What the Best Law Teachers Do:
Make a Nomination

Since 2008 the project investigators sought nominations of law professors who produce "exceptional learning" (see working definition below). The nomination period closed on March 31, 2010. We are excited to have received over 200 submissions from individuals nominating law professors who they believe change the lives of their students. Because we believe a nomination itself to be a great honor, all credible nominations have been published on this website (including at least one or two comments from the nominator about the nominee).

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this study by nominating someone for it.

Working Definition of "Exceptional Learning"

For the nomination period the project investigators adopted a working definition of "exceptional learning" based on Ken Bain's What The Best College Teachers Do (Harvard University Press 2004):

Exceptional teachers produce exceptional learning. Exceptional learning, for the purposes of this project, has two main components: exceptional intellectual development and exceptional personal development, although a qualifying law professor need not necessarily produce equally exceptional learning in both categories. (See id. at 189.)

Exceptional intellectual development includes:

• "understanding a sizeable body of material," (Id. at 189)
• developing greater skill in learning within the field and in reflecting on the learning process (See id. at 189),
• "ask[ing] sophisticated questions," (Id. at 189)
• developing general lawyering skills (e.g., legal analysis and reasoning, case reading, legal research, legal writing, policy analysis and synthesis)
• developing specific law practice skills, such as drafting legal documents (e.g., contracts, pleadings, briefs and memoranda) and interactive skills (e.g., negotiations, client counseling, oral advocacy, mediation, trial advocacy, arbitration, fact investigation).

Exceptional personal development includes significant growth in:

• "understanding one's self (one's history, emotions, dispositions, abilities, insights, limitations, prejudices, assumptions . . .) and what it means to be human;
• the development of a sense of responsibility to one's self and others (including moral development);
• development or enhancement of the capacity to exercise compassion;
• enhancement of the ability to understand and use one's emotions." (Id. at 189-190.)

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