Distruptalicious Legal Instruction: A year of learning outcomes and multiple assessments

Speaker(s):

Jenny Wondracek, Eric Porterfield, Beth Donahue

The new ABA standards require law schools to incorporate learning outcomes into all of their credit bearing courses (Standard 302) and to utilize both formative and summative assessments to “to measure and improve student learning and provide meaningful feedback to students” (Standard 314).

As UNT Dallas College of Law was being set up, the faculty decided to integrate learning outcomes and multiple assessments into the curriculum from day one. To summarize what UNT Dallas College of Law is doing:

1. Multiple assessments are required for each course. This generally means:

o Midterm exam

o Final exam

o Quizzes – goal is every two to three weeks

o Upperlevel courses will have a research/writing component.

2. Examsoft’s learning outcomes and rubrics are being used for substantive courses.

o Extensive learning outcomes have been mapped out for all active courses. These were developed with the aid of the consulting company Bar Crowd. These learning outcomes also relate back to the Texas bar examination.

o Every question, both multiple choice and essay, are tied to at least one learning outcome.

o As of Fall 2014 final exams, our faculty were using the Examsoft Rubrics to grade essays.

3. Students receive detailed reports about their quizzes and exams using the Examsoft report functions.

4. Faculty and Academic Success personnel can review reports on student work to see 1) how the students as whole and individually are doing with the class and specific learning outcomes, 2) which students are struggling and may need assistance, and 3) where the professor may need to adapt their lectures to better explain concepts. In theory, we should be able to track our individual students and predict how they are going to do on the bar exam, and intervene in specific areas if needed.

The speakers, Eric Porterfield, Assistant Professor of Law, and Jenny Wondracek, Associate Director of Instructional Technology and Senior Law Librarian,, and Beth Donahue, CEO of BarCrowd, will discuss the ABA Standards and the methods that UNT Dallas College of Law is using to meet those requirements. Porterfield, Wondracek, and Donahue will share their experiences with Examsoft, the new methods of assessment, and other issues that have arisen when trying to implement the new standards.

Slides and Documents: