One Word for Law Students: Think

Termed “practical reasoning skills” per the study, it's a skill researchers say is essential to practicing law.

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Unfortunately, the study, which was conducted by CU Denver Department of Communications associate professor James Stratman and other researchers, revealed that students' reasoning and “question-asking” skills fail to improve as they continue through school.

The population in the study included first- and third-year law students at five law schools, all considered to be in the top tier. The tests involved presenting students with real world legal situations. They were asked to select a ‘best possible question to ask' in the situation, with answers given in multiple choice form. As well, information about the type of law school instruction they were receiving was garnered.

A goal of the study was to underscore the importance of being able to ask relevant questions, versus a ‘just the facts' approach. Typically, law schools, as well as many other schools, follow the Socratic method of instruction, in which teachers lecture and then ask students questions. Clearly, this method has met with much success and should continue to be used. However, putting the onus on the students, empowering them to ask questions, and forcing them to come up with the answers is something that's also clearly needed. In other words, students must be tasked with the ‘burden of proof' for their education, and ultimately, their success.

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The results of the study also seem to beg the question: is deductive reasoning a skill that can be taught, or is it a skill that either you ‘have it or you don't'? Or is this something that can be honed, or even developed? And, while the study focused on law students and legal instruction exclusively, it's likely a safe bet to say that students everywhere are suffering the same type of practical reasoning deficiency. While this deficiency may in part, be as a result of a certain type of classroom instruction, so many other factors seem to influence it, it's hard to quantify them all. Factors such as personality, socioeconomic status, IQ, genetics – all of these things come into play. As well, said ‘practical reasoning', which well might be stretched to be termed ‘common sense', is frighteningly lacking in today's world. Is the wave of technology, which seems to, at the same time, empower and weaken us, to be blamed for this deficiency? Do we rely so much upon our electronic devices to manage our lives that we're slowly losing our ability to think?

As Sherlock Holmes oft said to Watson: “You have seen, but not observed.”

It seems it's high time all of us did both.

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