Target Audience: Those who teach or would like to teach legal research in a law school environment Learning Outcomes: 1. Participants will be able to discuss and critique the signature pedagogy suggested by the Boulder Statement on Legal Research Education. 2. Participants will be able to compare the Boulder Statement on Legal Research Education with their own criteria for teaching legal research in light of the renewed emphasis on skills training in law schools.
Law schools are currently considering redefining their curriculums to respond to the highly influential 2007 Carnegie Report, Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, which advocates enhancing the signature pedagogy of legal education, the Socratic Method, with an experience that better integrates skills instruction. Legal research is a fundamental legal skill, one the bench and bar routinely indicate law schools do not teach well. As legal research professionals, law librarians should respond to the Carnegie Report by examining legal research education. This presentation explains how law librarians can contribute to curricular reform by leading the way with the development of a signature pedagogy for legal research, based on the Carnegie Report's recommendations. The panel will provide an overview of the Boulder Statement on Legal Research Education, the need for a signature pedagogy of legal research, and how this statement can assist in advancing legal research instruction in law schools.
