Clinical Teaching - Teaching Methods

1440 Columbia Road, NW is a client in the Adams Morgan neighborhood.

Our teaching methods vary according to the setting – seminar, supervisory meetings or casework. The interaction among students and supervisory staff is intense, which reflects the themes that run through all of our teaching – collaboration and critical evaluation. We expect students to work an average of 25 hours per week.  That time is divided among the following three components:

Seminar – 6 hrs/wk.  The weekly seminar is a time for reflection and discussion about community development.  While there is one seminar leader, the entire teaching staff generally participates.  The methodology is discussion-oriented with a strong emphasis on critical evaluation.  We ask ourselves to rethink things we have taken as givens.  We challenge fixed beliefs.

Part of the seminar during selected weeks is devoted to case updates (“rounds”) where students present what is new or difficult in he cases they are working on.  The goals are to assist them in problem solving and extrapolate broad community development issues from each case.

Supervision meetings – 2 hrs/wk.  Students work in teams under a particular supervisor.  Collaboration between teams and among supervisors takes place on a regular basis.  Teams typically have one case that they keep for the year, but students also are offered an opportunity to take on a second case that broadens exposure to subjects and types of clients.

Teams are required to meet with their supervisors for on a weekly basis in the beginning of the first semester, but the length of team meetings may diminish as the year moves on.  Of course, the team can meet with the supervisor as much as needed or desired.  Students also are required to meet individually with their supervisor each week.  Again, the time this takes may diminish over time.  In addition, there are frequent spontaneous meetings, so in sum, students spend a considerable amount of time with their supervisors.   We take pride in the fact that the clinic’s office and work area are constantly filled with students.

Case interaction.  Casework makes up the bulk of how students spend their time.  This constantly changing mix usually includes:

• Client interaction – 4 hrs/wk.  Students interact with clients daily via telephone, face-to-face meetings with officers of client groups and regular meetings with client boards or membership.
• Collaborator interaction – 3 hrs/wk.  Students also meet regularly with lenders, government officials, architects, community organizations and developers.  Students lead these interactions under supervision of staff attorneys.
• Moot presentations – 1 hr/wk.  Students are mooted, often several times, before meeting with clients or others.
• Research and drafting – 9 hrs/wk.  Student research and drafting are vetted through several iterations of comments to be sure it is accurate and complete.  While they collaborate with their supervisor, we expect students to take the leading role.

As the semester goes on, the students are more and more able to take responsibility. Before long, the student recognizes him or herself as a community lawyer doing community development.

	Harrison Institute for Public Law Georgetown University Law Center 111 F Street NW, Suite 102 Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202-662-9600 Fax: 202-662-9613 Email: hihousing@law.georgetown.edu