Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3004988

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SmarterLawStudyHabits:AnEmpiricalAnalysisofLawLearningStrategiesandRelationshipwithLawGPA

JenniferM.Cooper1andReganA.R.Gurung2

TableofContents

PARTI.INTRODUCTION 2

PARTII:COGNITIVESCIENCERESEARCHONSTUDY&LEARNINGSTRATEGIES 4

A.UNDERGRADUATESTUDY&LEARNINGSTRATEGYRESEARCH 5I.RETRIEVAL&SELF-TESTING 6II.PERIODICREVIEW 7III.OTHERHIGHLYEFFECTIVESTUDYANDLEARNINGBEHAVIORS 8

B:LAWSTUDENTSTUDY&LEARNINGSTRATEGYRESEARCH 9

PARTIII:METHODOLOGYOFTHELAWSTUDENTSTUDYHABITSSURVEY 11

A.RESEARCHQUESTIONS&HYPOTHESES 12B. DEVELOPMENTOFTHELAWSTUDENTSTUDYHABITSSURVEY 13C.ADMINISTRATIONOFTHELAWSTUDENTSTUDYHABITSSURVEY 15

PARTIV:RESULTSOFTHELAWSTUDENTSTUDYHABITSSURVEY 16

A.POSITIVECORRELATIONWITHLAWGPA 17B.NEGATIVECORRELATIONWITHLAWGPA 18C.DISCUSSIONOFRESULTS 19

PARTV:RECOMMENDATIONS 21

A. RECOMMENDATIONSFORLEGALEDUCATORS 22B. RECOMMENDATIONSFORLAWSTUDENTS 22C.FUTUREOFTHELAWSTUDENTSTUDYHABITSSURVEY 24

1AdjunctProfessor,TulaneUniversityLawSchool.Eternalgratitudetomyco-author,co-investigator,andfriend,Dr.ReganA.R.Gurung.Withouthisassistance,thisprojectwouldhavediedlongago.SpecialthankstoMichaelHunterSchwartzandLouisN.Schulze,Jr.whoprovidedvaluableadviceandrecommendations.2ProfessorofHumanDevelopmentandPsychology,ChairofHumanDevelopment,UniversityofWisconsin-GreenBay.Ph.D.,UniversityofWashington,M.S.,UniversityofWashington,B.S.,CarletonCollege.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3004988

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PartI.IntroductionLawstudentsspendanenormousamountoftimestudyingduringtheirfirstyear,relying

heavilyonreadingandrereading.3Mostlawschoolsorientincomingstudentsonbasicskillsofcasereadingandbriefing.However,mostlawschoolsdonotteachlawstudentshowtostudy,howtoapplyinformationfromreadingandbriefingtolearningthelawconceptsnecessaryforacademicsuccess,leavingacademicpreparationtonon-empiricallawschoolsuccessresources,4andstudents’ownimprovisedstudyandlearningstrategies.Duetoalackofresearchonlawstudentlearning,legaleducatorsandlawstudentsdonotactuallyknowwhichlawstudyandlearningbehaviorsleadtosuccessinlawschoolandwhichmerelywastestudents’time.5

Cognitivescienceresearchonstudyandlearningstrategiesshowsthatundergraduatestudentsoverwhelmingrelyonpassive,ineffectivestrategies,likereadingandrereading,insteadofactive,effectivestrategieslikeretrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreview,whichincreaselearningandgaugecomprehension.Undergraduatestudentsareabletogetbyandmatriculateusingineffective,passivelearningstrategies,butalsodevelopillusionsofconfidenceinineffectivestrategies,andcontinuetousetheseineffectivelearningandstudystrategiesinlawschool.

ThisArticleshowsthatlawstudentsunwittinglyfallintoa“lawschoollearningtrap”6byrelyingonpassivestrategieslikereading,rereading,andbriefingcaseswithouttestingwhethertheyarelearningthroughactivestrategies.Lawstudentscanavoidthelawschoollearningtrapbyusingactivestrategies,likeretrieval,self-testing,andelaboration,thatincreaselearning,testwhatstudentsknowanddonotknow,providingcriticalformativeself-assessmentand

3Lawstudentreadingandstudyingbehaviorsrefertomanydifferentcognitivestepsandactivitieslikereadingandhighlightingcases,rereadingcases,summarizingandbriefingcases,goingtoclass,takingnotes,outlining,memorizingrules,meetingwithstudygroups,workingthroughpracticequestions,etc.EdwardL.Kimball,LarryC.Farmer,andD.GladeMonson,Ability,Effort,andPerformanceAmongFirst-YearLawStudentsatBrighamYoungUniversity,1981AM.BARFOUND.RES.J.671,676(1981)(findingfirstyearstudentsstudyonaverage53hoursperweekoutsideofclass).TheLawSchoolSurveyofStudentEngagement(LSSSE)askedfirstyearlawstudentstoestimatehowmanyhourstheyspentinatypical7-dayweekreadingassignedtextbooks,onlineclassreading,andothercoursematerials.Firstyearlawstudentsestimatedtheyspent31-33hoursperweekreadingassignedtextbooks,onlineclassreading,andothercoursematerials.4The“triedandtrue”studyadviceinlawschoolsuccessresourcescanbesummarizedas:readandbriefeverycase,gotoclass,takenotes,makecourseoutlines,andpracticebeforeyourexams.Inthepastfiftyyears,onlythreeempiricalinquirieshavetargetedlawstudentstudybehaviors,andtwoofthethreearefrom1968and1975respectively.Incontrast,undergraduateandgraduatedisciplineshaveroutinelyusedcomprehensivestudybehaviorresearchinstrumentssincethe1930’s.Seee.g.Study-HabitsInventory(Wren,1933);StudySkillsInventory(Locke,1940);SurveyofStudyHabits&Attitudes(SSHA,Brown&Holtzman,1955);LearningandStudyStrategiesInventory(LASSI,Weinsten&Palmer,2002);StudyBehaviorsChecklist(SBC,Gurung,2005;Gurung,Weidert&Jeske,2010).SeealsoNoelEntwhistleandVeldaMcCune,TheConceptualBasesofStudyStrategyInventories,16EDUC.PSYCHOL.REV.325(2004).5Legalscholarshavelamentedthelackofempiricalresearchinlegalscholarshipingeneral.JamesR.P.Ogloff,DavidR.Lyon,KevinS.Douglas,andV.GordonRose,Morethan“LearningtoThinkLikeaLawyer:”TheEmpiricalResearchonLegalEducation,34CREIGHTONL.REV.73,100(2000)(“Perhapsitissurprisingthatsolittleresearchattentionhasbeenpaidtothestudyhabitsthatstudentsemploytohelpthemnavigatetheirwaythroughtheobstaclesoflawschool.”).SeegenerallyPeterH.Schuck,WhyDon’tLawProfessorsDoMoreEmpiricalResearch?,39J.LEGALEDUC.323(1989);MatthewSpitzer,EvaluatingValuingEmpiricism(atLawSchools),53J.LEGALEDUC.328(2003)(discussingwaystopromoteempiricalresearchinlegalscholarship).StevenFriedland,ACriticalInquiryIntotheTraditionalUsesofLawSchoolEvaluation,23PACEL.REV.147(2002)(Althoughtestinghasbeena“steadfastfixtureoflegaleducationsincethelate1700s…comparativelyfewinstitutionalresourceshavebeendevotedtotheevaluationprocess,andbothinstitutionsandindividualinstructorsgenerallyholdtheevaluationprocesswithasimilarlackofregard.”).6Iusetheterm“lawschoollearningtrap”todescribealawstudentstudypatternwhereastudentfollowstheconventional,triedandtruestudyadviceofreadingandbriefingcasestoprepareforclass,gotoclassandtakenotes,makescourseoutlines,memorizesblackletterlaw,butdoesnotrevieworengageinanyretrievalorpracticetesting,whichleadstoamistakenbeliefreadingandbriefingforclassissufficienttolearnthematerialinlawschool.Studentswhofollowthispatternoftendonottesttheirknowledgewithpracticequestionsorhypotheticalfactualsituations.

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opportunitiesforcorrection.7Fewlegaleducatorsofferformativeassessmentsuchasweeklyquizzesormidtermexams.Lawstudentsthatdonotuseself-testingandformativeself-assessmentmaynotrealizetheyhavefallenintothelawschoollearningtrapuntilsittingforfinalexams.

Thestakesarehighforlawstudentsandlegaleducators.Firstyearlawstudentswhodowellacademicallywincovetedaccesstoscholarships,lawreview,jobinterviews,possibletransferstomoreprestigiouslawschools,andhigherbarpassagerates.8Whilefirstyearlawstudentswithpooracademicperformancearedeniedaccesstoprestigiousopportunities,losescholarships,faceacademicdismissal,andexperiencehigherbarfailurerates.9

Thelawschoollearningtrapaddstothestressful,corrosive,anddehumanizingnatureofthelawschoollearningenvironmentonlawstudents’wellbeing,values,andmotivation,specificallythelackofformativeassessment,unsoundteachingandtestingmethods,andcontinuedrelianceonsummativeassessment.10Legalscholarshavewrittenextensivelyonthedehumanizingnatureoflawschoolandtheneedtoprovidelawstudentswithself-determinationandautonomysupport.11Lawstudentsneedtofeelthattheyaregoodatwhattheyaredoing-namely,studyingandlearninginlawschool-orthattheycanbecomegoodatit.12

Lawschoolsareunderincreasingpressuretoprovethatlegaleducationworksandisworththecost.TheAmericanBarAssociationisputtingmorepressureonlawschoolstocomplywithaccreditationrequirements13andtoassesslawstudentlearningusing“formativeandsummativeassessmentmethodsinitscurriculumtomeasureandimprovestudentlearningand7Asthisarticlewilldiscuss,relyingonreadingandrereadingcasesandotherpassivelearningandstudystrategiesinlawschoolwithoutengaginginactivestrategieslikeretrievalandself-testingcorrelateswithpooracademicperformance.Firstyearstudentsfallintothe“lawschoollearningtrap”becausereadingandbriefingcasestoprepareforclassistimeconsuming,resultinginafluencyandfamiliaritythatcreatesillusionsofconfidencewiththematerial.8Lawschooliscompetitiveandlawstudentsareobsessedwiththeiracademicstanding.Studentsarehighlymotivatedtoengageinbehaviorsthatwillresultinhighergrades,especiallyinlightofthemandatorygradecurvesatmostlawschools.FirstyearlawGPAwillalsodeterminewhetherstudentsareeligibleformeritbasedscholarships,retainscholarshipsgaineduponentry,eligibilityforlawreviewandmootcourt,eligibilityforon-campusinterviewspots(OCI),andnottobeplacedonacademicprobationorworse,academicallydismissed.VernelliaR.Randall,IncreasingRetentionandImprovingPerformance:PracticalAdviceOnUsingCooperativeLearninginLawSchools,16T.M.COOLEYL.REV.201(1999);TheElephantintheAdmissionsOffice:TheInfluenceofU.S.News&WorldReportontheRiseofTransferStudentsinLawSchoolsandaModestProposalforReform.SeveralarticlesdiscussfirstyearlawGPAasmorepredictiveofhigherbarpassageratesthanLSAT,especiallyfordoctrinalclasses.KeithKaufman,V.HollandLaSalle-Ricci,CarolR.Glass,DianeB.Arkoff,PassingtheBarExam:Psychological,Educational,andDemographicPredictorsofSuccess,57J.LEGALEDUC.205(2007);KatherineA.Austin,CatherineMartinChristopher,DarbyDickerson,WillIPassTheBarExam?PredictingStudentSuccessUsingLSATScoresandLawSchoolPerformance,45HOFSTRAL.REV2016(forthcoming)(first-yearlawschoolGPAisstatisticallysignificantindicatorofbarexamsuccess);NicholasGeorgakopoulas,BarPassage:GPAandLSAT,NotBarReviews,RobertH.McKinneySchoolofLawLegalStudiesResearchPaperNo.2013-30,https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=2308341(lawschoolGPAstronglycorrelateswithbarpassage).9TheAmericanBarAssociationcollectsdataonthenumberofstudentsacademicallydismissedfromlawschools.http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/.For2016,lawschoolsreportedacademicdismissalsafterthefirstyearoflawschool,ashighas30%offirstyearstudents.Forexample,CharlotteSchoolofLawreported130academicdismissalsafterthefirstyearoutof391firstyearstudents.ErinLain,ExperiencesofAcademicallyDismissedBlackandLatinoStudents:StereotypeThreat,FightorFlightCopingMechanisms,IsolationandFeelingsofSystemicBetrayal,45J.L.&EDUC.279(2016).10KennethM.Sheldon&LawrenceS.Krieger,Doeslegaleducationhaveunderminingeffectsonlawstudents?Evaluatingchangesinmotivation,valuesandwell-being,22BEHAV.SCI.&L.261(2004).11Id.at262.“Potentialnegativeaspectsoflegaleducationincludeexcessiveworkloads,stress,andcompetitionforacademicsuperiority,institutionalemphasisoncomparativegrading,…lackofclearandtimelyfeedback…”Seee.g.LouisN.Schulze,Jr.andA.AdamDing,AlternativeJustificationsforAcademicSupportIII:AnEmpiricalAnalysisoftheImpactofAcademicSupportonPerceivedAutonomySupportandHumanizingLawSchools,38OHION.U.L.REV.999(2012);MichaelHunterSchwartz,HumanizingLegalEducation:AnIntroductiontoaSymposiumWhoseTimeCame,47WASHBURNL.J.235,239-41(2008).12AccordingtoKrieger,providinginformationaboutempiricallysupportedlawstudybehaviorssupportsself-determinationtheoryandhelpstohumanizelegaleducation.13From2016-2017,theAmericaBarAssociationcensuredAveMariaSchoolofLawandValparaisoLawSchoolfornon-compliancewithadmissionsstandardsandplacedArizonaSummitLawSchoolandCharlotteLawSchoolonprobationforsubstandardadmissionspoliciesandlowbarpassrates.

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providemeaningfulfeedbacktostudents.”14Enrollmentcontinuestodeclineaddingtotheloomingthreatoffailinglawschools.15

Lawstudentsalsoneedtounderstandeffectivelearningstrategiestobeeffectivelifelonglearners.16Lawlearningdoesnotstopwiththebarexam.Afteradmissiontopractice,lawyersareexpectedtocontinuelearningandmasteringcomplicatedmaterialtoeffectivelyrepresentclients.

Legaleducatorsandlawstudentsneedempiricalresearchtoevaluatewhetherthelawstudentstudyandlearningmethodsactuallywork.17ThisArticleprovidesempiricalcorrelationoflawstudentstudyandlearningstrategiestoacademicsuccessinlawschoolandfindsthatpassivelearningstrategieslikereadingandrereadingwithoutpracticeapplyingthelawisnegativelycorrelatedwithlawschoolacademicsuccess,whileactivelearningstrategieslikeretrieval,self-testingandelaborationthatinvolvepracticeapplyingthelawarepositivelycorrelatedwithlawschoolacademicsuccess.PartIIsummarizesexistingcognitivescienceresearchonundergraduatestudyandlearningstrategiesandexistingresearchonlawstudentstudybehaviors.PartIIIdiscussesthedevelopmentandadministrationoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey.PartIVdiscussestheresultsoftheresearch.PartVmakesrecommendationsbasedontheresults.

PartII:CognitiveScienceResearchonStudy&LearningStrategies

Hundredsofempiricalstudieshaveexaminedundergraduatestudyandlearningbehaviors,18demonstratingaclearlinkbetweenstudybehaviorsandacademicperformancethatareasstatisticallysignificantastherelationshipbetweenacademicperformanceandthetwomostfrequentlyusedpredictors:prioracademicperformance(GPA)andtestscores(ACT,SAT,etc.).19

Undergraduateresearchershavedevelopedandusedresearchinstrumentstoassesswhichstudybehaviorsarecorrelatedwithacademicsuccess,thestudyhabits,skillsandattitudesthemselves,20thedepthofinformationprocessingduringstudy,andstudents’metacognitive

14SeeAmericanBarAssociationStandard314:“Alawschoolutilizebothformativeandsummativeassessmentmethodsinitscurriculumtomeasureandimprovestudentlearningandprovidemeaningfulfeedbacktostudents.”SeealsoJanetFisher,PuttingStudentsattheCenterofLegalEducation:HowanEmphasisonOutcomeMeasuresintheABAStandardsforApprovalofLawSchoolsmightTransformtheEducationalExperienceofLawStudents,35SOUTHERNILLINOISL.J.225(2011);RogelioA.Lasso,IsOurStudentsLearning?UsingAssessmentstoMeasureandImproveLawSchoolLearningandPerformance,15BARRYL.REV.73(2010);GregoryS.Munro,OUTCOMESASSESSMENTFORLAWSCHOOLS(2000).15Lawschoolapplicationscontinuetodeclineyearafteryear.Severallawschoolsareeitherclosingpermanentlyorareinsevereeconomicdistress.InOctober2016,IndianaTechLawSchoolannouncedthatitwouldcloseinJune2017.InApril2017,WhittierLawSchoolannouncedthatitwouldnotacceptincomingstudentsforthe2017-2018academicyear,wouldgraduatetheexistingstudents,thenclosethelawschool.https://www.law.whittier.edu/index/news/article/a-message-from-the-whittier-college-board-of-trustees.16SeeAnthonyNiedwiecki,TeachingforLifelongLearning:ImprovingtheMetacognitiveSkillsofLawStudentsthroughMoreEffectiveFormativeAssessmentTechniques,40CAP.U.L.REV.149,150(2012).17SeeKathrynZeiler,TheFutureofEmpiricalLegalScholarship:WhereMightWeGoFromHere,66J.LEGALEDUC.78,80(2016)(acknowledgingthevalueofcredibleempiricallegalscholarship,andrecommendationsforimprovingempiricallegalscholarship).18SeeJohnHattie,VISIBLELEARNING:ASYNTHESISOFOVER800META-ANALYSESRELATINGTOACHIEVEMENT(2009).19MarcusCredeandNathanR.Kuncel,StudyHabits,Skills,andAttitudes,3PERSPECTIVESONPSYCHOLOGICALSCIENCE435(2008);Hattie,supranote___.20Studyskillsarethestudent’sknowledgeofstudystrategiesandabilitytomanagetimeandresourcestoaccomplishtheacademictask.Studyhabitsarethedegreeandregularitywithwhichthestudentusesspecificactsofstudying(e.g.,reviewsofmaterial)inanappropriateenvironment.Studyattitudesrefertoastudent’spositiveattitudetowardstudyingandacceptanceoftheeducationgoals.CredeandKuncel,StudyHabits,Skills,andAttitudes,3PerspectivesonPsychologicalScience435(2008)

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awarenesswhilestudying.21Thebottomlineisthetimespentstudyingdoesnotpredictacademicsuccess.22Thequalityofthestudydeterminedbythespecificbehaviorsandstrategiesusedbythelearnerdeterminestheacademicsuccess.

A.Undergraduatestudy&learningstrategyresearch

Retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreviewarelearningsuperfoods,poweringourbrainsforlongtermlearning;rereadingandcrammingarelearningjunkfoods,feelsgood,butbadforlearning.Retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreviewarehighlycorrelatedwithacademicsuccess.23Yet,theseactivelearningstrategiesarecounter-intuitiveandchallengeconventionalideasaboutstudying.24Despiterobustresearchprovingtheirefficacy,studentseitherdonotknowabouttheseeffectivelearningstrategiesordonottrustthem,andoverlyrelyonineffective“triedandtrue”learningstrategiescobbledtogetherthroughcommonsense,intuition,andtrialanderror.25

21Id.EarlyundergraduateresearchinstrumentsonstudybehaviorsincludetheStudy-HabitsInventorydevelopedin1933.G.G.Wren,Study-habitsInventory(1933);theStudySkillsInventorydevelopedin1940.N.M.Locke,TheStudentSkillsInventory:Astudyhabitstest,24J.APPLIEDPSYCHOL.493(1940),andtheSurveyofStudyHabits&Attitudes(“SSHA”)developedin1954.WayneH.Holtzman,WilliamF.Brown,andW.G.Farquhar,TheSurveyofStudyHabitsandAttitudes:ANewInstrumentforthePredictionofAcademicSuccess,14EDUC.ANDPSYCHOL.MEASUREMENT726(1954).ThemostwidelyusedsurveyistheLearningandStudyStrategiesInventory(“LASSI”),whichwasinitiallydevelopedinthelate1980’s.ClaireWeinstein,ErnestGoetz,PatriciaAlexander,LEARNINGANDSTUDYSTRATEGIES:ISSUESINASSESSMENT,INSTRUCTION,ANDEVALUATION(1988).TheLearningandStudyStrategiesInventory(“LASSI”)hasbeenwidelyusedtomeasureundergraduatestudents’studyhabitsaswellasstudents’motivationandawarenessofhowtheirstudyhabitsrelatetotheirlearning.H&HPublishing,OverviewofLASSIhttp://www.hhpublishing.com/_assessments/LASSI/index.html.22Undergraduatestudentsspendanaverageof15hoursperweekstudying,downfromanaverageof24hoursperweekinthe1960’sandonly1in4collegestudentsdevotemorethan20hoursaweektostudying,whichisrelativelyconsistentacrossdemographics.SeeRichardArum,JosipaRoksa,andEstherCho,IMPROVINGUNDERGRADUATELEARNING2-4(2011);RichardArum&JosipaRoksa,ACADEMICALLYADRIFT:LIMITEDLEARNINGONCOLLEGECAMPUSES(2011);ChristineBartholomew,Time:AnEmpiricalAnalysisofLawSchoolTimeManagementDeficiencies,81U.CIN.L.REV.897,904(2013);SarahA.NonisandGailI.Hudson,PerformanceofCollegeStudents:ImpactofStudyTimeandStudyHabits,85J.EDUC.FORBUSINESS229(2010)(studyfocusednotjustontimespentstudyingbutonhoweffectivelythestudentspendstimestudyingthatinfluencesacademicperformance,studyresultsdidnotdemonstrateasignificantdirectrelationshipbetweentheamountofstudytimeandacademicperformance).MarcusCredeandNathanR.Kuncel,StudyHabits,Skills,andAttitudes,3PERSPECTIVESONPSYCHOL.SCI.435(2008)(Programsthatfocusontheacquisitionofspecificstudyskillsarelikelytobeparticularlyusefulinlightoftheconsistentfindingthatthetimespentstudyingislargelyunrelatedtoacademicperformance);E.AshbyPlant,K.AndersEricsson,LenHillandKiaAsberg,Whystudytimedoesnotpredictgradepointaverageacrosscollegestudents:Implicationsofdeliberatepracticeforacademicperformance,30CONTEMP.EDUC.PSYCHOL.96(2005)(researchershaveconsistentlyfoundaweakorunreliablerelationshipbetweentheweeklyamountofreportedstudytimeandgradepointaverage(GPA)forcollegestudents).23See,e.g.,PeterC.Brown,HenryL.RoedigerIII&MarkA.McDaniel,MAKEITSTICK:THESCIENCEOFSUCCESSFULLEARNING16-17(2014);BenedictCarey,HOWWELEARN:THESURPRISINGTRUTHABOUTWHEN,WHERE,ANDWHYITHAPPENS(2014);BennettL.Schwartz,LisaK.Son,NateKornell,BridgidFinn,FourPrinciplesofMemoryImprovement:AGuidetoImprovingLearningEfficiency,21:1INT’LJ.OFCREATIVITY&PROBLEMSOLVING7(2011)(fourprinciplesofmemoryimprovement:(1)activelyprocessingmaterial,(2)retrievalpractice,(3)distributedpractice(i.e.,spacing),and(4)metamemory).24See,e.g.,BROWN,ROEDIGERIII&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICK;CAREY,HOWWELEARN.25Id.at8;RobertA.Bjork,JohnDunlosky,andNateKornell,Self-RegulatedLearning:Beliefs,Techniques,andIllusions,64ANNUALREV.OFPSYCHOL.417,419(2013).Ourintuitionsabouthowtolearnareanunreliableguideastohowweshouldmanageourlearningactivities.Weassumethat“childrenandadultsdonotneedtobetaughthowtomanagetheirlearningactivities.”Collegesanduniversitiesaremoreconcernedaboutwhetherincomingstudentshavenecessarybackgroundknowledgeinimportantdomains(i.e.,English,math,etc.),butdonottestwhetherstudentshavethenecessarylearningskillstoeffectivelearn;seealsoVeronicaX.Yan,Khanh-PhuongThai,RobertA.Bjork,Habitsandbeliefsthatguideself-regulatedlearning:Dotheyvarywithmindset,3J.APPLIEDRESEARCHINMEMORYANDCOGNITION140(2014);JenniferMcCabe,MetacognitiveAwarenessofLearningStrategiesinUndergraduates,39MEMORY&COGNITION462(2011).

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Retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreviewrequiremoreeffortandplanningthanthemostcommonlyusedstudymethods,rereadingandcramming.26Retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreviewalsocreatedesirabledifficultiesyieldingdeeper,moredurablelearning.27But,whenstudentsperceivestudyingashard,theyincorrectlybelievetheyarenotlearningandresorttoeasierstudyandlearningmethods,likerereadingandcramming.Whenthelearningfeelseasy,studentsmistakenlybelievethatmaterialiswelllearned.28But,thelearninggainsareshorttermandquicklyfade.Easycome,easygo.

Cognitivescienceandempiricalresearchprovesmuchofwhatwethinkweknowaboutlearningiswrong.Whenlearningfeelshard,itactuallysticksandlastlonger.29Forgettingispartoflearning.Mistakesduringlearningaregoodbecausetheyshowknowledgegapsandcreateopportunitiesforclarificationandconsolidation.Rereadingtricksusintothinkingwelearnmorethanweactuallydo.30Learningismessyandnon-linear,lessasteadyinclinethanaseriesofstarts,turns,dead-ends,reroutes,andexplosivespeed.Whatworksbestforlearningmaynotbeintuitive,butcanbeexplicitlytaught,assistingstudentsinbecomingself-regulated,expertlearners.

i.Retrieval&Self-Testing

Retrievalisanempiricallyprovenlearningtool,morepowerfulthanreading,rereading,oranyotheractofmemorization.Retrievinginformationfrommemoryand“testing”yourknowledgeleadstodeeperlearningthanmorepopularstudybehaviorsofmemorizationandrereading.31Everytimeinformationisretrieved,itbetterconnectstootherlearnedmaterial,andbecomesmoreaccessibleinthefuturebecauseretrievalandtestingcreatesbetterorganizationofknowledge.32

Retrievalismuchmorethananassessmentofone’sknowledge-theretrievalprocesscreateslearningwhilegauginglearningdepth.33Thehardertheinformationistoretrieve,theharderthebrainmustworktodigitup,thegreaterthelearning.34Retrievinginformationfrommemoryisdifferentandharderthanjustseeingtheinformationagainasinrereading.35

26See,e.g.,BROWN,ROEDIGERIII&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICK;CAREY,HOWWELEARN.JeffreyD.Karpicke,A.C.Butler,andH.L.Roediger,Metacognitivestudiesinstudentlearning:Dostudentspracticeretrievalwhentheystudyontheirown?17MEMORY471-479(2010).Rereading,highlighting,underliningandporingovernotesandtextsarethemostcommonlyusedstudystrategies.27Desirabledifficultiesreferstolearningconditionsthatarechallengingandseemtoslowdownlearning,butactuallyimprovelong-termlearning,retention,andtransfer.RobertA.Bjork,JohnDunlosky,andNateKornell,Self-RegulatedLearning:Beliefs,Techniques,andIllusions,64ANN.REV.PSYCH.417,434(2013).Self-testingusingretrievalandfreerecallisacommontypeofdesirabledifficulty,aswellasperiodicreview,interleaving,andgeneratinganswers.SeealsoElizabethM.Bloom,CreatingDesirableDifficulties:StrategiesforReshapingTeachingandLearningintheLawSchoolClassroom,95U.DETROITMERCYL.REV.(forthcoming),availableathttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2951961.28BROWN,ROEDIGERIII&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat8-22.Studentsexpressabiasfor“error-free”learning,mistakenlybelievingthaterrorsinlearningarelearningfailures,insteadofapartofthelearningprocessitself.29BROWN,ROEDIGERIII&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat9.30Theauthor’spriorarticledescribedtheseresearchfindingsindetail:JenniferM.Cooper,SmarterLawLearning:UsingCognitiveSciencetoMaximizeLawLearning,44CAP.U.L.REV.551(2016).31JeffreyD.Karpicke,A.C.Butler,andH.L.Roediger,Metacognitivestudiesinstudentlearning:Dostudentspracticeretrievalwhentheystudyontheirown?17MEMORY471-479(2010);BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat15.32SeeFranklinM.ZarombandHenryL.RoedigerIII,Thetestingeffectinfreerecallisassociatedwithenhancedorganizationalprocesses,38:8MEMORY&COGNITION995(2010).Retrieval&testingcreatesbetterorganizationofknowledge.33Seegenerally,KarpickeandGrimaldi.34CAREY,HOWWELEARNat84.35CAREY,HOWWELEARNat94;Retrievalisnotjustaread-outofstoredknowledge;theactofretrievingitselfcreateslearning.KarpickeandBlunt,at771-772.Theharderitistoretrievesomethingfrommemory,themoreeffortrequiredtoretrievetheinformation,createsadesirabledifficulty,andmakesthememorystick,.BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat26-45.

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Thetestingeffectisawell-establishedcognitivescienceprinciplethatengagingintesting(retrievalpractice)enhanceslong-termretentioncomparedtorereadingorotherpassivestudyingactivities.36Retrievalandtestingalsoimprovestransferandknowledgeofnewcontexts.37Usingretrievalpracticesuchaspracticequestionsorself-quizzingevenreducestestanxietyandprotectsourmemoriesfromstress.38Retrievalandthetestingeffectareeffectivelearningtools,dispelillusionsofcompetence,andhelpstudentsaccuratelygaugetheirlearningprogress.Retrievalandtestingarevaluableformativeself-assessmenttoolsthatstudentscanuseontheirowntoprovidefeedbackontheirlearningprogress.

Yet,rereadingisbyfarthemostcommonlyusedstudyandlearningstrategy.39Thevastmajorityofstudentssteadfastlybelievethebestwaytolearnistoreadandrereadandrereadagaininasinglestudysessionuntilmaterialislearned.40Studentsincorrectlybelievethatrereadingcreatesmorelearningandthattestingmerelymeasureswhathasbeenlearnedtoreceiveagrade.41Massedrepetitionandrereadingcreatesillusionsofcompetence,afalsesenseoflearning,whileretrievalandself-testingtestscompetenceandaccuratelygaugeswhathasbeenlearned.42

ii.PeriodicReview

Assoonaswelearnsomethingnew,westarttoforgetit.43Byperiodicallyretrievinglearnedinformation,weslowtheforgettingprocess.Periodicrevieworspacingstudyistheoppositeofcrammingormassingstudy,andmeansretrievingmaterialafteraperiodoftimehaselapsedbetweenretrievalsessions–daysorweeks-toallowforforgettingbeforethenext

36SeeHenryL.RoedigerIIIandBridgidFinn,ThePlusesofGettingItWrong,21:1SCI.AM.MIND38(2010);SeeFranklinM.ZarombandHenryL.RoedigerIII,Thetestingeffectinfreerecallisassociatedwithenhancedorganizationalprocesses,38:8MEMORY&

COGNITION995(2010).Thetestingeffectpromoteslearningratherthanjustassessinglearning.37HenryRoedigerIII,AdamL.Putnam,andMeganA.Smith,TenBenefitsofTestingandTheirApplicationstoEducationalPractice,55PSYCHOL.OFLEARNINGANDMOTIVATION1,14(2011).Repeatedtestingspacedovertimeledtoimprovedtransferofcomplexmaterialtonewquestionsinanewdomaincomparedtorestudyingmaterial.AndrewC.Butler,RepeatedTestingProducesSuperiorTransferofLearningRelativetoRepeatedStudying,36J.EXPERIMENTALPSYCHOL.:LEARNING,MEMORY&COGNITION1118,1128(2010)(finding“test-enhancedlearning”increaseslong-termretentionandpromotestransfertonewinferentialquestionsfromdifferentknowledgedomainsbetterthanrestudying).38AmyM.Smith,VictoriaA.Floerke,AyannaK.Thomas,RetrievalPracticeProtectsMemoryAgainstAcuteStress,354SCIENCE1046,1047(2016)(“Whereaswedidfindmemoryretrievalimpairmentduringthedelayedstressresponsewheninformationwasencodedbyrestudying,thatimpairmentwasabsentwheninformationwasencodedbyretrievalpractice.Thus,wearguethatstressmaynotimpairmemoryretrievalwhenstrongermemoryrepresentationsarecreatedduringencoding.”)39JeffreyD.Karpicke,A.C.Butler,andH.L.Roediger,Metacognitivestudiesinstudentlearning:Dostudentspracticeretrievalwhentheystudyontheirown?17MEMORY471-479(2010);BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat15.40“Thefindingthatrereadingtextbooksisoftenlaborinvainoughttosendachillupthespinesofeducatorsandlearners,becauseit’sthenumberonestudystrategyofmostpeople–includingmorethan80percentofcollegestudentsinsomesurveys–andiscentralinwhatwetellourselvestododuringthehourswededicatetolearning.”BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat10.41JeffreyD.Karpicke,Retrieval-BasedLearning:ActiveRetrievalPromotesMeaningfulLearning,21:3CURRENTDIRECTIONSINPSYCHOL.SCI.157(2012).Manystudentsbelievethat“studying”meansrereadingmaterialoverandoverandthat“practicing”or“self-testing”isonlytoassesswhatonehaslearnedthroughrereading.Thechoicetorepeatedlyreadandrereadmaterialislogicaliflearningisonlytheprocessofencodingorinputtinginformationandifretrievalisonlyawaytoassesspriorlearning.Tostudyforanupcomingtest,studentsweregivenachoice-afteryoureadthroughyournotesandthetext,whichwouldyoudonext:(a)gobackandrestudythematerial(allorparts),(b)trytorecallthematerial,or(b)dosomeotherstudyactivity.Themajorityofstudentschosetorereadtheirnotesorthetext,butveryfewstudentsattemptedtorecallthematerial.42BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat16.Retrievalandself-testinghelpstocalibrateone’slearning.43“Allsortsofideas,iflefttothemselves,aregraduallyforgotten.”HermanEbbinghaus,MEMORY:ACONTRIBUTIONTOEXPERIMENTAL

PSYCHOLOGY(1885)at62.Afteronlyonehour,wehaveforgotten50%ofthematerialwejuststudied;after24hours,wehaveforgotten75%ofthematerial.

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retrievalattempt.44Distributingmultiplestudysessionsspacedovertimeisfarsuperiortomassingofstudyinginanysinglesessionbecauseretrievalpracticespacedovertimestopstheforgettingprocess.45

But,spacingstudyfeelslesseffectiveasstudentshavetoworkhardertoretrieveinformationfromdaysorevenweeksago.46Whenstudentslearnatopicandwaitaweekortwotoreviewthesamematerial,theinformationishardtorecallandstudentsfeelliketheyarerelearningmaterialtheyalreadylearned.47

Likerereading,massingstudycreatesillusionsofcompetencewhenmaterialthatiseasiertorecallisjudgedbetterlearnedthanmaterialthatishardtorecall.48Thisiscounter-intuitivebecausemassingstudyworks,aslongasatestisimmediatelyafterthemassedstudy.But,whatifthetestisgivenaweekormorelater?Spacingstudyrequirestimebetweenstudysessionswhereinformationisforgotten,requiringstudentstoretrieveorrecallthepreviouslystudiedmaterial.49Thelessaccessiblethememory,themorelearningoccurswhenitisrecalledandrestudied.50

Oneofthecriticismsofretrievalisthatitisonlybeneficialformemorizationandotherlower-orderthinkingandlearningtasks.51Successiveretrieval-basedlearningspacedoverperiodsoftimehelpslearnersdevelopcomplexknowledgestructures,connectandintegratenewinformationtopriorknowledgestructures,andbuilddepthandcomplexitywitheachsuccessfulretrievalandconsolidationcycle.52Thisprocessdifferentiatesnovicesfromexpertsinafield.Whenexpertsretrieveinformation,expertsretrieveanentireintegratednetworkofexisting,interconnectedinformationbuiltovermultipleretrievalandconsolidationcyclesspacedoveryears.

iii.OtherhighlyeffectivestudyandlearningbehaviorsMixingup,orinterleaving,differenttopicswhenengaginginretrievalandself-testing

dramaticallyincreasesthestudyingdifficultyandalsothelearningreturns.53Interleavingcreates

44JonathanA.SusserandJenniferMcCabe,Fromthelabtothedormroom:metacognitiveawarenessanduseofspacedstudy,41:2INSTRUCTIONALSCI.345(2013).BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat203-205.Howmuch“space”orforgettingishelpful?Enoughtimesothatsomeforgettinghasoccurredsothatretrievalwillbemoreeffortful,butnotsomuchspaceorforgettingthatyouhavetorelearnthematerial.Becausetimeperiodsbetweenlearninghelpsmaterialconsolidate,whichincludessleeping,atleastadayinbetweenreviewsessions.BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat63-64.45Id.46BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat203-205.47Periodicretrievaloflearnedmaterialalsocreatesadesirabledifficulty.48Id.at47.Studentsmistakenlybelievethatmassingcreatesmorelearningbecauseitcreates“retrievalfluency”-informationiseasiertorecallduringmassedstudysessions,whichisperceivedasbetterlearning.Kornellat1312.Inmassedstudy,studentspaylessattentiontothesecondpresentationofanitem,butpaymoreattentiontothesecondpresentationofaniteminspacedstudy.Inmassedstudy,thematerialisfamiliarthesecondtimeitispresentedandstudentsareoftenmoreaccuratethesecondtime,requiringlesseffortthesecondtimethematerialispresented.49Id.Thespacingeffectandthetestingeffectaresimilarandinterrelatedstudymethodsasspacedstudyinevitablyrequiresretrievalandself-testinginordertorecallpreviouslystudiedinformation.50Id.51HenryRoedigerIII,AdamL.Putnam,andMeganA.Smith,TenBenefitsofTestingandTheirApplicationstoEducationalPractice,55PSYCHOL.OFLEARNINGANDMOTIVATION1,14(2011).Repeatedtestingspacedovertimeledtoimprovedtransferofcomplexmaterialtonewquestionsinanewdomaincomparedtorestudyingmaterial.52JeffreyD.KarpickeandWilliamR.Aue,TheTestingEffectisAliveandWellwithComplexMaterials,27EDUC.PSYCHOL.REV.317(2015).53HenryL.RoedigerIII&AndrewC.Butler,TheCriticalRoleofRetrievalPracticeinLong-TermRetention,15TRENDSINCOG.SCI.20(2011).Mixingupyourretrievalpracticebyinterleavingtwoormoresubjectsisalsoatypeofspacingthathelpsstudentstodiscriminatebetweendifferenttypesofproblemsandselectthecorrectstrategytoapply.BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat65.SeealsoM.S.Birnbaum,NateKornell,ElizabethL.Bjork,andRobertA.Bjork,Whyinterleavingenhancesinductivelearning:Therolesofdiscriminationandretrieval,41MEMORY392-402(2013).BROWN,ROEDIGER&MCDANIEL,MAKEITSTICKat46-66.Interleavingmeans“mixingrelatedbutdistinctmaterialduringstudy.”Themixingofmaterial,skills,andconceptsduringstudy,

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spacebetweenretrievalattemptsbecauseyouaremixingupthesubjectsandforceslearnerstodistinguishbetweensubjects,creatingdeeperunderstandingwithmaterial.54Again,thisfindingiscounter-intuitivetotheconventionalmethodofblockedpractice-concentrationonthesametopicorskillduringasinglestudyorpracticesession.Learnersalsoresistinterleavingbecauseitismuchmoredifficultandfeelscounter-productive,eventhoughresearchprovesitsefficacy.

Elaborationisalsoaneffectivelearningstrategythatusesretrievaltorelatenewlylearnedinformationtoexistingknowledgebyself-explanation,puttingtheinformationinto“yourownwords,”orexplainingstepsusedduringproblemsolving.55Elaborationrequiresretrievingnewlylearnedmaterialandpriorknowledgeandhelpslearnersdevelopmasterybyfindingadditionallayersofmeaninginnewlylearnedmaterial.56Differentwaystoincorporateelaborationasalearningstrategyaretorelatenewmaterialtowhatyoualreadyknowaboutasubject,summarizeorparaphrasebyputtinginformationinyourownwords,orpersonalizetheinformationbyrelatingittoyourownlife.

Reflectionisacombinationofretrievalandelaborationwherealearnerreflectsorreviewsoninformation,apastevent,oraskill,andasksthemselvesaseriesofquestionstoevaluatewhatwentwellandwhatdidnot.57Manylearnersattributereflectiontodevelopingmasteryofmaterial,developingmentalmodelsandchecklists,developingautomaticity,andaidingintransfer.

Whilethesestudyandlearningstrategiesarehighlyeffectiveforundergraduatestudy,aretheyaseffectiveandcorrelatedwithacademicsuccessforlawstudy?

B:Lawstudentstudy&learningstrategyresearch

Verylittleempirical,datadrivenlegalscholarshiphasanalyzedwhichlawstudentlearningandstudybehaviorsleadtoacademicsuccessinlawschool.58Theearliestempiricalresearchonlawstudentstudybehaviorswaspublishedin1968inTheStudent,TheSituation,andespeciallyoverthelongterm,helpsnotonlytoseedistinctions,butalsohelpstograspindividualconcepts.CAREY,HOWWELEARNat163-164.Interleavingorvaryingpracticeisalsoharder,requiresmoreeffort,andfeelsslower;therefore,unpopularandseldomused.54Id.55MAKEITSTICKat207;JohnDunlosky,KatherineA.Rawson,ElizabethJ.Marsh,MitchellJ.Nathan,andDanielT.Willingham,ImprovingStudents’LearningwithEffectiveLearningTechniques:PromisingDirectionsfromCognitiveandEducationalPsychology,14PSYCHOL.SCI.PUB.INTEREST4,11(2013).56A.S.Donker,H.deBoer,D.Kostons,C.C.DignathvanEwijk,M.P.C.vanderWerf,Effectivenessoflearningstrategyinstructiononacademicperformance:Ameta-analysis,11EducationalResearchReview1,3(2014).Elaborationisacognitivelearningstrategythatbuildconnectionsbetweennotyetlearnedmaterialandpriorknowledge,attachingmeaningtonewinformationbyconnectingtheittowhatisalreadyknown,allowinglearnersstoremoreinformationinlong-termmemory.Summarizingandparaphrasingarecommonelaborativelearningstrategies.Self-explanationisamorecomplexelaborativestrategywherealearnerwillexplaintothemselvestheirthoughtprocessorstepstoworkthroughaproblem.Aneffectiveelaborativestrategyforstudyistosummarizematerialandattempttoreducethenumberofwordsbyonequarter.57MAKEITSTICKat209-210.58DonaldJ.Kochan,“Learning”ResearchandLegalEducation:ABriefOverviewandSelectedBibliographicalSurvey,40SW.L.REV.449(2011).SeegenerallyKennethH.BarryandPatriciaC.Connelly,ResearchonLawStudents:AnAnnotatedBibliography,1978AM.BARFOUND.RES.J.751(1978).In1975,Loftmancommentedthat“verylittleliteraturehasbeendiscovereddirectlyconcernedwithstudyhabiteffectivenessalthoughconsiderableworkhasbeendonewithstudyhabitsasonefactorinpredictingacademicsuccess.”GuyR.Loftman,StudyHabitsandTheirEffectivenessinLegalEducation,27J.LEGALEDUC.418(1975).Thereareveryfewstudiesoflawstudentstudybehaviorsand2ofthe3studiesareover30yearsold:MichaelJ.Patton,TheStudent,TheSituation,andPerformanceDuringtheFirstYearofLawSchool,21J.LEGALEDUC.10(1968);GuyR.Loftman,StudyHabitsandTheirEffectivenessinLegalEducation,27J.LEGALEDUC.418(1975);KarolSchmidt,LearningfromtheLearners:WhatHighPerformingLawStudentsTeachUsAboutAcademicSupportProgramming,4PHOENIXL.REV.287(2010).SeealsoEdwardL.Kimball,LarryC.Farmer,andD.GladeMonson,Ability,Effort,andPerformanceAmongFirst-YearLawStudentsatBrighamYoungUniversity,1981AM.BARFOUND.RES.J.671(1981)(doesnotaddressspecificstudybehaviors,insteadfocusesonoverallstudyeffort).

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PerformanceDuringtheFirstYearofLawSchool,findingthathighperformingstudentshadmoreeffectivereadingtechniques,testedtheirunderstandingofthematerialby“notetaking,outlining,groupdiscussionandperiodicreviewing”andpreparedmoreeffectivelyforexamsbyspacingreviewsandtestingcomprehensionofthematerialratherthanjustmemorizing.59

In1975,GuyLoftman’sStudyHabitsandtheirEffectivenessinLegalEducationnotedthe“surprisinglackofanalysisontheeffectivenessonstudytechniquesinlegaleducation.”60Loftmanfoundthatclassattendanceandreviewwerethemosteffectivestudytechniques,thatreadingandbriefingcases,totalstudyhours,anduseofhornbookstohavelessofanimpact,andthatrelianceonlawsummarieshadanegativeimpact.61

In2010,KarolSchmidt’sLearningfromtheLearners:WhatHigh-PerformingLawStudentsTeachUsAboutAcademicSupportProgrammingfoundthathigh-performingstudentsengagedinamultiplestepprocesswhenoutliningthatincluded“distillingorcondensingoutlines”andconsistentlyengagedinself-testingintheoutliningprocess,whereasunderperformingstudentsdidnotoutlineordidnotfurtherdistilltheiroutlines.62

Thesefindingsaregenerallyconsistentwiththeundergraduateliterature.Effectivereadingstrategies,periodicreview,self-testing,andtimemanagementaremorecommonamonghighperformingstudents.Conversely,over-relianceonpassivestrategieslikecasereadingandbriefing,cramming,andmemorizationwithoutreviewandself-testingaremorecommonamonglowandunderperformingstudents.

Lawschoolshavelongassumedthatstudentscometolawschoolprimedandreadytoreadanddissectcopiousamountsofprimarysourcematerialbyreadingandbriefingjudicialopinions,engageinrigorousSocraticdebate,andabletoputallofthepiecestogetherforthemselves.63Lawschoolshavehistoricallyout-sourcedlawlearningskillstolawschoolsuccessself-helpresourcesusingthenon-empirical,anecdotalapproach:“Ididwellinlawschool,soyoushoulddowhatIdid.”64Eventhelimitedempiricalresearchfrom1968and1975onlawstudent

59MichaelJ.Patton,TheStudent,TheSituation,andPerformanceDuringtheFirstYearofLawSchool,21J.LEGALEDUC.10(1968).Evenin1968,Pattonfoundthatmanyfirstyearlawstudentsenteredlawschoolrelyingonpassivememorizationtechniqueslearnedincollegethatwereinappropriateforthestudyoflaw.60GuyR.Loftman,StudyHabitsandTheirEffectivenessinLegalEducation,27J.LEGALEDUC.418(1975)(citingtoPatton’sarticleastheonlystudyhefoundonthesubject).61Id.at445.Loftmandevelopedaquestionnaireconsistingoffifteenquestionsonthestudents’pre-lawperformance,lawschoolperformance,andstudytechniques.62KarolSchmidt,LearningfromtheLearners:WhatHighPerformingLawStudentsTeachUsAboutAcademicSupportProgramming,4PHOENIXL.REV.287(2010).SchmidtusedtheLearningandStudySkillsInventory(“LASSI”)andtheMultipleIntelligencesDevelopmentalAssessmentScales(“MIDAS”),supplementedbyfollow-upinterviewswithparticipantsaboutoutliningandexamtaking.TheMIDASisa119questionsonactivities,skills,andinterestsonasix-partLeikertscale.TheLASSIwasdevelopedasanundergraduatesurveyinstrument;itsquestionsarenottailoredtothelawschoollearningenvironment.Schmidtfoundpositivecorrelationsbetweenselectingmainideas,timemanagement,andteststrategieswithfirstyearlawGPA.63PeterF.Lake,WhenFearKnocks:TheMythsandRealitiesofLawSchool,29STETSONL.REV.1015(2000)(describingmythsbeginninglawstudentshaveaboutlawschoolandwhatstudentsneedtoknowsuchas“TheReverseCassandraComplex”-wherefirstyearlawstudentsbelievethateveryoneofferinginformationaboutlawschoolknowsthetruthaboutlawschool,butinmostcases,istheoppositeandcomesfromavarietyofdifferentsources–studyaidsandassistancematerials,outlines,wisdomofupperclassmen).64FirstinClass:TheUltimateGuideonHowtoExcelinLawSchoolillustratesthisnon-empirical,anecdotallawschoolsuccessadvice.A“CollectionofEssaysfromTopLawStudentsfromAcrosstheNation,”FirstinClasspromises“cuttingedgetacticsinaninternetagewithprovenstrategiesforsuccess.”CliffP.RileyandSergioPorres,FIRSTINCLASS:THEULTIMATEGUIDEONHOWTOEXCELINLAWSCHOOL(2015).Thisisjustoneofmanynon-empiricallawschoolsuccessresourcesbasedon“triedandtrue”advice,notdata.Seee.g.,AndrewJ.McClurg,1LOFARIDE:AWELL-TRAVELEDPROFESSOR'SROADMAPTOSUCCESSINTHEFIRSTYEAROFLAWSCHOOL(3ded.2017);BarryFriedmanandJohnC.P.Goldberg,OPENBOOK,SUCCEEDINGONEXAMSFROMTHEFIRSTDAYOFLAWSCHOOL(2011);DennisJ.Tonsing,1000DAYSTOTHEBAR:BUTTHEPRACTICEOFLAWBEGINSNOW!(2ded.2010);AlbertJ.MooreandDavidA.Binder,DEMYSTIFYINGTHEFIRSTYEAROFLAWSCHOOL:AGUIDETOTHE1LEXPERIENCE(2010);PeterT.Wendell,DECONSTRUCTINGLEGALANALYSIS(2009);JustinSpizman,THEINSIDER’SGUIDETOYOURFIRSTYEAROFLAWSCHOOL;IanGallacher,COMINGTOLAWSCHOOL(2010);JeremyHorwitz,LAWSCHOOLINSIDER;KimmAlayneWalton&LazarEmanuel,STRATEGIESANDTACTICSFORTHEFIRST-YEARLAWSTUDENT86-87(2004).

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studyhabitsfoundthatreadingandbriefingcaseswasinsufficientandthatstudentsneededto“testtheircomprehension”withpracticeinsteadofrelyingonjustmemorizationandreview.65Legaleducatorsandscholarshaveonlyrecentlystartedtoapplycognitivescienceandeducationalpsychologyresearchtoacademicsuccessandbarprep.66

But,howdowereallyknowwhatworksifthelegalacademyhasnotsuccessfullyexaminedwhichlawlearningbehaviorstrulyrelatetoacademicsuccessinlawschool?Thepolitical,social,andeconomicclimatehaschangeddramaticallyinthepasttenyearsregardingthepresumedvalueofalawdegree.67Manycriticsarguethatlawschoolisnotworththeinvestmentanddemandthelegalacademyjustifytheeffectivenessofteachingandlearningmethodsandoutcomes.68

Byassumingstudentscometolawschoolwithwelldevelopedstudyandlearninghabits,whichweknowfromundergraduateresearchtobeaflawedassumption,thenrelyingonbarpassagetoassessultimatelearningsuccess,lawschoolsareignoringanuglytruth:lawschoolsdonotknowwhichlearningandstudybehaviorsactuallyworkinlawschoolbecausetheyhavenotcloselystudiedacorefunctionoflegaleducation–studentslearningthelaw.69

PartIII:MethodologyoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey

65Whilethereareveryfewempiricallybasedcomprehensivestudiesonlawstudentlearningbehaviorcorrelatedtoacademicsuccess,otherlegalscholarshaveresearchedotherdiscreteskillsimportanttolawlearning.Seee.g.AnneM.Enquist,UnlockingtheSecretsofHighlySuccessfulLegalWritingStudents,82ST.JOHN’SL.REV.609(2008);LeahM.Christensen,TheParadoxofLegalExpertise:AStudyofExpertsandNovicesReadingtheLaw,2008B.Y.U.EDUC.&L.J.53,70(2008);RuthAnnMcKinney,READINGLIKEALAWYER:TIME-SAVINGSTRATEGIESFORREADINGLAWLIKEANEXPERT(2ded.2012);LaurelCurrieOates,LevelingthePlayingField:HelpingStudentsSucceedbyHelpingThemLearntoReadAsExpertLawyers,80ST.JOHN'SL.REV.227,251-52(2006);StefanH.Krieger,TheDevelopmentofLegalReasoningSkillsinLawStudents:AnEmpiricalStudy,56J.LEGALEDUC.332(2006);AndreaA.Curcio,GregoryToddJones,TanyaM.Washington,DoesPracticeMakePerfect?AnEmpiricalExaminationoftheImpactofPracticeEssaysonEssayExamPerformance,35FLA.ST.U.L.REV.271(2008);MichaelHunterSchwartz,EXPERTLEARNINGFORLAWSTUDENTS61(2005)(emphasizingself-regulatedlearning).66SeegenerallyDonaldJ.Kochan,“Learning”ResearchandLegalEducation:ABriefOverviewandSelectedBibliographicalSurvey,40SW.L.REV.449(2011)(specificallyinthesectionson“ThinkingLikeaLawyer”andtheLawSchoolEnvironment,Experience,andSuccessliterature);JenniferM.Cooper,SmarterLawLearning:UsingCognitiveSciencetoMaximizeLawLearning,44CAP.U.L.REV.551(2016);GabrielH.Teninbaum,SpacedRepetition:AMethodforLearningMoreLawinLessTime,SuffolkUniversityJournalofHighTechnologyLaw,forthcoming(2017)(usingcognitivesciencetoassiststudentsinpassingthebarexam);ElizabethM.Bloom,CreatingDesirableDifficulties:StrategiesforReshapingTeachingandLearningintheLawSchoolClassroom,95U.DetroitMercyL.Rev.(forthcoming),availableathttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2951961.67DavidSegal,For2ndYear,aSharpDropinLawSchoolEntranceTests,NewYorkTimes,March19,2012,http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/business/for-lsat-sharp-drop-in-popularity-for-second-year.html;DavidSegal,WhatTheyDon’tTeachLawStudents:Lawyering,November19,2011,http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=all(criticizingthenatureoflawschoolthatrewardsscholarshipandnoteffectiveteaching,creatingnorealincentiveforlawprofessorstobeconcernedaboutteaching,arguingthatstudentsdonotrealizethattheyarepayingforthecostoflegalscholarship,notlegaleducation)68KyleP.McEnteeandPatrickJ.Lynch,AWayForward:TransparencyatAmericanLawSchools,forthcomingPaceLawReview,http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1528862;Blog–LawSchoolTransparency-http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/.Establishedin2009,LawSchoolTransparency,anonprofitlegaleducationpolicyorganization,setouttoimproveconsumerinformationconcerningthevalueoflegaleducationandtousherinconsumer-orientedreformstothecurrentlawschoolmodel.69StevenI.Friedland,HowWeTeach:ASurveyofTeachingTechniquesInAmericanLawSchools,20SEATTLEU.L.REV.1(1996)(discussinggeneralassumptionthateducationoccursinthelawschoolclassroomandthelackofcriticalrevieworresearchontheeffectivenessofthemethodology).

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Empiricallytestedstudyhabitsurveysexist,butaredesignedfortheundergraduatelearningmodel.Significantdifferencesinthelawschoolpedagogy,environment,andassessmentmethodsrequireaspecializedsurveyinstrument.70

First,thelawschoolinstructionmethoddifferssubstantiallyfromundergraduateschool,namelyinstructionthroughtheCaseMethod71andtheSocraticMethodratherthanalectureformat,72andthelackofrightanswers.Second,thelawlearningenvironmentismorecompetitivethanundergraduateprograms:thelargenumberofgraduatestudents(averageof75persectionwithmultiplesectionsperclass)comparedtoothergraduateprogramswithmuchsmallerclasses,73withmandatorycurvesinfirstyearcourses,competitionforgradesandrank,theimportanceoffirstsemestergrades,74andincreasedstressandanxiety.75Third,lawschoolassessmentislessfrequentthaninundergraduateprograms:single,end-of-termwrittenessayexamtoassigngrades,few,ifany,midtermexams,writtenassignments,orevaluationofstudents’skillsindoctrinalcourses,76themandatorygradecurveandrankingofstudents.77Fourth,thedemandsonlawstudents’timearemuchgreaterthaninundergraduateschoolbecauseoftheincreasedworkload78andtheneedtobeaself-regulatedlearnertoteachone’sselfthelaw.79

A.ResearchQuestions&Hypotheses

ThisprojectbeganwhileIwasworkingwithfirstyearlawstudentswhowerestrugglingacademically.Iwasincreasinglyfrustratedanddisappointedbythelackofcredibleresearchoneffectivelawstudentstudybehaviors.Mystudentshadfollowedthe“triedandtrue”advicefromlawschoolsuccessbooksandadvicefromlegaleducators,butwerefacingimminentriskofacademicdismissalbecauseofpooracademicperformanceinthefirstyearoflawschool.Thesestudentsweredesperateandconfused.Theyneededtoknow-whatreallyworks?WhatshouldIbedoingtostudyformyclassesandprepareforexams?WhatshouldIbedoingtoimprovemygradessoIcanstayinlawschool?Ididnothaveanyevidence-basedanswersforthem.

70RutaK.Stropus,MendIt,BendIt,andExtendIt:TheFateofTraditionalLawSchoolMethodologyinthe21stCentury,27LOY.U.CHI.L.J.449(1996).Undergraduatestudentslearnpassivelygenerallythroughalectureformatwhereaslawschoolrequiresactivelearning.JamesJayBrown,ForgingAnAnalyticalMind:TheLawSchoolClassroomExperience,29STET.L.REV.1135,1136(1999).71GrantH.Morris,TeachingwithEmotion:EnrichingtheEducationsExperienceofFirst-YearLawStudents,47SANDIEGOL.REV.465(2010)(citingMichaelPatton’sarticle,thecasemethod,learningtothinklikealawyerandtheuseofthecasemethodinthefirstyearsignificantlycontributingtostudentanxiety–becausestudentshaveneverexperiencedanythinglikethis,nothowtheylearnedinundergraduate,unpreparedfortypeoflearningdemandedimmediatelyinlawschool).72JamesJayBrown,ForginganAnalyticalMind:TheLawSchoolClassroomExperience,29STETSONL.REV.1135(2000)(describinginitialfirstyearstudentreactionstotheSocraticmethodclassroom,comparedwiththe“predominantformofundergraduateeducation.”);RutaK.Stropus,MendIt,BendIt,andExtendIt:TheFateofTraditionalLawSchoolMethodologyinthe21stCentury,27LOY.U.CHI.L.J.449(1996)(deepanalysisoftheLangdellianmethodologyitselfandstrengthsandweaknessesofthemethodology,also“theneedtoteachtheseskillsismoreacutebecauseofthemodernundergraduateexperience.”ChristopherC.Langdell,TeachingLawasaScience,21AM.L.REV.123,123(1887)(“[L]awisascience,and...alltheavailablematerialsofthatsciencearecontainedinprintedbooks.”).73GrantH.Morris,TeachingwithEmotion:EnrichingtheEducationsExperienceofFirst-YearLawStudents,47SANDIEGOL.REV.465(2010);RutaK.Stropus,MendIt,BendIt,andExtendIt:TheFateofTraditionalLawSchoolMethodologyinthe21stCentury,27LOY.U.CHI.L.J.449(1996).74CarolynJ.Nygren,StartingOffRightinLawSchool,29STET.L.REV.1121(2000).75B.A.Glesner,FearandLoathingintheLawSchools,23CONNL.REV.627(1990-1991).76DouglasA.Henderson,UncivilProcedure:RankingLawStudentsAmongTheirPeers,27U.MICH.J.L.REFORM339,403(1993-1994)77Id.78B.A.Glesner,FearandLoathingintheLawSchools,23CONNL.REV.627,655(1990-1991).79CorinneCooper,LettertoaYoungLawStudent,25TULSAL.J.275(2000)(Theundergraduatelearningenvironment,wherestudentslearnpassively,doesnotpreparestudentsforlawschool.Lawisaself-teachingdiscipline.)

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B. DevelopmentoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey

Myinitialresearchquestionwaswhichlawstudentstudyandlearningbehaviorsarepositivelyandnegativelycorrelatedwithacademicsuccessinlawschool.Oneofmyearlyhypotheseswasthatrelyingtooheavilyonreadingandbriefingcasesandnotleavingtimeforreview,somethingIperceivedasatrendinlawstudentbehaviorbasedonfeedbackfromstudents,wouldbenegativelycorrelatedwithfirstyearlawGPA.Ialsohypothesizedthattheeffectivestudybehaviorsfromundergraduateresearch-retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreview-wouldbepositivelycorrelatedwithfirstyearlawGPA.

Becauseaspecializedlawstudentstudyhabitssurveydidnotexist,Idevelopedonemyself.80IwasfortunatetopartnerwithDr.ReganA.R.Gurung,chairofthePsychologyDepartmentatUniversityofWisconsin-GreenBay,anexpertinteachingandlearning,whograntedmepermissionmodifyhisundergraduateStudyBehaviorsChecklist81surveyforthelawlearningenvironment.TheStudyBehaviorsChecklistwasselectedforadaptationasithadbeenempiricallytestedandaddressedasimilarresearchquestion–“[w]hatstudybehaviorsareassociatedwithhighergradesonexams?”82Theresearchersintendedtobuildonpreviousresearch,but“provideamorefine-tunedviewofwhatstudentsdotostudybyassessingdifferentbehaviorsinashorterformatthanexistingscales.”83

TheChecklistincludedmanyquestionsdirectlyapplicabletothelawschoolenvironment.84However,notalloftheStudyBehaviors’Checklistquestionswereappropriateforthelawschoollearningenvironment;therefore,itwasnecessarytomodifytheStudyBehaviorsChecklistquestionstothelawschoollearningenvironment.IconductedopeninterviewsoffirstyearlawstudentsusingaStudyHabitsQuestionnaire,85whichledeachstudentthroughtheentirecycleofstudyinginanacademictermandincludedbothclosed-endedandopen-endedquestions.86

80Anideallawschoolsurveyinstrumentwouldbeinexpensiveandeasytoadminister,quicklycompleted,empiricallyvalid,andcapableofbeingusedimmediatelybylearnersandfacilitators.GaryJ.Conti,DevelopmentofaUser-Friendlyinstrumentforidentifyingthelearningstrategypreferencesofadults,25TEACHERANDTEACHEREDUCATION887,889(2009).Ultimately,Ilearnedthatcreatingempiricallyvalidsurveysandresearchinstrumentsisatimeconsumingandexpensiveendeavor.Amoretimeandcosteffectivemethodofcreatinganempiricallyvalidresearchinstrumenttailoredtothelawschoolsettingwastofindasurveywithasimilarresearchquestionandadaptthequestionstotheappropriateenvironment,withthesurveyauthor’spermission.81Gurunget.al.,Focusingonhowstudentsstudy,10JOURNALOFTHESCHOLARSHIPOFTEACHINGANDLEARNING28(2010).AftergivingtheStudyBehaviorsChecklistto120studentsinanintroductorypsychologyclass,Gurung,Weidert,andJeskefoundsupportfortheirhypothesisthatmetacognitivestrategies,suchasself-testing,correlatedpositivelywithacademicsuccess.82Id.TheStudyBehaviorsChecklistisa35-itemsurveydesignedtoassessundergraduatestudents’useofdifferentstudytechniquesandcorrelatewithstudents’coursegrades.Specifically,theChecklistassessesfivetypesofbehaviors:organizational,application,elaboration,metacognitive,andresourceuseonaLikertscalefrom1(Notatalllikeme)to5(Exactlylikeme).83Id.84Forexample:“Afterclass,Ilookedovermynotestocheckforandfillinmissinginformation,”“IcreatedandansweredquestionsaboutthematerialwhileIwasreadinginmynotes,”“Iusedpracticeexamstostudy,”“Ireadthedifficultmaterialslowly,”and“IrelatedwhatIwasreadingtolecturematerialsanddiscussion.”85MoststudentswereAtRiskstudentswhowererequiredtomeetwithme,butmanystudentscameontheirownseekingassistance.86Studyschedules,classpreparation,descriptionofcasereadingprocess,descriptionofcasebriefingprocess,descriptionofnote-takingprocess,descriptionofpost-classreview,useofstudygroups,developmentanduseofcourseoutlines,useofacademicresources,descriptionofexampreparationprocess,useofpastexamstostudyandpractice,descriptionsofsupplementsandstudyaiduse,andaself-assessmentoftheefficacyofthestudent’sstudyhabits.Usingthestudentresponses,IrefinedthequestionsandcreatedanonlineQuestionnaireforstudentstocompleteontheirown.Anonlineversionwouldsaveappointmenttimeandallowmetotargeteachstudent’sweakareasandstudentsmightbemorehonestcompletingthesurveyontheirown.Igathered103completedQuestionnaires.TheStudyHabitsQuestionnairewasnotIRBapproved,hasnotbeenformallyanalyzedfordata,butwasusedtodeveloppatternsandquestionsfortheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey.

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UsinginformationfromtheStudyBehaviorsQuestionnaire,wemodifiedDr.Gurung’sStudyBehaviorsChecklistquestionsandcreatedan87-questionpilotLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveytopre-testtheitemsintheresearchinstrument-thequestionsthemselves.87Afterpre-testingthepilotLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey,werefinedtheSurveytoa37-questionfinalversioncoveringthefollowingtopics:timemanagement,classpreparation(readingandbriefingcases),classattendanceandnote-taking,outlining,review,exampreparation,andtesttaking.

Table1:LawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyQuestions88TimeManagement:

IspreadoutmystudyingsoIdon’thavetocramforexams.IstudythesamewaythatIdidincollege.Ispendmostofmytimepreparingforclassanddonothavetimetoreview.

Classpreparation(Reading&BriefingCases):Ireadalltheassignedcasesinthecasebook.Iattendeveryclass.Ireadeachcasefrombeginningtoend.Idonotunderstandthecasesevenafterreadingthemmorethanonce.IrereadpartsofthecasestomakesureIunderstand.Ireadthe“Notes&Questions”followingthecases.Ihaveahardtimeputtingthematerialintomyownwords.Whenreading,Igetlostinthedetailsandhaveahardtimeunderstandingthemainidea.

IhighlightimportantinformationasIread.Iwritemyowncasebriefs.Ilookatcommercialbriefstohelpmeunderstandthecases.Iusecommercialbriefsinsteadofbriefingthecasesmyself.

Note-taking&In-Class:IwriteortypeonlytheimportantthingstheProfessorsaysinclass.Ireviewmynotesafterclass.Idonotunderstandtheclassdiscussions.Iamafraidofbeingcalledoninclass.

Review: Iwaittoolongtostartreviewing. Iusepracticequestionsandhypostohelpmelearnnewmaterial. IgeneratemyownexampleswhenIreview. Iamabletoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates. Ireviewwithastudygroup.Outliningcoursematerial:

Imakemyownoutlineusingmynotes,briefs,etc.Ihaveahardtimecondensingmyoutlinebecauseitallseemsimportant.IuseanoutlinethatIreceivedfromanotherstudent.Istartmyoutlinerightbeforemidtermsorfinals.Idon’tknowhowtomakeanoutline.Myoutlineistoolong.

Self-testing:IunderstandthematerialbetterafterIworkthroughpracticequestionsIusepracticequestionstostudy.

ExamPreparation&Test-Taking:Imemorizealloftherulestoprepareforexams.

87ThePilotLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveywasanonlinesurveybasedona5-pointLikertscalewith87closed-endedquestions.WeadministeredthepilotSurveyonlineusingQualtricsinthe2013-2014academicyear.Wecollected143completedSurveys,representingawiderangeofGPA’s.88Studentswereinstructedtochooseonedescriptionofhoweachskillappliedtothem:Never,Rarely,Sometimes,Often,orAlways.

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IneedtofinishmyoutlinebeforeIcanmemorizetherules. Igetveryanxiouswhiletakingtests. Idon'tknowhowtoorganizemyessayanswers.ResourceUse&OutsideAssistance:

IfIdon’tunderstandthematerial,Iasksomeoneforhelp.ImetwithmyProfessor.

C.AdministrationoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey

TheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveywasadministeredtofirstyearlawstudentsfollowingthecompletionoftheirfirstsemesteroflawschoolattwodifferentABAaccreditedlawschools.89Allfirstyearlawstudentsatthetwolawschoolswereinvitedtoparticipate.Participationwasvoluntaryandwassolicitedviaemailcontainingalinktotheonlinesurvey.Lawstudentscompletedthe37-questionLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyonlineinapproximately5-10minutes.

Table2:CharacteristicsofLawStudentsTakingSurveyDataset Responses LSAT UGPA LGPA

SU 83Range:144-164 Range:2.39-4.03 Range:2.00-3.92Median:154 Median:3.36 Median:3.23

TJSL 135Range:139-162 Range:2.19-3.99 Range:1.00-4.15Median:147 Median:2.88 Median:1.98

First,usingtheStatisticalPackagefortheSocialSciences(SPSS),IconductedaPearson

correlationbetweenalloftheindividualresponsesontheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveywithlawGPAforeachdataset.IhaveincludedtheresultsofthattestbelowinTable3.

Table3:PearsonCorrelationwithFirstYearLawGPA(LGPA)

LawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyQuestions

SUResults TJSLResultsPearsonCorr.toLGPA

Sig.(2-tailed)

PearsonCorr.toLGPA

Sig.(2-tailed)

IspreadoutmystudyingsoIdon’thavetocramforexams. -.108 .332 .214* .012IstudythesamewaythatIdidincollege -.117 .294 -.277** .001Ispendmostofmytimepreparingforclassanddonothavetimetoreview

.102 .360 -.247** .004

Ireadalltheassignedcasesinthecasebook .047 .674 .182* .033Ireadeachcasefrombeginningtoend -.081 .470 .152 .078Idonotunderstandthecasesevenafterreadingthemmorethanonce

-.217* .049 -.170* .048

Ireadthe“NotesandQuestions”followingthecases .090 .420 .146 .090

89TheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveywasadministeredtofirstyearlawstudentsatThomasJeffersonSchoolofLawandSeattleUniversitySchoolofLaw.InstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)approvalwasobtainedthroughtheUniversityofWisconsin-GreenBay,ThomasJeffersonSchoolofLaw,andSeattleUniversity.Demographicinformation(gender,race,etc.)wasnotrequestednoranalyzed.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoanalyzebroadtrendsacross1L’slookingforcorrelationtoasingleobjectiveacademiccriteria-LGPA.Thesamplesdifferbasedonincomingstudentcriteria-TJSLstudentshadamedianLSATof147comparedtoSU’smedianLSATof154.Further,TJSLstudentshadamedianUGPAof2.88comparedtoSU’smedianUGPAof3.36.ThisindicatesthattheTJSLstudentscameintolawschoolwithlowerlevelsofacademicabilityingeneral.

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Ihaveahardtimeputtingthematerialintomyownwords -.130 .243 -.151 .081Whenreading,Igetlostinthedetailsandhaveahardtimeunderstandingthemainidea

-.169 .126 -.271** .001

IhighlightimportantmaterialasIread -.066 .555 -.188* .029Iwritemyowncasebriefs .015 .892 .070 .419Ilookatcommercialbriefstohelpmeunderstandthecases -.165 .137 -.196* .023Iusecommercialbriefsinsteadofbriefingthecasesmyself -.089 .424 -.188* .028IwriteortypeonlytheimportantthingstheProfessorsaysinclass .063 .570 .221* .010Ireviewmynotesafterclass -.147 .184 .020 .814Idonotunderstandtheclassdiscussions -.157 .156 -.183* .033Iamafraidofbeingcalledoninclass -.134 .228 -.146 .093Iunderstandthematerialduringclass,butIgetconfusedwhenIreviewmynotesafterclass

-.119 .285 -.160 .064

Iwaittoolongtostartreviewing .037 .743 -.239** .005Iusepracticequestionsandhypostohelpmelearnnewmaterial .139 .212 .055 .527IgeneratemyownexampleswhenIreview .105 .346 .011 .898Iamabletoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates .363** .001 .322** .000Ireviewwithastudygroup .109 .325 .068 .432Imakemyownoutlineusingmynotes,briefs,etc. .110 .321 .287** .001Ihaveahardtimecondensingmyoutlinebecauseitallseemsimportant

-.140 .208 -.276** .001

IuseanoutlinethatIreceivedfromanotherstudent -.019 .863 -.243** .005Istartmyoutlinerightbeforemidtermsorfinals .008 .940 -.174* .045Idon’tknowhowtomakeanoutline -.067 .545 -.228** .008Myoutlineistoolong -.258* .019 -.290** .001IunderstandthematerialbetterafterIworkthroughpracticequestions

.141 .202 .153 .077

Iusepracticequestionstostudy .301** .006 .275** .001Imemorizealloftherulestoprepareforexams .209 .061 .223** .009IneedtofinishmyoutlinebeforeIcanmemorizetherules .074 .505 .124 .149Igetveryanxiouswhiletakingtests -.300** .006 -.175* .042Idon’tknowhowtoorganizemyessayanswers -.294** .007 -.230** .007IhavetroublewritingtherulesonanexambecauseIdidn’tpracticewritingthemout

-.402** .000 -.268** .002

IfIdon’tunderstandthematerial,Iasksomeoneforhelp -.004 .969 .170* .049ImetwithmyProfessor .093 .403 .177* .039*.Correlationissignificantatthe0.05level(2-tailed)**.Correlationissignificantatthe0.01level(2-tailed)

PartIV:ResultsoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyMymainresearchquestionwaswhichlawstudentstudyandlearningbehaviorsarepositivelyandnegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPA.

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A.PositiveCorrelationwithLawGPA

ThefollowinglawstudyandlearningbehaviorswerepositivelycorrelatedwithlawschoolGPA(LGPA)inbothdatasets:90theabilitytoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates,andusingpracticequestionstostudy.

ThereisastatisticallysignificantpositiverelationshipbetweenLGPAandtheabilitytoexplainconcepts.TheabilitytoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmatesispositivelycorrelatedwithLGPAinbothdatasets:SU,r(83)=.36,p=.001;TJSL,r(135)=.32,p=.000.

Table4:Boxplotsofresponsesto“Iamabletoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates”

ThereisastatisticallysignificantrelationshipbetweenLGPAandastudent’suseofpracticequestionstostudy.UsingpracticequestionstostudyispositivelycorrelatedwithLGPAinbothdatasets:SU,r(83)=.30,p=.006;TJSL,r(135)=.27,p=.001.

Table5:Boxplotofresponsesfor“Iusepracticequestionstostudy.”

90Inthefollowingcharts,theY-axisrepresentsthefirstyearlawGPA(LGPA)andtheX-axisrepresentsthestudent’sresponseonthe5-pointLikertscale.

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B.NegativeCorrelationwithLawGPA

ThefollowinglawstudyandlearningbehaviorswerenegativelycorrelatedwithlawschoolGPAinbothdatasets:theinabilitytoorganizeessayanswers,difficultywritingrulesonexamsbecauseoflackofpractice,weakcriticalreadingskills,andweaksynthesisskills.

TherewasastatisticallysignificantnegativerelationshipbetweenLGPAandthedifficultyorganizingessayanswersinbothdatasets.Idon’tknowhowtoorganizemyessayanswersisnegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPAinbothdatasets:SU,r(83)=-.29,p=.007;TJSL,r(135)=-.23,p=.007.

Table6:Responsesfor“Idon’tknowhowtoorganizemyessayanswers.”

Therewasalsoastatisticallysignificantnegativerelationshipwithdifficultywritingrulesonexamsduetolackofpracticewritingtheminbothdatasets.IhavetroublewritingtherulesonexamsbecauseIdidn’tpracticewritingthemoutisnegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPAinbothdatasets:SU,r(83)=-.40,p=.000;TJSL,r(135)=-.27,p=.002.

Table7:Responsesfor“IhavetroublewritingtherulesonexamsbecauseIdidn’tpractice.”

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TherewasalsoastatisticallysignificantnegativerelationshipbetweenLGPAandweakcriticalreadingskillsseenineachdataset,althoughdemonstratedbydifferentprompts.Notunderstandingthecases-eitherfailingtounderstanddespitemultiplereadings91ornotunderstandingthemainpoint92-wasnegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPA.Table8:ResponsesshowingnegativecorrelationbetweenLGPAandweakcriticalreadingskills. TherewasalsoastatisticallysignificantnegativerelationshipbetweenLGPAandweaksynthesisskillsseenineachdataset,althoughdemonstratedbydifferentprompts.Weaksynthesisskillswhenastudent’scourseoutlineistoolong93orthestudentisunabletocondensethecoursematerialbecauseheorshemaybeunabletodistinguishrelevantfromirrelevantinformationwasalsonegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPA.

Table9:ResponsesshowingnegativecorrelationbetweenLGPAandweaksynthesisskills.

C.DiscussionofResults

ThemainresearchquestionoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveywaswhichlawstudentstudyandlearningbehaviorswerepositivelyandnegativelycorrelatedwithfirstyearlaw

91Idonotunderstandthecasesevenafterreadingthemmorethanonce.SU,r(83)=-.22,p=.049.92Whenreading,Igetlostinthedetailsandhaveahardtimeunderstandingthemainpoint.TJSL,r(135)=-.22,p=.001.93Myoutlineistoolong.SU,r(83)=-.26,p=.019;TJSL,r(135)=-.29,p=.001.Ihaveahardtimecondensingmyoutlinebecauseitallseemsimportant.TJSL,r(135)=-.28,p=.001.

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GPA.Inotherwords,whichlawstudentstudyandlearningbehaviorsdemonstratedastatisticallysignificantrelationshipwithacademicsuccessinlawschool.

Mytwokeyhypotheseswerethat:(1)retrieval,self-testing,andperiodicreviewwouldbepositivelycorrelatedwithLGPA,and(2)relyingsolelyonreadingandbriefingcaseswithoutrevieworself-testingwouldbenegativelycorrelatedwithLGPA.Bothhypothesesweresupportedbythesurveyresults,althoughnostatisticallysignificantrelationshipwasdemonstratedbetweenLGPAandperiodicreviewbytheseresults.

Retrievalandself-testingskillswerepositivelycorrelatedwithlawGPA,demonstratingastatisticallysignificantpositiverelationshipwithacademicsuccessinlawschool.Thisfindingissupportedbybothdatasetsexplicitly(“Iusepracticequestionstostudy”)andimplicitlybysurveyresponsesdemonstratingnegativecorrelationoflackofretrievalandself-testingwithfirstyearlawGPA(“IhavetroublewritingtherulesonexamsbecauseIdidn’tpractice”and“Idon’tknowhowtoorganizemyessayexams.”).AsshowninTables5,6,and7above,studentswithhigherLGPAweremorelikelytorespondthattheyalwaysoroftenusedretrievalandpracticetestingtolearnorstudymaterialsandrespondthattheyneverorrarelyhadtroublewritingrulesonexamsordifficultyorganizingessayexams.

BothdatasetsalsodemonstratethatelaborationishighlypositivelycorrelatedwithfirstyearlawGPAexplicitlybysurveyresponses(“Iamabletoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates”).Table4showsthatstudentswithhigherLGPAweremorelikelytobeabletoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmates.Theabilitytoexplainconfusingconceptstoclassmatesillustratesseveraldifferentcognitiveprocessesandeffectivelearningstrategies.Thestudentexplainingtheconfusingconceptmustengageinretrievaltorecallrelevantinformationfrommemoryandelaboratetheinformationinaclearandmeaningfulway.Elaborationistheprocessofputtinginformationintoyourownwordsandconnectingnewinformationtopriorknowledge.Elaboration“improvesyourmasteryofnewmaterialandmultipliesthementalcuesavailabletoyouforlaterrecallandapplication.”94

WhilethispositivecorrelationwithLGPAandelaborationwasnotpartofmyoriginalhypothesis,itislogicalandencouraging.Lawschoolfinalexamsaretypicallyclosed-bookessayexamsthatpresentstudentswithhypotheticalproblemsbasedonmateriallearnedduringthesemester.95Studentsareexpectedtoapplyruleslearnedinthecoursetonewfactualsituations,tospotthelegalissuesraisedbythefacts,andtoexplainhowthelawappliestothefacts.96Tobesuccessfulinthistask,studentsmustnotonlyhavereadandunderstoodthecases,butmusthavedistilledthelegalprinciplesfromthecasesintoacoherentstructureoflegalrules,connectingnewrulestopreviouslylearnedcoursematerial,andmustbeadeptatapplyingthisnewknowledgestructuretonewfactualsituationsinordertoexcelonfinalexams. However,amoretroublingfindingforlawstudentsandlegaleducatorsisthenegativestatisticallysignificantrelationshipbetweenLGPAandrelyingonreading,rereading,andbriefingcaseswithoutretrievalorpracticeapplicationofthelaw.Relyingsolelyonreadingandbriefingcaseswithoutengaginginretrievalandself-testingisnegativelycorrelatedwithlawGPAandacademicsuccessinlawschoolandleadstoalawschoollearningtrap.Becausereadingandbriefingcasesistimeconsuminganddifficult,studentsoftenreportedthattheyonlyhadtimeto

94MAKEITSTICK,at207.95Friedland,at164.SeealsoPhilipC.Kissam,TheIdeologyoftheCaseMethod/FinalExaminationLawSchool,70U.CIN.L.REV.137(2001).96Friedlandat164-165.

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readandbriefcasestokeepupforclass.97Readingandbriefingcasescreatesafalsesenseoffluencywiththematerial,wherestudentsmistakeclasspreparationforstudyingforthecourse.Thislawschoollearningtraptricksstudentsintobelievingthatreadingandbriefingcasestoprepareforclasswithoutengaginginself-testingorretrievalissufficientforlearninginlawschool.98

Relyingonreadingandbriefingcaseswithoutretrievalorself-testingisnegativelycorrelatedwithfirstyearlawGPAandisexplicitlysupportedbyseveralresponsesdemonstratingalackofpracticeapplyingthematerial:“IhavetroublewritingtherulesonexamsbecauseIdidn’tpractice”and“Idon’tknowhowtoorganizemyessayanswers.”Thisfindingisalsoimplicitlysupportedbynegativecorrelationtotheprompt,“Iusepracticequestionstostudy,”whichwashighlystatisticallysignificantforhighlawGPAandacademicsuccess.TheresultsalsoshowstatisticallysignificantnegativerelationshipsbetweenLGPAandweakcriticalreadingandsynthesisskills,alsoverytroublingforlawstudentsandlegaleducators.

Withouttestingtheirowncomprehensionbyusingretrieval,self-testing,orelaborativestudystrategies,studentsdevelopillusionsofcompetenceduetofamiliaritywithmaterial.Studentsalsomissopportunitiestorefine,synthesizeandconsolidatetheirknowledgewhentheyactivelyengageinretrievalandself-testing.Whenlawstudentswaituntilrightbeforethefinalexamtopractice,thepracticeitselfwilllikelyfeelhardleadingsstudentstoinsteadengageineasierpassivelearningtaskslikerereadingoutlines,rotememorization,andothermassedstrategiesthatfeeleasier,butcreateillusionsofcompetence.99

PartV:Recommendations

Lawstudentsneedtoknowwhatmaterialtolearn,whatmaterialtheyhavelearned,andwhattheyhavenotyetlearnedweeksormonths,notdaysorhours,beforeanexam.100TheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyresultsalignwithfindingsfromcognitivescienceandquestiontheaccuracyofthenon-empirical“triedandtrue”studyadvicefoundinlawschoolsuccessresources.101Lawstudentsneedtospendlesstimerelyingonpassivelearningstrategiesandmoretimeincorporatingactivelearningstrategiesthatyieldformativeself-assessment.

97ThefirstyearlawstudentsthatIworkedwithinAcademicSuccesswereadamantthattheyreadandbriefedeverycase,outlinedthecourse,memorizedtherulesandunderstoodthematerial.But,whenaskediftheyhadtriedtoapplythenewinformationbyworkingthroughpracticequestionsorhypotheticals,theyreportedthattheybarelyhadenoughtimetoreadandbriefcasesforclassanddidnothavetimetopracticeapplyingthematerial.Thesestudentsdidnotunderstandhowcriticalpracticetestingwasforlearning,developingcomprehension,orcalibratingtheirownunderstandingofthematerial.98Thisillusionisoftendispelledwhenstudentsareofferedcoursemidterms,whethergradedorungraded.Midtermsforcestudentstoengageinmorelearningactivitiesthanjustreadingandbriefingcases,butalsooftenrevealslargeunderstandingandknowledgegapsaswellasexamwritingdeficits.99ManyofthelowperformingstudentsthatIworkedwithinAcademicSupportdescribedtheirlawschoolroutineas:readandbriefcasesforclass,gotoclassandtakenotes,immediatelystartreadingandbriefingcasesforthenextclass,startcourseoutlinerightbeforeexams,readandstudyoutline,useflashcardstomemorizerules,manywouldrewritetheiroutlineorevenrewritetheirnotes,andmanywouldreadthroughtheprofessor’spastessayexamsandmentallyissuespot,butnotwriteoutanswers.100Manylawschoolsuccessguidesincorrectlystresstheimportanceofreadingandbriefingcaseswithoutemphasizingtheimportanceoftestingone’scomprehensionandapplyingtheconceptsextractedfromreadingandbriefing.SomeexplicitlytellstudentsnottolookataProfessor’spastexamsuntilbeginningtestpreparationlateinthesemester.Oneevenwarnslawstudentsthat“[e]arlyinthesemester,whenyouhaven’tcoveredmuchofwhatwillappearonanexam,you’llbecomediscouragedifyoureadanexamthatcoverstheentirecourse.Yourbeliefinyourabilitytosucceedonexamsiscrucial…lookingatoldtestsbeforeyouhavetheknowledgetotacklethemcandeflateyourself-confidence,soit’sbetternottodoittooearly.”See,e.g.KimAlayneWalton&LazarEmanuel,STRATEGIES&TACTICSFORTHEFIRSTYEARLAWSTUDENT:MAXIMIZEYOURGRADES(2004)at21.101Lawschoolsuccessresourcesdevotethevastmajorityoftimeonreading,briefing,andoutlining,andintroducepracticeastestpreparationbeforeexams,notasalearningstrategyduringtheterm.

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A. RecommendationsforLegalEducatorsThisresearchprovesthatformativeassessmentthroughpracticeapplicationofthelawis

criticallawstudentlearningandacademicsuccessinlawschool.Ideally,legaleducatorswouldincorporatefrequentformativeassessmentinthelawschoolcurriculumtoassiststudentsinlearningmaterialandgaugingtheirownunderstandingwithfrequentlowstakesquizzing,includingsuggestedhyposandpracticequestionsinthecoursesyllabus,andgradedmidterms.102

Yet,lawfacultymaybedauntedbyprovidingindividualfeedbacktolargesectionsofstudentsortheprospectsofcritiquingandgradingmultipleessayassignmentsperterm.But,lawfacultydonotneedtoprovideindividualcommentsonstudentpapersinordertoprovideeffectivefeedbacktolargesections.InALawSchoolGameChanger:(Trans)formativeFeedback,ElizabethBloomdiscussesseveraloptionsforprovidingeffectivefeedbackandformativeassessmentinlargegroupsectionswithstructuredcooperativelearningexercisesusingrubricsandsampleanswers(bothweakandstrong),self-assessments,andmultiplelow-stakesassessmentsbeginningearlyinthecourse.103

Formativeassessmentdoesnotneedtobeinessayformtobeeffectiveforstudentlearning.Multiplechoiceandshortanswerquestionsareeffectiveforprovidingformativeassessmentanddoublesstudentlearningoverrelyingonreadingandrereading.104Facultycanleverageteachingandresearchassistantsaswellashyposprovidedinteacher’smanualsofassignedcasebooksforwritinghypotheticalessayormultiplechoicequestionsthatcoversingletopics.

Duetothecriticalnatureofformativeassessmentandpracticeapplicationofthelawtostudentlearning,studentswillrequireresourcesoutsideofassignedcasebooks.Whenlawfacultytellstudentsnottouseanythingexcepttheirassignedcasebookormaterials,theylimitstudents’autonomy,self-regulatedlearning,andabilitytogaugelearningandunderstanding.Instead,lawfacultyshouldrecommendresourcesthatcomplementtheassignedmaterialsandmakemorepracticequestionsandresourcesavailable.

B. RecommendationsforLawStudentsLawstudentsalsoneedtoincorporateearlyandfrequentformativeself-assessmentusing

retrievalandself-testingtocalibratetheirunderstanding,formdeeperconnectionstomaterial,synthesizeinformation,developcomplexknowledgestructures,andbetterprepareforexams.

Readingandbriefingcases,goingtoclassandtakingnotes,andoutliningcoursematerial,arenotsufficientforacademicsuccessinlawschool.Relyingsolelyonreadingandbriefingcasesandgoingtoclasswithouttestingone’sknowledgecreatesthesamefluencyandillusionsofcompetenceasrereading.Withouttestingcomprehensionwithpracticequestionsandhypotheticals,lawstudentsarefallingintothesamelearningtrapasresearchersfoundinundergraduatestudents.102CarolSpringerSargentandAndreaA.Curcio,EmpiricalEvidencethatFormativeAssessmentsImproveFinalExams,61J.LEGALEDUC.379(2012)(SpringerSargentandCurciousedformativeassessmentsbothinclassandoutsideofclass,includingshort-essayandshort-answerungradedquizzes,agradedmidterm,andself-reflectiveexercises.Theauthorsfoundtheseformativeassessmentshelpedlawstudentperformanceonacumulativefinalexam).SeealsoElizabethM.Bloom,ALawSchoolGameChanger:(Trans)formativeFeedback,41OHIONORTHERNU.L.REV.227,231(2015)(encouraginglegaleducatorstohelpstudentstakeresponsibilityfortheirownlearningthroughdevelopmentofself-teachingskillsandprovidingconcretesuggestionstolegaleducatorstocreateformativeassessmentstoenablestudentstobecomeself-regulatedlearners).103ElizabethM.Bloom,ALawSchoolGameChanger:(Trans)formativeFeedback,41OHIONORTHERNU.L.REV.227,250-255(2015)104MeganA.SmithandJeffreyD.Karpicke,Retrievalpracticewithshort-answer,multiple-choice,andhybridtests,22MEMORY784(2014).

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Lawstudentsmustincorporateretrievalandself-testingateverylearningsteptodevelopdeepunderstanding,buildcomplexknowledgestructures,andmostimportantly,tounderstandwhattheyknowandwhattheydon’tknow.Usingpracticequestionstostudyandlearndoublesstudents’performanceoverjustrelyingonreadingandrereading.105Multiple-choicepracticequestionsarejustaseffectiveasshort-answerquestions.106Forretrievalandself-testingtobethemostbeneficialforstudentlearning,feedbackmustalsobeavailableintheformofacorrectanswerorananswerwithexplanationafterthestudentworksthroughthepracticequestionherself.107

Smarterlawlearningisusingempiricallyprovenstudystrategiestolearn,likeretrieval,self-testing,andelaboration.Smarterlawlearningrequiresstudentstoreadandbriefcasestoprepareforclassandimmediatelyengageinretrievalandself-testingtogaugetheirunderstandingofthematerial.Smarterlawlearninginvolveselaboration.Forexample,whenreadingandbriefingcasestoprepareforclass,studentsshouldmaketheefforttoputthecasematerialintotheirownlanguagewithoutlookingatthetextortheirnotes,ratherthanrelyingonpassivecopy&pasteintoone’sbrief.Studentsshouldalsousethesameelaborativestrategiestosynthesizemultiplecaserules,synthesizingmultipleindividualcaserulesintoonesynthesizedrule,anddevelopingtheircourseoutlines.

Lawstudentscanuseseveralcommerciallyavailablestudyaidsforpracticequestionstoself-testtheirknowledgeandcomprehensionastheylearneachtopic.Forexample,theExamples&Explanationsseriesprovidesbothnarrativesummariesofsubstantivelaworganizedbytopicandhypotheticalquestionsaccompaniedwithdetailedexplanationsthatallowstudentstotesttheircomprehension.108TheQuestions&Answers(Q&A)seriesdoesnotincludenarrativesummaries,butfeaturesmanymultiple-choiceandshort-answerquestionsarrangedbytopicaswellaspracticeessayquestionswithexplanationsandcorrectanswers.109Othercommercialseriesprovideoutlinesorchecklistsaswellasmultiple-choice,short-answer,andessaypracticequestions.110

Thesecommercialmaterialsdohavelimitsintheireffectiveness.Theymayfailtoidentifythenuanceshighlightedbythedoctrinalprofessororevencontradicttheprofessor’smaterials.Theymayalsofocusmoreonblackletterlawandfailtocoverpolicyandtheorythatmaybeveryimportanttotheparticularprofessor.Thesecommercialresourcesaresupplements,notreplacements,toin-classmaterials,astudent’sownnotes,andmaterialsprovidedbytheprofessor.Lawstudentsmayfindamoreeffectivesolutionistoblendcommercialmaterialswiththeirprofessor’sassignmentsandmaterialstomaketheirownhypotheticalsthatmoreeffectivelymirrorwhattheyarelearningintheclassroom.

Lawstudentsshouldalsoseekouttheirprofessors’pastexamsearlyintheterm.Theremaybesomelimitationsonusingprofessors’pastexamstostudy.First,theprofessor’spastexammaynotcovereverytopicthestudenthaslearned.Second,theprofessormaynotprovidearubric,gradingcriteria,or“model”answer.Theprofessormayonlyprovideasamplestudent

105MeganA.SmithandJeffreyD.Karpicke,Retrievalpracticewithshort-answer,multiple-choice,andhybridtests,22MEMORY784(2014).106Id.107Id.108TheExamples&ExplanationsseriesispublishedbyWoltersKluwerandfeaturestitlesforeveryfirstyearlawsubject,i.e.,Contracts,CivilProcedure,Torts,Property,CriminalLaw,ConstitutionalLaw,etc.109TheQuestions&Answers(Q&A)seriesispublishedbyLexisNexisandcoversallofthefirstyearsubjects.TheQ&Aseriesdoesnotincludeanarrativesummary,110TheGilbertsandEmmanuelsseriesareblackletterlawoutlinesthatalsocontainsomepracticequestions.TheExamProandAcingseriesarepublishedbyWestAcademicandalsocoverallofthefirstyearsubjects.

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answerthatmaycontainerrorsormaynotprovideanyansweratall.Lawstudentscanstillgetfeedbackwhenusingaprofessor’spastexambyworkingthroughthepastexam(retrievalandself-testing)andaskingtheprofessortoreviewthepracticeinofficehours.Nevertheless,professors’pastexamsareavaluableassettostudentslearningandshouldbeexploitedafterthestudenthascoveredenoughmaterialinthecourse.

Anothersourceofhypotheticalsisthe“Notes&Questions”sectioninmostcasebooksaftercasesortopics.Thesearewrittenbythecasebookauthorstohighlightimportantissuesorinformationinthecasesortopics.SomelawprofessorsgothroughtheNotes&Questionsindetailormayusethemtogeneratequestions.Theseprovideexcellentopportunitiestotestoutyourunderstanding,butstudentswillneedtomeetwiththeirprofessorinofficehourstodiscusstheanswersbecausecorrectanswersandexplanationsarenottypicallyprovidedinthelawstudentversionofthecasebook.

Effectivelearningisdifficultandofteninvolvesmistakesandsetbacks.Thesearepartofthelearningprocessandaresignsofeffort,notfailure.Ifyouaretryingthroughretrievalandself-testingstrategiesandmakemistakes,donotdespair.Eachmistakeisalearningopportunity.Getfeedback,findthecorrectanswer,analyzewhyyoumakethemistakeandcorrectyourmisunderstanding.Stillconfused?Gethelp.Askyourstudypartner,findmoreinformationinatreatiseorstudyaid,asktheT.A.,visityouracademicsuccessdepartment,orvisityourprofessorinofficehours.

C.FutureoftheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey

TheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyisapreliminarytoolinunderstandingwhichstudyandlearningstrategiesourstudentsactuallyuseandwhichstrategiesarecorrelatedtoacademicsuccessforourstudents.Theresultsabovearebasedononlytwoadministrationsofthesurveyattwolawschools,yieldingasmallsampleofstudentdata.Anextgoalistomakethesurveyavailabletootherlawschoolstoadministertotheirstudents,acrossregionsandtiers.Theultimategoalistocollectdataonlawstudentstudyhabits,tobetterunderstandlawstudentstudyhabits,toidentifystudentsneedingassistance,todevelopmeaningfulinterventions,andtoprovidesound,evidence-basedadvicetolawstudents.

Legaleducatorsneedmorereliabledataoneffectivelawstudentstudyandlearningbehavior,forindividualinstitutionsaswellasacrosstheacademy.ThisisacalltoactiontoanylawschoolinterestedinadministeringtheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveytoitsstudents.TheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurveyisavailabletointerestedlawschools.Surveyadministrationisonlineandtakesstudents5-10minutestocomplete.LawschoolswouldneedtoprovidetheauthoraletterofinstitutionalsupportandengagementfortheIRBapproval.EachinstitutionwouldberesponsibleforprovidingtherequiredacademicdataforeachstudentsubmittingasurveyresponsethatresearcherswouldthencorrelatewiththeSurveyresponses.111IfinterestedinparticipatingintheLawStudentStudyHabitsSurvey,pleasecontactJenniferM.Cooperatjcoope9@tulane.edu.

111Academic&objectivetestscores:LSAT,UGPA,LGPA,coursegrades,etc.