Why Law Schools Should Teach Problem Solving in the First Year
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Yesterday, I wrote a post on the importance of teaching problem solving in law school, mainly using ideas of Kathy Vinson. Today, I will show why it is important to teach problem solving in the first year, even if the law school offers extensive advanced skills courses.
Recently, many law schools have enacted advanced skills requirements, and there have been several proposals put forward to require advanced skills courses, one of which was adopted by the California bar. Even if all law schools offered extensive advanced skills courses, law schools would still need to teach problem solving in the first year because it is foundational, just as briefing cases or learning how lawyers think is foundational. In other words, problem solving prepares students for advanced skills courses.
Advanced skills courses do not teach basic problem solving. They use the skill, but advanced skills teachers generally assume that students already understand problem solving. However, as Kathy Vinson has noted (here at 14-15), students today come to law school with a deficiency of basic skills. Furthermore, general education researchers believe that students should be taught skills explicitly. (here at 109) Consequently, just like thinking like a lawyer, first-year courses should explicitly teach problem solving.
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