The JBS Law cluster just completed a successful first week of school. The 1L students began the year with a few icebreakers including a Bingo identification game and an interview and introduction lesson in which each student was paired with another. Each student interviewed the other and then introduced them to the whole class. The remainder of the class took notes while the introductions were being made. The class also learned about the History of the Law Magnet using the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, as the framework for this discussion.

The 2L students also participated in an interview and introduction lesson. The students also participated in a cognitive exercise which measured their level of creativity. The students were given fifteen (15) minutes to identify as many items in the classroom that could be used to kill a zombie or save them from a zombie attack. This exercise is a variation on the 1967 Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task in which students are given time to list all the possible uses for a brick or a paper clip. This exercise helps the students begin to recapture their ability to creatively problem solve.

Next week, the 2L students will get to experience what it’s like for a law student on the first day of class. The students were asked to read and brief the recent Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case. Modelling the normal practice of the nation’s top law schools, the faculty will instruct the students using the Socratic method.