  Unsure about how to succeed in law school, on the bar exam, or on job interviews, students often try to mold themselves into someone who they are not.  In short, they act the part, which only exaggerates the worries, not realizing that law schools admitted them, not for the purpose of sculpting them into robotic works of mechanical lawyering, so to speak, but rather as creative, curious, compassionate people aspiring to do great things for others by serving others in the midst of some of their most difficult moments.

For me, anxiety is a product of not giving myself the liberty to be myself. For our students, it's not giving them the platform and opportunity to let them shine, to succeed even when they make mistakes, to work out with them their own path forward, to help them develop their own sense of place and perspective and voice in the law.  In short, I sense that many students feel disembodied and disempowered in the midst of their law school experiences.  The remedy - empowerment.

Let me make this concrete.  What might this look like for academic support educators?

Let me ask you a question first.  Before the "zoom-age," tell me about your office.  What's it look like?  How is it structured?  What do you share and make visible to your students?  

For many, I suspect that the office looks a bit like a jailhouse interrogation room, cold and inhospitable, squaring off in direct face-to-face accusatory positions, student sitting across from teacher, often in a low set chair, with the teacher in a high backed chair.

In this world of online teaching and conferencing, I suspect that "zoom" accentuates the face-off posturing of the traditional office meetings with enlarged faces and less opportunities to glance away, pull back, and facilitate conversation with non-verbal signals.

In the physical world of coaching, I coach.  What I mean by this is that, when I met with a learner, I get up out out of my chair, move in front of my desk, welcome the person to my office, and move to a circular table, set with two chairs, with each of us facing the middle of the table.  In that way, we can focus together, for example, in reviewing exam results, by placing exam answers where we can both read them and work through them together.  

As Dr. Brewer -referenced earlier in this blog - indicates, curiosity and kindness are two of the most important perspectives that we can take in order to help turn the anxieties of our students into positive concrete actions for improved learning, well-being, and growth.  Id. 

One way to help our students in dealing with their academic anxieties is to center our activities with them as adventures together in learning to learn, curiously and with compassion.  And that can start with just how we position ourselves with them.  Rather than as adversaries or critics, we can work with out students to be problem-solvers together.  That's a great way to help overcome anxiety, both for our students and ourselves, too.  (Scott Johns).

 

 

 

How do I Study For the Bar Exam?

This is the time of year where I see this question popping up all over; from my students, on twitter, probably elsewhere.  And the answer is complicated, mostly because everyone is a bit different. So, with that being said, I can give you a few tried and true things that work.

How much time should I put in?

Conventional wisdom, as well as research and data, shows that those that pass spend at LEAST 500 hours on bar review. It also shows that the more you complete of your commercial prep course, the better.

However, students are not statistics. People are not statistics. So, there is going to be variation and exceptions.

I tell my students to spend 10 weeks (Mid May-July) treating bar prep like a full time job. This means 50 hour or so a week, so a taxing full time job. However, this doesn't mean you aren't eating or sleeping, or doing anything else you enjoy. Think of studying like 8-5 days, with some weekend work. that gives you evenings free - go to the gym, eat good dinners, talk to your friends. I binged Buffy the Vampire Slayer AND Angel. It was worth it.

That being said, not all of my students can do this. Some have families, and it's generally frowned upon if you ignore your kids all day for 10 weeks, or so I've been told. I don't know, my cats enjoy being ignored. Some of my students have full time jobs already, meaning an additional 50 hours a week is just not possible. Some of my students have both, or other things known as "life" that makes a 50 hour week of studying impossible. So, adapt. I tell my students with full time jobs to start early - as early as Feb or March. Or, you just learn to study more efficiently, and do the best you can. 

But, what about life and breaks?

So, having said that you should aim for a "full work day", know that your brain is more likely to retain information if you take breaks. So, your day might not be 8-5, it might be 8-10, and 11-1, and 2-4, and 5-7 and so forth. That's ok, and it's actually encouraged. Give your brain a break to let the information sink in.

Also, if you are overtired, or frustrated, or feeling ill - take a break! If you are frustrated or anxious, you won't retain information, and that will make you MORE frustrated and anxious. Also, if you are ill or tired, the same thing will happen. I get migraine, and it has taken me YEAR to learn that no matter what, I can't just "push through" a migraine, even if I somehow manage to do so physically, the work I do while "pushing through" will not be stellar. Plus, it takes that much longer for my migraine to go away. 

If you are frustrated with one topic, move on to another. Switching it up can be great. 

The point is - give yourself breaks, and don't work to the point of frustration. 

What about time for myself?

Yea, you need that. You need to take care of your mental health. This means different things to different people, so I can't tell you exactly what will work. I just know that, as stated above, the more anxious, tired, or frustrated you are - your brain stops learning.

So continue to meditate, see your friends (safely, pandemic and all), go for runs or go to the gym, binge a vampire related show from the late 90s, paint, dance, play video games, or whatever it is that's going to keep you sane.

 

Stay hydrated and well fed  too. I'm serious on that one. And finally, remember it's a marathon - train accordingly. It's a well used cliche for a reason!

(Melissa Hale)

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Before getting to the scholarship spotlight, I would be remiss if I did not mention yesterday's important event.  The AALS Sections on Academic Support and Legal Writing jointly put on a webinar entitled "Ensuring Equality in Legal Academia: Strategies to Dismantle Caste."  Featuring law deans who taught legal writing and/ or academic support in their careers, each panelist brought helpful insights into the many problematic facets of illegitimate hierarchies in the legal academy.  

This should be mandatory watching for ASP faculty (and all others as well), and the link is embedded above.  Congrats to all for an outstanding session.  

Now, the scholarship spotlight:

1.  James M. Lang (Assumption College, English Department), Should We Stop Grading Class Participation? (Paywall), Chronicle of Higher Education (April 9, 2021).

From the article:

I no longer grade class participation. I seem to be in the minority on that, based on my conversations with other faculty members. But I have come to believe that grading student participation is a poor pedagogical choice, and that a better alternative exists. Here I’ll explain why — and how I cultivate participation in my courses, even without hanging a grade-based incentive over my students’ heads.

2.  David Adam Friedman (Willamette), Do We Need a Bar Exam... for Experienced Lawyers?, 12 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. ___ (2022).

From the abstract:

The fierce determination to require a bar exam during the COVID-19 pandemic left quite an impression on new lawyers entering the profession. State bars and state supreme courts made their position clear: the bar exam provides a screening function necessary to safeguard the public. Many disagreed.

Even a cursory look at attorney discipline reveals that the lawyers who get into disciplinary trouble are not mostly new lawyers. The lawyers who get into trouble tend to be more experienced lawyers, who have not had any formal or objective tests of their ability to function since their original bar exam pass. The only check on their performance is discipline after harm has been done.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Week passed last week. I miss not being able to bake for and serve at the teachers’ appreciation breakfast at my son’s high school. But, during the pandemic I have mastered new and exciting baking skills and will bring them next year (seriously, I can make cranberry jam now). I thought I would make a list of some things I appreciate as an Academic Support faculty member:

1. Doctrinal professors who see students struggling and refer them to us. We try in academic support to keep the cracks very small, but between assessments chasms can grow and we would never be aware of them but for doctrinal professors who are on top of things.

2. Administrators and colleagues who actually are familiar with what we do in academic support. I have spent a little too much time this year in committees saying, “yes, it is a good idea, that’s why we already do this….” Sigh. I think “ASP, the Musical” might have to go back on the table because a little song and dance may help with messaging.

3. Students who ask for advice, take it, and report back. I don’t care if what I told you is wrong (okay, actually that kills me a little), but I really love when a student tells me that they actually followed my advice. I love it more when it works. But if it didn’t, at least I won’t make the mistake again and I will bend over backwards and do a death drop to fix it for that student. Go ahead and Google death drop and if you know me, picture me doing it-on purpose….I’ll wait until the laughter subsides.

4. A Dean of Students office that values my perspective. When I tell our Dean of Students office that I am worried about a student, they respond quickly and kindly. I may see the problems, but they have the power to solve (most of) them. Together, we are the village that gets our students to the finish line.

5. The Law School Academic Support professional community. This has to be the most generous and understanding community in all of law academia. I once mentioned in a meeting that I am teaching an MPT class this year and had three offers of materials-soup to nuts- in less than thirty seconds. You are never alone in this ASP journey. As I told our Dean when he came to welcome our regional conference participants, there is nothing to be nervous about in addressing us, after all--we are ASP.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all my colleagues.

(Elizabeth Stillman - Guest Blogger)

University of Idaho Seeking ASP Faculty

The University of Idaho College of Law seeks two entry-level or experienced faculty members to serve as full-time, temporary faculty members for the 2021-2022 academic year. These faculty members will teach academic skills courses, develop and administer academic support and advising programs, and provide individualized academic counseling and advising. The positions are located in Boise.

The positions are open until filled, with a first consideration date of May 19, 2021.

The University of Idaho (U of I) is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained faculty and staff. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, U of I does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, genetic information or status as any protected veteran or military status in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions and educational programs.

Apply here: https://uidaho.peopleadmin.com/postings/31700

Questions about the positions may be directed to Kristi Running, Associate Dean of Students-Moscow, at [email protected].

"Post-Traumatic Growth" and "The Rule of Thirds"

The phrase caught me eye; it's something I've never heard before.  To be frank, I'm not sure I believe in it or even know what it means.  But, according to writer Elizabeth Bernstein, research suggests that "[p]eople who endure adversity or trauma - such as an illness or accident, a death of a loved one or a natural disaster - often feel more confident, resilient and brave afterward. Psychologists call this 'post traumatic growth.'"  Bernstein, E., "Hard-Earned Lessons in Endurance," Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2021, A11.

In the article, Bernstein shares lessons learned by endurance athletes as to how they overcome adversity in their punishing training regiments to achieve great successes.  Id. One story features open-water swimmer Naji Ali, who trains alone in the frigid waters of the Bay Area.  Id. During a storm, unable to breathe and concerned about being washed out to sea, Ali shares that "he stopped to tread water and get his bearings.  Then he made a plan.  He mapped a way back to land, telling himself to swim boat to boat anchored in the cover.  He focused on taking just one stroke at a time." Id.

One stroke at a time.  That seems like good advice to me.  Whether taking a final exam, or preparing for an interview, or trying to make sense as academic support professionals about why some people pass their bar exams and others don't, take one step at a time.  But, prior to that, as Ali states, stop, tread, get our bearings, and make a plan.  Then initiate that plan, one moment at a time.  

For us in the world of academic support, it's easy to be overcome by the many challenges and the waves and currents that seem to so often to be pushing us out to sea, so to speak.  But, we don't have to go it alone.  Like Ali, who mapped a way back, swimming from boat to boat, we can learn from each other, we can swim with each other, we can even tread with each other.  You see, even for Ali, he wasn't quite alone.  Did you catch it?  There were boats in the harbor.  

The lesson that I learn is that I try, so often, to be strong in myself.  But strength is not my strong suit.  And that's okay.  Rather than swimming alone, we can swim together.  

That's one of the things that I so appreciate about our profession as academic support educators.  We learn and share and swim together.  So, as I end this little post, I wanted to say a big thank you to each of you, for your encouragement, inspiration, your lessons that you've freely shared, and your compassion and kindness.  For our strength, I think, lies not in overcoming the storms of life alone but in our community swimming together, one stroke at a time, in movement together.  (Scott Johns). 

P.S. In the same Bernstein article, we also learn from endurance athlete Alexi Pappas about the "Rule of Thirds."  I had never heard of that term either.  

But, as Pappas relates in learning from one of her Olympic coaches, "When you are chasing a big goal, ...you're supposed to feel good about a third of the time, OK a third of the time and crummy a third of a time.  If you are feeling bad all the time you're fatiguing....If you are feeling good all the time, you're not working hard enough." Id.  Pappas relates that this advice made a world of difference in her training because it changed her perspective about how to train.  Id.  

I'm not yet sure how to weave the "Rule of Thirds" into my work as an academic support professional but perhaps it might just encourage our students to find the right balance as they struggle in their learning to be learners.  And maybe the right balance for us too.

 

 

NY ASP Workshop Reminder

As a reminder, New York Law School will be hosting a virtual NY Area Academic Support Workshop on Friday, May 7 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This year’s workshop will take the format of facilitated discussion so that we can spend more time speaking with each other. Please see the workshop agenda immediately below and note that we’re seeking panelists to offer reflections during the plenary session. If you’re interested in being a panelist, please email Paulina Davis at [email protected].

The Zoom details for the meeting follow the Workshop agenda, and we’ll resend the Zoom link on this list serv the morning of the Workshop.  Let Paulina know if you need the information.

***

NY Area Academic Support Workshop Agenda

Plenary Session: Empowering Students: How do we help students identify their needs and maximize use of supports? In a pre- and post-Covid world, students who need support are often reluctant to seek assistance. Sometimes students lack the awareness to identify their needs, and this prevents them from asking for help. But there are other barriers that keep students from obtaining or using appropriate support. During this plenary session, we’ll seek to explore the following questions together: 

• Why do we think students struggle to identify their academic and non-academic needs? 
• What barriers exist that may prevent students from seeking or utilizing support? 
• What supports will we need this fall or going forward to ensure that students have the tools they need to succeed, particularly when struggling mentally or physically in a post-Covid world? 

We’re seeking panelists to reflect on how student services offices see these issues, how these issues manifest in the first year versus upper years, and how bar takers struggle to identify their needs and use supports. Panelists need not have answers; rather, we’d like panelists to reflect on how these and other related questions have shown up in their work recently.  

Breakout Sessions #1 

Academic Success: Leading and Influencing: How do academic success educators lead in implementing the educational mission of their law schools?

In this group, participants will engage in a facilitated discussion about their leadership roles within their institutions and the opportunities that we have or could have to influence the decisions on educational mission within our institutions.  

Bar Success: Working with Boards of Law Examiners or Not: How do we currently work with our respective local boards of law examiners? How could we build a more collaborative relationship with those boards moving forward?

There is a national movement and opportunity to re-examine current bar exam and admissions policies and practices. No matter what direction admission to the bar moves in going forward, each jurisdiction’s board of law examiners will likely continue to play gatekeeper to the profession by determining procedural processes for admission. In this session, participants will discuss ways they currently work with—or alongside—their local board of bar examiners and how we might be able to do that better going forward in a post-Covid—perhaps even a post in-person bar exam—world.   

Breakout Sessions #2 

Academic Success: Building a Growth Mindset: How do we help students develop a growth mindset no matter the level of their academic performance?

While there is some debate over the magnitude of the impact that growth mindset strategies have on a student’s academic performance, students who have a growth mindset are more likely to believe in their ability to improve, and, therefore, more likely to commit to doing the work that will develop their skills and abilities. In this session, Paulina Davis and Megan Montcalm from New York Law School will present briefly on their new program for students on probation and the ways that it has been designed to help those students build a growth mindset. Then, participants will have a facilitated discussion on how we currently foster growth mindset in our programs and the ways that the approach to building a growth mindset may look the same or different for students at the bottom, middle, and top of the class. 

Bar Success: Setting Realistic Expectations for Support for Bar Takers: How do we straddle the line between supporting bar takers and empowering them to work well independently?

Over the years, law schools have increasingly built out supports for bar takers ranging from weekly workshops to individual coaching sessions and grading of practice essays. Yet, we all know that success on the bar exam is largely driven by the independent work that graduates must do on their own. In this session, participants will discuss ways to set realistic expectations for bar takers on the support they’ll receive from bar success educators and the work that they’ll need to do on their own. How do we guide our bar takers without holding their hands too much throughout the intensive bar exam preparation cycle? 

AALS Webinar: Ensuring Equality in Legal Academia: Strategies to Dismantle Caste

Just a reminder, still time to register for our AALS Academic Support and Legal Writing, Reasoning and And Research sponsored webinar! I hope to see many of you there!

Ensuring Equality in Legal Academia: Strategies to Dismantle Caste

Co-produced by the Sections on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research and Academic Support

Date: Monday, May 10, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST

Webinar Description:

Moderated by AALS Past President Darby Dickerson, this webinar will explore the caste system in legal education and will discuss potential solutions to the problem, with a particular focus on legal writing and academic support programs and professors. The moderator and a panel of law school Deans (comprised of former academic support and legal writing professors) will discuss how their schools and others can address this issue by mobilizing institutional support for skills professors, capturing the value-add that skills professors bring to legal education, opening up pathways to tenure, and addressing inequities, among other topics.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the problems with the academic caste system in legal education
• Identify one concrete step professors can take to help develop their career or their program at their institution
• Identify one concrete step law school administration can take to help develop the profession of skills professors

Click Here to register for the Webinar. *Registration is required

 

https://www.aals.org/sections/list/legal-writing-reasoning-and-research/ensuring-equality-in-legal-academia-strategies-to-dismantle-caste/

Run Your Race

The first Saturday in May is must watch TV every year.  The fastest 2 minutes in sports.  The Run for the Roses.  The iconic Kentucky Derby.  Everyone in my house listens to the analysts for the hour leading up to the race, and then, we choose who to root for.  For 2 minutes, we jump, scream, and cheer on our chosen horse.  Most years, one of my kids picks the winner.  It is always fun, and the last few years made me think of our students.

This year, the winner was a front running horse.  He got to the lead early and held it the entire race.  They kept saying he has never been passed in a race, and he wasn't last Saturday.  However, I have seen many front runners tire out and lose.  I have seen horses in the middle of the pack win and horses come from nearly last (Street Sense).  The winners are the ones who run their race not letting the other horses dictate their strategy.  We should all understand that running our own race is the best strategy.

I know many students are studying for finals right now.  Let me overemphasize, run your race.  Don't worry about what your friends are doing.  They may be doing something that is incorrect or not the best for you.  Don't worry about what the upper class students say.  Think about what works best for you, and discuss your strategy with an Academic Support Professional.  He/She can tell you if your strategy will put you in a good position to succeed.

Also, run your own law school career race.  Don't worry about someone else's CALI/Am Jur awards or class rank after first semester, year, etc.  I see students start at the top and slide down the rankings over 2 years.  I also see students start near the bottom of the class and climb their way up.  Everyone has a different background and knowledge base walking into law school.  Run your race to do your best.  Keep improving on your best, not worried about what others are doing.

I understand the anxiety of asking whether you are doing enough and seeking information.  I am not saying ignore feedback or outside information.  I am saying get feedback from faculty and staff at the law school that can help you do what is best for you.  Stay on your pace to do your best.  Do what is best for you on these upcoming finals.  Good luck.

(Steven Foster)