Reflections on Identifying and Mapping Learning Competencies and Outcomes: What Do We Want Law Students to Learn?

Abstract

This article considers the reasons why law schools have been asked to develop student learning outcomes and assess whether students are achieving them. It discusses the process one school undertook in developing outcomes as expressed in a set of competencies that its students would be expected to learn; and, it assesses that process. It concludes that, if undertaken with institutional commitment and effective strategies for faculty engagement, such a process can rationalize the curriculum, encourage faculty collaboration, and enhance student learning.