The principal challenges facing the first-time health-law professor include:
- selecting teaching materials,
- mapping out assignments,
- writing and grading exams, and
- anticipating and dealing with all the other issues that arise during the semester.
We have created separate pages for these important topics. What follows on the current page are brief discussions of topics every faculty member, no matter how experienced or new, needs to know.
Resources
Two key individuals in your law school are the associate dean for academic affairs (or other administrative officer responsible for adjunct faculty) and the registrar. They will be able to answer most of your basic questions. For other questions, you may want to consult with the faculty (if any) who already teach your course, as well as those who teach in related fields.
Key Questions
Every teacher starts with certain basic questions. Some schools have put together a useful information packet for new teachers. If your school has not done this, here are some of the questions you should be asking (some points are geared more toward adjunct faculty than full-timers):
- When will you teach?
Many adjunct faculty teach in the evening or early morning, one or at most two days a week. There is some flexibility in establishing the teaching schedule for adjuncts, but many school have scheduling practices and conventions that may shape and limit your choices. For example, classes may be taught in 50-, 60-, or 75-minute blocks or in some other configuration, and the configuration may be different on different days of the week. In addition, you will need to learn your school's academic calendar. The calendar issues might be as basic as when does the semester begin and end and when will your students take your final exam. In order to meet accreditation or other requirements, schools sometimes rename the days of the week. For example, on February 14 (a Tuesday), Friday classes will meet. Consulting the academic calendar can help you avoid some nasty surprises.
- Grades.
When are grades due In what form are the grades due and to whom? Grades are the registrar's domain, and he or she will be very helpful on these subjects, since the closer you come to following the school's practices, the easier the registrar's job will be. Other important questions: What is the grading scale (letter grades or number) and what are the rules, if any, about means, medians, and grade distributions?
- Where will you teach?
I think it's fair to assume that all classrooms have powerpoint capabilities. I think the question is whether the faculty member is going to be mostly lecture or wants a seminar to facilitate small group exercises. We also have some faculty who need microphones.
- What's different about today's classroom?
There aren't many ways that law school has changed since you attended, but most faculty now make syllabi and hand-outs available online, either through Blackboard (available through the law school or LEXIS) or TWEN (available through Westlaw). This will be the medium through which you make announcements, puruse outside-of-the-classroom discussions, and send messages to your students, either through mail or by posting messages.
You should ask the dean about the students' access to the internet during class (can they surf, and what policies or teaching techniques might you employ to discourage distracting behavior), as well as their expectations about (effective) integration of powerpoint and other technology into the classroom experience.
Finally, the ABA now requires every law school to have an attendence policy-you should inquire about the school's policy from the Associate Dean prior to the commencement of the semester.
The academic dean and the registrar may also have helpful tips about teaching materials, law-book publishers, examination options, and the like. These topics are also discussed on the pages that follow.