Adaptable Design: Building Multi-Modal Content for Flexible Law School Teaching

Abstract

This essay discusses ways to build course content that can easily toggle between face-to-face and online modes of instruction. It is meant as a quick, practical guide for law professors faced with challenging teaching circumstances due to Covid-19 and campus closures. This idea for “adaptable design” is based largely on my own experience moving face-to-face courses online. I try to avoid delving too much into technical definitions and pedagogical theory, instead focusing on personal experience and examples. Although Covid-19 has created an immediate need for adaptable design, I hope this essay proves to be a resource beyond our immediate reactions to a global pandemic and can be useful for anyone seeking to innovate in their law school courses.

(This essay will appear in St. Louis Law Journal’s Teaching Series in Spring 2021. In keeping with the style of the series, footnotes are kept to a minimum.)

Keywords: teaching, distance education, online learning, hybrid, hyflex, Covid-19, coronavirus, pedagogy

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K40, I20, I23, Y9