Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Teaching

Following is a brief overview of some rather sensitive topics and the manner in which either I (or other instructors I know) handle these issues. The suggestions given are mere suggestions and may not be applicable to your situation.

1. I wish I knew students would arrive late for class. Some students habitually arrive late for class. In Washington, D.C. with its cold winter climate, late arrivals disrupt the class by having to remove their coats and gloves, organize their umbrellas, and then “set up” for class. Some of my classes have been at night and the late arrivals often arrive with dinner, unwrapping their meals, crinkling napkins, and spilling drinks. To discourage late arrivals, consider the following: a. Institute a point penalty so that any assignment not turned in promptly at the beginning of a class is marked late. Explain that courts reject late filings and that students need to learn the “rules of the road” as soon as possible. These point penalties encourage promptness. b. Remain silent until the student is completely seated. The silence in the classroom is deafening, and most students make the effort to appear on time thereafter. This “silent treatment” also works well when students talk during your presentation. When I observe such talking (more than a mere comment or two), I usually stop talking completely for however long it takes for the talkers to realize the room is silent. Once I have their attention, I will continue the presentation. On occasion, I have said, “Excuse me. Are there questions? If not, I will continue.” c. Post a sign on the door indicating that students should wait until the next break to enter the room so as not to disrupt other students.

2. I wish I knew that students would ask for numerous letters of recommendation. During my first couple of semesters of teaching, I was inundated with requests for letters of recommendation (nearly all of which were for law school applications). What made the task more difficult is that some students who requested recommendations were only average students. This situation is much easier now that most students applying to law school send one complete “packet,” including recommendations, to the LSAC central admission center, which then sends separate applications to each school. The process is also made easier by the use of electronically submitted recommendations.

To make the task of recommendation-writing somewhat more manageable, consider the following: a. State that students must earn a grade of “A” or “B” in your class for you to provide a letter of recommendation. b. Require that you be given at least three weeks advance notice for providing a recommendation. c. Require that students provide you with all materials, stamps, envelopes, etc., copies of their transcripts, and so forth. On some occasions, a former student may ask for a letter of recommendation several years after a class has ended. If you teach several classes, it may be difficult for you to recall the student’s performance. Thus, asking for a copy of the student’s transcript and resume will jog your memory. d. Limit the number of letters you will provide for any one student. One instructor I know allows only two recommendations per student.

Consider whether you will give a standard or blanket “to whom it may concern” letter of recommendation. Students may keep these for years and continue passing out and using your letter for a variety of purposes. Many instructors prefer that they be personally called by a prospective employer and will then respond to that person (or write a specific and targeted letter to that employer for its use only).

3. I wish I knew some students would ask questions primarily to be noticed in class. If you are confronted with a student who asks so many questions that necessary material is not being covered, consider the following: a. Announce that you intend to discuss new material first and that once you are through with your presentation, you will entertain questions. b. Note that the student has raised his or her hand and comment that you will respond to questions later.

TESTBANKSELLER.COM c. Comment that you will be happy to answer the question outside of the class session (especially if it is not relevant to the material you presented). d. Ask students to write down any questions not covered in that class session and state that you will respond to those questions at the beginning of the next class session or that you will post your responses on Blackboard or whatever other online system you are using.

4. I wish I knew some students were so eager to get a good grade that they would argue with me over every assignment/grade. This sensitive issue has been one of the most difficult for me to resolve. Generally, I try to make several comments on papers I grade so that students know what I thought was good about their papers and what I thought needed improving. In many instances, I have invited students to submit a written argument to me, much as they would a court, with supporting “evidence” to support their position. If students can show me that a case or statute or other authority supports their position, I am happy to “restore” points to them. If I make a mistake (and I have, both in grading papers and in calculating grades), I try to apologize promptly and correct the error. In some classes, I have given a short heart-to-heart talk about the value of learning the material and commented that while I understand that everyone wants to perform well and get a good grade, the important thing is to learn the material and that if students believe they have mastered the material and can find and write about cases, statutes, and so forth, then they will have accomplished their goals.

5. I wish I knew some students would collaborate unfairly with others when doing assignments. This is another sensitive issue. In the first class session, I try to note that while brainstorming is a useful technique and that although I expect that students may well share information as to where to find materials in the law library, that when it comes time to “put pen to paper,” the product must be that of the student and not the result of collaboration. Many law schools ask students to sign statements either at the beginning of each semester or for each project that work produced is their own. If I notice that students’ papers are identical or too similar, I make a comment on the papers and remind the students that work must be their own. If another incident occurs, I submit the papers to my program office and ask for guidance.

6. I wish I knew some students would occasionally be hostile. I recently had a student who seemed born to complain. He complained about the classroom, the air conditioning, the assignments, the quality of the printer I used for any handouts, and nearly everything else. From past experience, I knew that confronting him directly in class (in front of other students) would only make him more hostile. I asked him privately why he was so unhappy and asked if I could do anything. I also requested that he not take up class time with negative comments and to make an appointment with the administration to discuss these problems. He improved slightly but in general remained a toxic person in the classroom. These disruptive or hostile students are among the most difficult problems for a teacher and can make one dread going into the classroom. Try killing them with kindness. Try speaking to them privately. Try enlisting the administration for help. Chances are, these students are negative in other classes as well. Perhaps the program director can speak with the student and comment that several instructors have noticed the student’s attitude and ask if the program can help. Sometimes the student will be sufficiently embarrassed to cease complaining.

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7. I wish I knew some students would attempt to enlist me in disputes with other instructors or the administration. On occasion, a student might say, “Do you think that an instructor should . . . .” This is usually a tip that you are not being asked a rhetorical question but are being asked to side against a position taken by another instructor. Similarly, you may hear grumbling during breaks or before class about another instructor or about the program administration. If asked about another instructor or administrator, consider responding, “It is not appropriate for me to comment about anyone’s class but mine. I would not appreciate another instructor making comments about my class and therefore I never comment about anyone else’s class.” When I hear rumors and grumbling, I usually call the program administration and try to give a “heads up” that a problem may be brewing. The program office can often then defuse the issue before it becomes a difficult problem.

8. I wish I knew some students would over-rely on the Internet. Most students are very proficient at using the Internet. Because so many cases and statutes are now accessible on reputable Internet sites, many students resist going to the law library and prefer to use the Internet to do research whenever possible. I have also discovered that a few students have “cut and pasted” materials from the Internet directly into their assignments. In one instance, a student used significant material from the ACLU website in a final project (with no attribution). The university held an honor board hearing to determine the appropriate penalty for the honor violation. Some paralegal programs require students to sign honor code pledges at the beginning of the program. Others require students to sign honor code pledges on each assignment. In any event, make sure your policy regarding the use of the Internet to do assignments is clearly stated.

9. I wish I knew it was okay not to know everything. I think I am a better teacher now than I was when I was first starting. I think I was so eager to do a good job, I became defensive if a student pointed out that I had misspoken or that I had made an error. It took me a bit of time to realize that it’s okay not to know everything. When a student points out that I have made an error, I try to respond, “Thanks. Great catch - sorry I misspoke,” and then move on.

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The Best Websites for Teachers of Adult Learners:

• https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/EngagingAdultLearner s.pdf

This site provides numerous tips for teaching adult learners.

• http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/signup/newsletters/perspectives Thomson/West offers an electronic journal, “Perspectives,” which provides a forum for discussing the teaching of legal research and writing, focusing on research materials, tools, and theories.

• https://www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/teaching-techniques/ This excellent site has information regarding “the first day,” “life balance,” “preparing a course syllabus,” and other useful teaching tips, including tips on learning students’ names and faces quickly.

• https://cetl.uconn.edu/leading-effective-discussions/ This site provides information and links to resources on leading effective discussions.

• http://www.lawprofessorblogs.com “Law Professor Blogs Network” offers resources, news, and information for law schoolteachers.

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• https://www.lwionline.org/

The website of the Legal Writing Institute offers excellent information on teaching legal research and writing. Access its publication “The Second Draft” for extremely helpful articles on teaching methods and strategies. You may need to join the Legal Writing Institute (online, free registration) to access its resources.

Join LWI for Sample Syllabi, Assignments, and More!

Legal Writing instructors should be sure to join the Legal Writing Institute (“LWI”), a nonprofit organization of law professors, lawyers, researchers, undergraduate professors, and others who support the development and teaching of legal writing.

One of the most helpful resources offered to LWI members is its Teaching Bank, which includes, in addition to Memo and Brief Problem Assignments, sample grading rubrics and syllabi; materials regarding teaching International students; and plagiarism resources.

You must first apply for membership (free) on the LWI website to access the Teaching Bank. To do that, go to http://www.lwionline.org/ Click on the top right corner where it says “Become a Member.” Your application will be reviewed to ensure eligibility and, once it is approved, you will receive an email with log-in instructions.

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Tip for Finding Cases to Brief and for Research Projects

If you would like some interesting and quirky cases that you could assign to your students to brief, subscribe to “West’s Headnote of the Day,” at http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/category/legalresearch/headnote-of-the-day.

Every day you will be emailed a headnote from an interesting, amusing, or profound case. You will be given the full citation to the case. You can use these for cases for your students to brief or to serve as a research topic for a letter, legal memorandum, or court brief.

Technology Issues, Classroom Incivility, and Proctoring Exams

Students now attend class fully “wired,” with laptops, cell phones, and PDAs such as iPhones, iPods, and BlackBerrys. These tools often cause disruption and incivility in the classroom. There is hardly a teacher today who has not been confronted with one or more of the following in the classroom:

• ringing cell phones with jarring tones and songs

• continual reviewing of email messages by students

• emailing and Twittering by students

• Internet surfing and shopping by students

Other teachers have encountered even more uncivil and disturbing behavior, including students viewing movies on their laptops during class. One semester, after I deducted points from an assignment turned in by a student who arrived late to class, the student became incensed with me, arguing that her cell phone was far more accurate in telling time than my classroom clock. The student insisted that she had glanced at her cell phone as she entered the classroom and that she had arrived on time to class. Luckily, I had announced on the first day of class that my class officially began when I began lecturing; anyone who arrived after I began discussing the material was simply late.

Teachers need to be prepared to meet some of the following challenges even before the first day of class:

• Will you allow students to use laptops in the classroom to take notes? If so, what will you do if the “clicking” of numerous laptops disturbs other students?

• What will you do if non-laptop users report that the laptop users are surfing the Net and causing other students to lose focus when they invariably see the laptop users’ screens blinking and changing colors as they jump from site to site?

• Will you require the laptop users to sit in the back rows so that their bright screens do not disturb students sitting in front of them?

• Will you “patrol the perimeter” of the classroom, looking for abusers? If you find abusers, what will you do?

• Will you require students to shut off all cell phones and similar devices?

• Will you allow students to record your lectures using their PDAs?

In some instances, behavior that may seem rude to teachers is simply commonplace for our younger students. For example, several years ago, I was initially disconcerted during one of my lectures to see several students glancing at their cell phones, which were carefully placed on their desks, until I realized that younger students seldom wear watches, relying on their cell phones to tell them the time. Similarly, some students immediately enter an assignment due date in their iPhones when the assignment is given. These activities themselves, however, are uncivil. Just as one shouldn’t overtly look at a watch when another is speaking, one shouldn’t use a cell phone to engage in the same behavior.

Even more serious is the issue of test integrity. One semester I was startled when four students left my classroom during a test without first asking permission. I followed the students down the hall and was reassured when I realized they were using the restroom and were not chatting. Only later did it occur to me that they could have used the privacy of the restroom to use their iPhones to obtain the answers to the test, review their class notes, etc. Especially savvy students can surreptitiously take pictures of tests and then forward the test to others. Digital portable devices are now so compact and some students are so proficient at using them that they barely need to glance at their devices to key in and access information.

In 2009, Common Sense Media reported that more than one-third of middle and secondary school students admitted to using digital media to cheat on an exam, and sixtyfive percent reported that they knew others in their school had cheated.

Many high schools throughout the nation require students to “turn in” their cell phones, iPhones, iPods, etc., at the beginning of tests. Teachers then have a mile-high stack of indistinguishable digital devices on their desks that must be sorted out and returned to students at the end of the test.

Teachers of adult learners cannot and should not be expected to police students and conduct pat-down searches to ensure that students have divested themselves of their technology tools before an exam. I do not wish to become a hall monitor, continually checking the restroom during a test. I admit, however, that monitoring an exam now calls for a higher level of attention on my part. The days when I used an exam period to quietly catch up on my reading and take a breather from lecturing are in the past. Teachers must now make a point of walking around the classroom and generally “keeping an eye” on test takers.

Your school may have certain policies on these issues. Many schools, however, leave it to each teacher’s discretion how these technology tools and issues will be handled.

Some teachers believe that if students want to cheat, they’ll find a way to do so, no matter what teachers do. Similarly, many teachers believe that students who cheat only cheat themselves and they will eventually suffer when their employers realize these students do not know the material they should. In addition to simply being wrong, cheating destroys morale in the academic setting. Students who don’t cheat feel that the cheaters have an unfair advantage.

Professor P.M. Forni of Johns Hopkins University (1952-2018), author of Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct, and sponsor of his own Civility Web Site (http://krieger2.jhu.edu/civility/), advised a “top down” approach by teachers: Teachers who respect students and treat them fairly will see an increase in civility and consideration in the classroom. For example, he recommended addressing students as “Mr.” and “Ms.” (at least for a few weeks) to remind them that their teachers are not their “pals” and that there is value in what is occurring in the classroom. His excellent articles, including “The Civil Classroom in the Age of the Net,” are accessible at the site http://krieger.jhu.edu/civility).

Professor Forni also recommended that teachers establish a contract or covenant with their students, outlining in writing for students what is expected of them with regard to classroom behavior (no cell phone or other disruptions, adequate preparation before class, etc.) and, similarly, what the students can expect from the teacher (punctuality, fairness, etc.).

At present, my policies are as follows (although I stand ready to revise them as new technologies emerge and as students find ways to exploit those technologies):

• I do not allow any recording of my lectures, by any means.

• When cell phone ring in the classroom, I immediately stop talking, allowing a deafening silence to fill the room as the receiving student struggles to shut the phone off. Generally, this causes sufficient embarrassment that the incident is not repeated. On occasion, a student may alert me that he or she is expecting an emergency or critical telephone call and that they may then abruptly leave the classroom. These courteous “heads-up” announcements are greatly appreciated!

• I allow laptop use for taking notes during class, but I instruct my students that I retain the right to change the policy if non-laptop users complain about noisy clicking, emailing, Internet surfing, or other laptop abuses.

• I do not forbid restroom use during exams, but I require my students to ask me to be excused from the room.

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• I try to be as vigilant as possible during exams, making eye contact with students, moving about the classroom, and ensuring that no books or other materials are placed on desks. Some instructors I know require students to place all backpacks, books, and so forth in a pile at the front of the room.

I take every opportunity I can to run a reality check with other teachers, asking them for their opinions on these issues, asking my program director for guidance, and raising these topics at faculty meetings. I readily admit that I don’t have all the answers, and sometimes it seems as if as soon as I resolve one issue, another replaces it. As with nearly every teaching issue, perhaps the best way to tackle these digital disruptions is to include your expectations in your syllabus and reiterate them in your first class.

Proctoring Exams

Following are some tips about proctoring exams from Georgetown University and other schools:

• Make your rules for taking the exam clear (in writing, posted on Blackboard or Canvas) or communicated before the exam begins.

• Have students sign an honor pledge set forth on the first page of the exam.

• Prohibit all cell phone use. It should not be necessary to use a cell phone during the typical one-hour or two-hour exam period.

• Use sign-out/sign-in sheets for students who leave the exam to use the restroom. If students use Blackboard or Canvas during that time, it can be corroborated.

• Distribute multiple versions of the exam (perhaps using the same questions but set forth in different order) or use different colors of paper for the exam. Students might not try to peek at another’s exam if they feel it is different than their own exam.

• Ask students to space themselves away from other students in the classroom.

Other Resources on Incivility in the Classroom

• University of California, Irvine, “Dealing with Disruptive and Distressed Students” (available at https://aisc.uci.edu/faculty-staff/disruptive-students.php).

• The University of California at Santa Cruz’s Center for Teaching and Learning offers information on civility in the classroom (available at: https://diversity.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/creating_civility_in_the_classro om-uc_santa_cruz.pdf)

• The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching provides links to numerous articles about teaching strategies and incivility in the classroom (available at http://crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/incivility)

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