The Decline of the Socratic Method at Harvard

22 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2015

Date Written: February 9, 1999

Abstract

This article shows how the traditional "Socratic Method" approach to law school teaching has become rare at the very institution at which is is most closely associated, Harvard Law School. Based on interviews in 1997 with a dozen Harvard Law School professors, the paper shows how Harvard Law professors teach and considers why they teach the way they do. It concludes that the Socratic Method today is more myth than reality.

Keywords: Socratic Method, law teaching

JEL Classification: K1

Suggested Citation

Kerr, Orin S., The Decline of the Socratic Method at Harvard (February 9, 1999). 78 Nebraska Law Review 113 (1999)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2562246

Orin S. Kerr (Contact Author)

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
United States

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