Abstract
This study's original goal was to present data about teaching that would facilitate reflection on how all of us can become better teachers, especially teaching after the first year of law school. However, during the process of data analysis, the overall conclusion became broader and far different from what was initially contemplated. In the author's opinion, this professor's teaching is best understood as an attempt to address the effects of stress in law school. The study therefore provides further support for calls to modify law school teaching. The balance of this article is divided into three parts. The first part briefly explains the qualitative research methods used. This explanation grounds the validity of methods which are far different from the quantitative methods typically seen in law school literature. It also connects those methods to our background as law professors. The second part presents the research findings regarding the setting, the participants, and the classroom teaching itself. This description includes a number of transcript excerpts. Finally, the third part is a general discussion including guidelines drawn both from the previous pioneer work of Charles D. Kelso and from educational psychology. This discussion will address both the original goal of this study, the implications for our own teaching, and the implications for legal education more generally that became apparent in the course of the study.
Recommended Citation
Charles J. Senger,
Pyro Techniques: A Time to Burn Some of the Bramble Bushes,
45 Clev. St. L. Rev.
49
(1997)
available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol45/iss1/5