Electronic & Digital Services Librarian Texas Tech University School of Law Lubbock, Texas, United States
This session will address some of the practical issues in teaching legal research to first-generation law students. Because of their unique backgrounds, first-generation law students are more likely to encounter a variety of difficulties in law school, and many of these challenges extend to legal research classes. As a result, legal research instructors need to provide additional assistance to first-generation law students in the areas of pedagogy and psychology in order to give them a better learning experience in this essential lawyering skill. This session will discuss the necessity and implementation of four major changes to the legal research curriculum: fundamentally changing the philosophy of course design, adding three special activities to the classroom, creating more functioning assignments, and facilitating interaction between first-generation law students and legal research instructors.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participant will be able to identify the first-generation law students' unique challenges in learning legal research.
Upon completion, participant will be able to understand the logic of proposed new elements of legal research courses, which eventually optimize first-generation law students' learning.
Upon completion, participant will be able to implement multiple course elements into legal research courses to support first-generation law students' learning.
