Professor Karin Mika presented at the Legal Writing One Day Workshop in December 2015 at Concordia Law School in Boise, Idaho.  Her topic was “Meeting the Changing Needs of Our Students.”  Professor Mika discussed the reasons why students seem ill-prepared for law school and how the changes in our world have caused students to have a much different primary education than professors over a certain age.  Professor Mika also talked about how most students are more accomplished as opposed to less accomplished than students from 20 years ago, but other factors make them ill-equipped for understanding the nature of legal teaching as it is still done.  Naturally, Professor Mika advocated accepting students as they are as opposed to trying to turn back time.

Additionally, Professor Mika will serve as Chair of the AALS Teaching Methods Section for 2016.  Professor Mika reports that the section officers have already chosen a topic for next year, which will essentially be an expansion of Professor Mika’s presentation in Idaho.