CELL Blog | Center for Engaged Learning in the Law

Not too long ago, in the 20th Century, the concept of “curriculum” was fairly determinate — it was the substantive law taught within the confines of each course. A teacher’s job was to cover material, meaning the substantive rules and principles of the subject, primarily through cases and case analysis. In the 21st Century, with growing criticism about a legal education that treats law school as a cognitive training ground, teaching students to “think,” but not necessarily act, like lawyers, there has been a push for expanding the goals of legal education.

One of the first places to start the expansion is the curriculum. It may be useful to first expand the goals of each course through a broader understanding of the term “curriculum.” That term could mean more than substantive law and include processes, skills and values. If processes, such as problem solving or essay writing organization, skills, such as critical reading, and values, such as effective preparation, are all important to lawyering, they ought to be central to most law school courses as well. Instead of playing a secondary or inexplicit background role, processes, skills and values should be given class time — and a defined place in the evaluation of students.

— Steve Friedland