Teaching Law Students to Teach Themselves: Using Lessons from Educational Psychology to Shape Self-Regulated Learners

Abstract:     
Amidst current concerns about the value of a legal education, this article seeks to identify ways in which law schools and law professors can take steps to maximize the learning experience for their students. The article focuses on cutting-edge strategies that will help a diverse population of law students become self-regulated learners. Drawing on the work of educational psychologists, it describes ways to help students adapt to the demands of the law school learning experience and then outlines specific strategies for teaching students to regulate their motivational beliefs, their resource management practices, and their approaches to mastering the material. Throughout, the article emphasizes the importance of these skills for success both as law students and as lawyers. Finally, checklists are provided to help law professors build a culture of self-regulated learning in their schools.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 37

Keywords: Legal education, law student, academic support, self-regulated learning, academic counseling, diverse, educational psychology, Michael Hunter Schwartz, self-efficacy, learning styles, active learning, formative feedback, self-assessment, metacognition, writing to learn, schema, checklist

Accepted Paper Series