This is a collection of CALI Lessons and podcast episodes created by law school professors. You need a CALI account to access the lessons. Please also see our Electronic and Print Books.
"This lesson explores one of the fundamental lawyering skills, which is to think like a lawyer, or analyze." It also includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson focuses upon the concept of metacognition and teaches you how to enhance your understanding about how you learn to better improve your study, organizational, test-taking and self-assessment skills with the goal of improving your performance in law school." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson seeks to introduce you to the concept of transfer (taking a concept from one place and using it in another place) so that you can begin to incorporate it into your legal studies."
"This lesson will address what to do if you face a variety of academic and life issues. It will also get you to begin thinking about post-graduation planning."
"In this lesson, we will discuss best practices to follow when deciding whether to approach a professor with a question." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson will explain why reading cases feels so hard, and give you tips on how to make things slightly easier." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"In this podcast, four Academic Support professionals reflect on what came as a surprise to them when they entered law school, and share things they wish they would have known then."
"[An] academic support professional and fellow first-generation student, speaks with two of her students about what it’s like to be a first-generation student in law school."
"This podcast discusses the importance of collegiality and professionalism in law school and in practice, and gives concrete tips on how to practice being more professional, cooperative, and respectful in your everyday interactions."
"In this podcast, four Academic Support professionals discuss the importance of setting realistic expectations in law school, and provide guidance on how to do so."
"This lesson will run through critical considerations to think about before stepping into the law school classroom, or the "theater of learning" for the first time!"
"This lesson focuses on case briefing. The lesson will guide students through cases identifying the most important part of cases to prepare for classes."
"The lesson introduces several common rule structures and tests recognition of each. The lesson challenges the student to recognize the rule of law as it appears in several cases."
"Using non-law sources, students will learn how to extract individual rules from multiple articles to create one synthesized rule that can be used to solve new problems."
"Recognizing and understanding policy in cases is a challenging task - and an invaluable tool. Knowing the policy behind case law and statutes and understanding the underlying policies helps us apply the law on exams and when representing clients. Engaging and practicing these skills throughout your law school career is essential."
"This lesson will walk you through things to consider before setting "foot" (physically or virtually!) in a law school doctrinal classroom. You'll learn about how to listen for and capture the most important information, how to maximize your note-taking efficiency by using symbols and shorthand, and the various software options available for taking notes."
"Using a series of cross-doctrinal audio lecture examples and integrating periodic checks for understanding, students have the opportunity to develop their note-taking skills and practice categorizing the pieces of case-based information."
"This lesson is designed to provide students with data about why their attention levels may dip during class or studying, including recent research regarding the effects of digital distractions on concentration."
"This lesson will deepen individuals reading skills specifically within the context of legal reading." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This podcast will help you understand active reading. It will provide you with tips to help you read more efficiently for law school and strategies to improve your reading skills to be more fully prepared for class."
"This podcast discusses methods to use to make you more comfortable with class participation, including case briefing templates. The podcast will provide you with the opportunity to do a freewriting exercise, explore some research in the field, and learn a few tips on how to hone your approach to speaking out loud in class."
"This lesson introduces you to law school study aids. It begins with a brief overview of self-regulated learning and Bloom's learning taxonomy. Then, the lesson introduces law school study aids by pairing them with learning objectives at each level of the taxonomy. Finally, the lesson concludes with an activity designed to help you reflect on your learning."
"In this lesson, we will provide some steps you can follow to improve your reading comprehension." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson explores one of the fundamental lawyering skills, which is to be able to spot issues. This lesson looks at what an issue is, and best practices in spotting them in cases, with clients, and on exams. Students will go through basic issue spotting exercises to better prepare for exams."
"This lesson will cover the what, why, when, where, and how of hypos so law students can conquer the material they are learning and be prepared for exams."
"This lesson will explain why it's important that you use your facts, as well as help you to do just that!" It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson helps students understand where cases fit in a final exam answer and develop arguments based on cases." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson teaches you how to select the right answer in a multiple-choice question by better understanding how to identify wrong answers, based on nine specific types of wrong answers."
"This podcast explains the difference between case briefing, class note-taking, smaller writing assignments, and exam essay-writing. It’s a podcast that emphasizes exam strategy as beginning early with practice exam-writing, offers encouragement and thought exercises on overcoming self-resistance to practice, and describes how to use practice as a tool to conquer “freezing” on finals."
"This podcast discusses why outlining in law school should really be called synthesizing, and gives tips to help you outline (or synthesize!) more effectively."
"This podcast begins by explaining the differences between exams in undergrad and law school. It then introduces the three types of law school exams: multiple choice, short answer and the long essay."
"This podcast discusses the benefits of using the IRAC structure (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) when outlining your answer to a law school exam essay."
Reflection: Maintain or Improve on Prior Performance
"This lesson will teach you what grit and growth mindset are, and why they are important for learning and mastering success, specifically as they pertain to law school."
"This lesson will provide students with strategies for self-assessment, so that they can become critical judges of their work, and consequently precise legal writers."
"This lesson looks at how to learn from success and failures. Primarily, it focuses on what to do after a quiz, midterm, or final exam, and how to continue learning from those assessments." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
"This lesson is designed to help you self-assess your semester performance. It is best suited for completion after you finish a full law school semester. It begins with a brief overview of self-regulated learning and metacognition. Then, the lesson provides a step-by-step process for assessing your law school semester."
"Acknowledging that law school is a competitive environment, this podcast catalogs areas of law school that are most competitive. And, it provides four tips for doing your best in law school."
"This podcast discusses early warning signs that a law student may be struggling, and gives advice on how to effectively overcome these struggles. The podcast addresses students who may be experiencing difficulty understanding the material as well as students who are having a hard time keeping up with the volume of work."