CELL Blog | Center for Engaged Learning in the Law

Ok, guilty as charged – it is really easy to critique others’ performances. When a student speaks in class, or writes out analysis, my default is to look for what is missing or ineffective – for ways to improve the student’s work. We do this a lot in law school. But what if we shifted this approach?

My bet is that world-class athletes don’t get better by watching novices do their sport, or by watching others mess up. Sure, they probably review and critique their own performance, and then watch as many outstanding athletes as they can. If I am a mediocre golfer, wouldn’t it be better for me to watch Tiger Woods play than to critique someone at my level?

No question that developing a critical and analytical eye is crucial to improve performance. But perhaps we need to balance this approach with emphasizing good examples and noticing what people are doing right. A clinical colleague tells me about lots of videos that can be used to teach clinical skills. But most of these movies show bad examples. Turns out, it is hard to find good examples. As my colleague pointed out, it is really scary to put yourself out there as a good example. What if people disagreed? What if colleagues and students found flaws in your performance?

This brings up a question. If we the educators have a hard time putting together a video or sample document, how hard it is for the student? Perhaps we might need to adjust our expectations a tad.

Over the course of my career in legal education, I’ve developed positive relationships with colleagues at other schools. Several of my distant colleagues have become my friends. But for purposes of this post, my focus is on my professional relationship with them as teachers.

I speak monthly or so with several law teachers from around the US and Canada. My “teaching partners” teach a wide variety of courses – first-year requirements, upper level electives, clinics, legal writing, and seminars.

My teaching partners facilitate my professional development in several ways.

•    First, each of my “teaching partners” is a dedicated, thoughtful legal educator. In every conversation with them, I get insight into teaching and learning.
•    Second, since they teach at other schools, they often have a perspective that is shaped by the culture at their schools, which may be quite different from the culture at my school. Their perspectives give me a broader view of legal education.
•    Third, because they are not at my school, I can whine and vent in ways I may not want to do with colleagues at my school.
•    Fourth, when I hear about their interactions with their students and colleagues, I learn more about my relationships at my school.
•    Fifth, we help one another brainstorm potential responses to the professional challenges come with being a teacher.
•    Sixth, they offer generous feedback on my scholarship about teaching and learning.
•    Seventh, they have become my co-authors for books and articles on legal education and my co-presenters in faculty development activities.

I could go on. Suffice it to say that my teaching partners are highlights of my professional life.

For those committed to continuous improvement in teaching, like-minded colleagues at other schools can be a wonderful asset. Our willingness to connect and support one another on a regular basis is a gift we give and receive.