1. Learning Law
Orientation:
August 16, 2006

2. 5. Professional expertise
4. Prescriptive vs. Exploratory
3. Limited context vs.
Unlimited context
2. Hearing vs. Understanding
1. Recognition vs. Recall

3. Metacognition: James Flavell
The process of ‘thinking about thinking’
Metacognitive knowledge
Person variables
Awareness of one’s own ways of thinking
Understanding that others may think differently
Task variables
Self-questioning about ways information influences and constrains your own responses
Strategy variables
Approaches for meeting goals
Cognitive – direct purpose for accomplishing an outcome
Metacognitive – a strategy to determine which cognitive strategy is most appropriate for meeting a goal

4. Cognitive Theory: Piaget
Functions
(Same for everyone)
Adaptation
Assimilation
Accommodation
Organization
Schemata
[Knowledge cluster]

5. Assimilation Requires Attention
College of Law:
Assimilation Requires Attention
General estimates from research on attention indicate that people remember from 1/3-1/5 of lecture material.
To increase attention:
Make it personal.
Attend to main points.
Look for analogies.
Relate concepts to practical uses.
Review and tie to previous material.
Write down examples.

6. Remembering & Forgetting:

7. Remembering & Forgetting:
Causes of Forgetting:
Interference
•Other thoughts
•Emotions
•Distractions
Lack of focus
•Did not input
•Not meaningful
Storage
•No organization
•No link to future context (chk file)
Ways of Remembering:
Decrease interference
Rested
Stay connected
Set times: study & play
Increase focus
Take notes & review
Create meaning link
Storage
Organize by use
Talk about concepts and apply to people or creative stories.

8. Repetition Increases Learning (Assimilation)
It takes about 7-10 repetitions to learn new material
Short frequent repetitions input information
Applying in active ways increases ability to remember
The more senses involved in learning, the stronger the memory.
Explaining or saying to someone else is a form of output that increases memory and understanding
We have a special ability to remember stories – cases, hypotheticals, particularly hypotheticals with unusual facts stick in memory.

9. Attention & Adaptation: Perceived Importance*
*Concept developed by William Purkey

10. Attention & Adaptation: Perceived Importance

11. Attention & Adaptation: Perceived Importance

12. Attention & Adaptation: Perceived Importance

13. Accommodation: Metacognitive Tasks & Strategies
Accommodation requires distinguishing concepts
Look for the relationship of cases to each other.
Make visual representations of the relationships of concepts or cases to each other to help identify differences.
Use examples or analogies to highlight and test differences.

14. Study Steps: Assimilation & Accommodation
7-10 repetitions = long term memory
Review last class before reading for next class --[Let your professor guide your learning.]
Read for class
Review last notes before next class
Go to Class
Review notes after class
Review week’s notes at the end of week
Use a study group for clarification & applications
Write a homework problem each week

15. Study Goals: Content
Develop expertise in legal content through learning:
To read like a lawyer
Looking for general and specific rules
Discerning critical facts that shift analysis
Understanding reasoning of court
Examining how sets of cases are like and different in reasoning and outcomes
The language of law
Purposeful
Specific

16. Study Goals: Process Focus on questions your professors ask
Developing legal analysis skills
Focus on questions your professors ask
Practice analysis by asking these or similar questions of yourself as you prepare for classes
Be active in your learning:
Talk about what you are studying
With each other
With friends and relatives
Apply what you are learning to news stories and events in your life
Make up stories that illustrate legal rules – change facts to test limits of rules.

17. Vary Study Activities Read actively Ask questions while reading
What does this add to the concept?
Compare: What is this like?
Contrast: How is this different?
Are professor’s questions asked in last class also applicable to new material?
Diagram or chart to aid understanding
Try color coding
Write a short summary of content in addition to case briefs - good use of time?

18. Organizing: One Important Learning Skill
Ordering notes
Organizing at the end of each week
Organizing at the end of each chapter or unit
Organizing before exams
Organizing in exams

19. Reasons to Organize To learn course content
Organizing forces a focus on content that increases recall of material
Grouping cases helps
Deepen understanding of concepts
Build associational connections to increase memory
To highlight analysis process
Drawing attention to legal rules
Providing context for legal arguments for analysis and application to new fact patterns
To prepare for exams
Emphasizing thoroughness of analysis in exams
Increasing speed when writing exams

20. Choosing a Format Start with what has worked for you in past courses.
Experiment with other methods to see if they facilitate analysis and application.
‘To Outline’ is code for ‘To Organize’
Outlines are one way to organize, but not useful for everyone.
Flow charts emphasize analysis
Decision trees use questions to aid analysis
Diagrams can reveal relationships among and within concepts
Summary and synthesis statements put the big picture into words
Use a structure that simplifies understanding, emphasizes analysis, and aids memory and application.

21. Preliminary Questions
Is it more efficient to use an outline created by someone who knows more than I?
NO! Making it is a huge part of the value
Do use table of contents, syllabus, or similar materials to provide an initial framework or to stimulate ideas
What about sharing outlines?
IT DEPENDS ON YOUR METHOD & PURPOSE

22. Go to all classes Recommended Strategies:
Make some kind of notes or other record
in or about classes
Review notes frequently
Read supplemental materials only as
needed
Use flash cards for memory tasks
Study alone, but apply through planning and
writing problems with a study partner or group
Designate time frame

23. Group Programs & Individual Appointments
We will have group programs on study and exam writing skills regularly throughout the term.
Individual appointments are available for all students.
How to find me:
My office #216,
Phone: ,
Stop by when door is open or contact me for a time for an appointment.