A Mystery Statute Approach: How to Teach and Test the Legal Skill of Statutory Interpretation

6 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2013 Last revised: 18 Dec 2013

See all articles by Cynthia M. Ho

Cynthia M. Ho

Loyola University of Chicago School of Law

Date Written: August 5, 2013

Abstract

Do you teach a class that focuses on statutes, rules, or code? Are you frustrated that students seem resistant to deciphering such language without study aids, even though this is what they need to do as attorneys? If so, I have a teaching and testing method to help focus on the lawyering skill of statutory interpretation. Helping students better learn and apply this skill is consistent with recent literature concerning not only the need for increasing active learning, but also providing students more lawyering skills. The method discussed here can be used to promote statutory interpretation skills in a completely ungraded formative assessment, graded formative assessment, or a combination of the two.

Keywords: teaching,formative, summative, assessment, test, statute, skills, Carnegie Report

JEL Classification: I20, K00, K10, K19, K20, K40, K41, K49

Suggested Citation

Ho, Cynthia M., A Mystery Statute Approach: How to Teach and Test the Legal Skill of Statutory Interpretation (August 5, 2013). L. Teacher, Fall 2013, Loyola University Chicago School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2310933

Cynthia M. Ho (Contact Author)

Loyola University of Chicago School of Law ( email )

25 E. Pearson
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

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