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Special thanks to Amanda Shea, graduate research assistant
Engendering Hope Allison D. Martin Kevin L. Rand Special thanks to Amanda Shea, graduate research assistant
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Video Clip IU – Indy legal writing faculty created Real World video for law school “talent” show Scene depicts moments before Ally teaches her first class at IU Based on Ally McBeal television show Unisex bathrooms Theme songs Cameo at end from former IU dean
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Address Two Questions:
What is hope and why is it important to law students? Kevin How can legal writing professors engender hope in students? Allison
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Research About Law Student Discontent
Law students’ sense of well-being significantly declines over the course of their first year (Krieger, 2005) Law school is “breeding ground” for stress-related illnesses, such as depression and anxiety (McKinney, 2002)
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Positive Psychology Scientific study of human strengths and their influences on performance and well-being (Seligman et al., 2000) Hope and optimism are two personality traits that have been shown to confer performance and adjustment benefits – especially in stressful circumstances
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Snyder’s (1994) Hope Theory
A cognitive model of human motivation: Goals: mental targets that guide human behavior Pathways Thinking: “Waypower” Agentic Thinking: “Willpower”
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Research on Hope in Undergraduate School
High-hope students tend: To be more engaged in learning To have less test anxiety To stay focused on goals; think “on task” Higher hope has been shown to predict: Academic success above and beyond intelligence Positive affect
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Optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1985)
A generalized outcome expectancy Has been shown to predict greater well-being even during periods of adversity, including recovery from cancer and adjustment to college University of Virginia School of Law Study (Satterfield et al., 1997)
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Hope v. Optimism Substantial theoretical and empirical overlap
Difference seems to relate to control Hope = more strongly related to expectations for outcomes within a person’s control Optimism = more strongly related to expectations for outcomes outside of a person’s control
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Our Study Do hope and optimism predict academic performance in law school above and beyond LSAT score and UGPA? Do hope and optimism predict psychological well-being in law school?
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Study Participants 29% of Fall 2007 entering first-year class
Self reported certain demographic information, LSAT scores, and UGPAs Consented to our obtaining their first semester law school grades Completed surveys during fall semester Start of semester: Hope & optimism End of semester: Life satisfaction
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Results (* = Significant Relationship)
LSAT Score .13 Undergrad GPA .38* Law School GPA .25* .78 .21* -.07 Hope .39* Life Satisfaction .38* .56 Optimism
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Conclusions Hope predicts law school academic performance above and beyond other markers of academic success. Both hope and optimism predict better psychological adjustment in law students near the end of the semester. Engendering hope among law students may foster better performance and psychological well-being.
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II. How can legal writing professors engender hope in students?
Teachers can engender hope by enhancing three hope components: goals, pathways thinking, and agentic thinking Based on these components, we created five principles
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Five Principles: How to Engender Hope in Law Students
Help students formulate appropriate goals (goals) Increase student autonomy (agency) Model the learning process (goals, pathways, and agency) Help students understand grading as feedback rather than as pure evaluation (pathways and agency) Model agentic thinking (agency)
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1. Help students formulate appropriate goals
Learning v. Performance Goals High-hope students tend to choose learning rather than performance goals Not good: “I want an A in Legal Writing” Better: “I want to learn how to organize using IRAC”
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1. Help students formulate appropriate goals
Concrete v. Abstract Goals High-hope students tend to choose concrete goals Not good: “ace the office memorandum” Better: “work on the paper for 3 hours on Saturday”
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1. Help students formulate appropriate goals
Approach v. Avoidance Goals High-hope students tend to choose approach goals Not good: “work so I don’t fail Legal Writing” Better: “work to understand IRAC”
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2. Increase Student Autonomy
Hope correlates positively with perceptions of control Suggestions: Offer optional drafts or conferences For writing assignments, let students choose which client to represent/which outcome to predict Must create balanced legal writing assignments If you call on students, let them choose which days they will be “on call”
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3. Model the learning/writing process
Low-hope students try to meet a goal all at once, creating anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed Suggestions: Help students break long-range goals into steps or subgoals Emphasize planning and preparation “Think aloud” (Schwartz 2001) Help them see preferred and alternate routes to reaching goals/sub-goals Blockage = merely information that a particular strategy did not work
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4. Help students understand grading as feedback rather than as pure evaluation
High-hope students tend to use grading as feedback to help them reach their goals Suggestions: Provide formative assessment Offer respectful, constructive feedback Depersonalize grades
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5. Model and encourage agentic thinking
High-hope students have a “can do” attitude Suggestions: Encourage healthy habits Teach students to talk to themselves in a positive voice Tell and encourage stories of hope Teach with enthusiasm Humor Be engaged in your materials Dance in a law school bathroom???
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Keeping Our Own Hope Alive
“It is difficult to model hope if you do not have hope yourself.” (Snyder, et al., 2003) “Teachers and students have shared roles in keeping hope alive.” (Snyder, et al., 2002) “If teachers and the program kill hope in their students, the students’ evaluations of the faculty, and the students’ work product, are weaker, leading in turn to faculty cynicism, disaffection, and disinterest.” (Jan Levine, 2008)
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Keeping Our Own Hope Alive
Have a circumscribed set of goals for the class Sometimes, less is more Teach what excites you Don’t assume responsibility for students’ goals You can lead a horse to water Reframe student failure for yourself Failure, while unpleasant, is not inherently bad Pursue your own interests outside of the classroom
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A Call to Revitalize Legal Education
“Critics of the legal profession have pointed to a great profession suffering from varying degrees of confusion and demoralization.” (Sullivan et al., 2007) Efforts by legal educators to revitalize legal education should include efforts to engender hope in law students.
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