Jennifer Rosa, Michigan State University, College of Law: “Writing on Steroids: The Art of Flipping Your Classroom”
Jennifer A. Rosa has been a legal writing professor at Michigan State University for the last ten years. At the 2014 Igniting Law Teaching conference, she was part of the Flipping Law School Course Pod. Rosa describes “flipping” the classroom as legal writing instruction on steroids. In her talk, “Legal Writing on Steroids: The Art of Flipping your Classroom,” she explains that when a classroom is “flipped,” a professor can take the learning objectives that she has for students and pump them up. A professor has the ability to increase learning objectives like this because students are then doing the heavy lifting outside of the classroom by watching podcasts that she recommends. With the new skills developed outside of class, students can then practice them in class by engaging in group exercises and taking responsibility for their learning process. In this presentation, Professor Rosa will detail how to use backward design to create podcasts and group exercises that facilitate the learning outcomes you seek.
Professor Rosa’s interest in teaching and learning began with a fellowship in the Academy for Instructional Excellence and Innovation at MSU. At MSU she directs the Street Law program, a course in which students teach law to public high school students, and was recognized by MSU in 2014 for her contributions to service-learning opportunities for students. She also contributes to the LegalED Legal Writing section, her podcasts can be found at the following link: http://legaledweb.com/legalwritingpodcasts/
LegalED aims to harness the power of the internet for legal educations. It facilitates blended or flipped learning – by migrating lectures to the web, LegalED frees up classtime for active learning that challenges students to learn the essential lawyering competencies while they are in law school. Professors may assign the videos in any combination for students to view outside of the classroom for active learning that challenges students to learn the essential lawyering competencies while they are in law school. LegalED seeks to develop and maintain a vibrant online community of teachers and students of the law, creating a central hub for the community. Through the video collection, teachers can be inspired to borrow, adapt, and bring great teaching moments into their own courses. With an internet platform, LegalED opens up formerly isolated classrooms by sharing showcasing, celebrating and inspiring innovative teaching. Simply put, the vision of LegalED is to inspire innovation in legal education. Join the movement!
The LegalED 2015 Igniting Law Teaching conference will take place on Friday, March 20th, from 9am to 6pm. Register to attend in person or live stream the event.