'Learning' Like Lawyers: Addressing the Differences in Law Student Learning Styles

Abstract:     
The desire for diversity in legal education has led to increased attention to the concept of adult learning styles. The research presented in this article demonstrates a statistically significant correlation between learning styles and academic performance in law school as well as performance on the LSAT. The findings also reflect a distinct, though less profound, relationship between ethnicity and learning style.

While previous scholarship has found that adapting the classroom to accommodate students' learning preferences may make learning easier in some respects, this research indicates that the learning preferences of at-risk law students may require substantive change, not merely accommodation. The article suggests that experiential learning theory may hold a key to reaching students whose learning styles are not entirely compatible with the demands of legal education.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 53

Keywords: learning styles, diversity, legal education, pedagogy, Socratic teaching, experiential learning, active learning

JEL Classification: I20, I21, K40

Accepted Paper Series