Collaborative Course Design: Not My Course, Not Their Course, But Our Course

Abstract

Recent empirical research on legal education reveals that law schools can improve students’ motivation and performance by giving students significant input into their own education. Those empirical results are consistent with current higher education literature on learner-centered teaching. Based on that research, this article explores why, when, and how teachers should share with students the responsibility to design the course and the syllabus. Part I synthesizes the empirical research in legal education and learning theory in higher education that support an increased role for students in decisions involving their own education. Part II summarizes the literature on the purposes and contents of effective syllabi. Part III describes examples of student participation in course design in graduate, undergraduate, and legal education. Part IV analyzes the types of courses and students appropriate for collaborative course design, details the process for involving students in decisions on the key components of the syllabus, and reports the results of shared design efforts in ten law school courses.

Keywords: course design, legal education, teaching, learning, syllabus