The Lecture-In-Disguise
John Barkai1989, New Mexico law review
In the faculty lounge, two professors (P] and P2) had the following discussion: P1: How did your classes go last semester? P2: Pretty good. I think that I did well enough, but I would like to be even more effective. P1: Can you be more specific? P2: Sure. As you know, I teach several classes that are referred to as clinical classes. These classes involve professional skills like interviewing, negotiation, and trial advocacy. But no matter how I teach these classes, by lecture, assigned readings, simulations, or class discussions, the students just never seem to have a sense of how lawyers perform these skills. At least they don't pick up the ideas very quickly. PI: Why don't you give your students a Lecture-In-Disguise? P2: What's that? PI: The Lecture-In-Disguise is used at the University of Hawaii Law School. It is a teaching method which uses a simulation by the professors to present class material to the students. P2: Is it different from a regular lecture? PI: Definitely. The Lecture-In-Disguise is not a lecture like the traditional monologue, nor is it a socratic dialogue. For purposes of the Lecture-In-Disguise, the "lecture" is the subject matter being taught, which could be a lawyering skill such as interviewing, counseling, or witness examination, or it could be a topic such as fact investigation or court procedures. P2: Then what is the simulation you mentioned? P1: The simulation is a demonstration of a lawyering skill performed by the professors. P2: What types of demonstrations do you do in the Lecture-In-Disguise? PI: The easiest demonstration is the witness examination, but counseling, interviewing, negotiating, and other skills also can be used. P2: What's the disguise you talked about? PI: It's called a "disguise" because the content of the lecture is somewhat disguised by the demonstration of the lawyering skill. P2: Which are you teaching, the subject matter or the lawyering skill? PI: Actually both. In fact, strategy, demeanor, and professional responsibility also are being taught simultaneously. P2: Simultaneously? It sounds a bit strange to me. Does anyone else in legal education use this teaching technique?
