2004 Annual Meeting
Program Descriptions

Let Me “Edutain” You: Game Shows and Other Unconventional Teaching Techniques in Legal Research Classrooms
Coordinator, Moderator and Speaker, Pamela Rogers Melton; Speakers, Corrin Gee & Christopher Vallandingham

In a satirical article, “If It Pleases the Class...,” in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Profs. Douglas and George stated, "We believe that junior professors ... must make teaching entertaining if they are to survive these perilous times in the world of academe.” There are ways to engage students in the classroom that are interesting and entertaining. This program will explore various game show formats and other unconventional techniques that can be used in legal research classrooms. In addition, the speakers will offer practical tips on creating your own instructional tools. A short film of an actual research review using a game show format will be shown.

What in the World Do They Know?: Information Literacy and Today’s Law Students
Coordinator and Speaker, Stephanie Burke; Speakers, Donna Nixon & Kathryn Hensiak

Many incoming law students, who should have had prior research experience, do not have a foundational understanding of how to conduct research. Therefore, they are not facing the challenge of learning legal research, but any research. In a program formatted like “60 Minutes”, recipients of an Aspen/AALL grant will discuss their project, “Assessing Information Literacy Among First Year Students: A Survey to Measure Research Experiences and Perceptions.” The speakers will explain what information literacy skills are, discuss the creation and administration of the survey, share the survey results, provide tips for creating a similar survey, and offer guidance on integrating the survey results into legal research instruction programs and training.

Quick Start Basic Legal Reference (Workshop)
Coordinator and Speaker, Joan Shear; Speakers, Stephanie J. Burke, John B. Nann, Mary Ann Neary, Anne Stemlar, Mark Sullivan, Susan C. Sullivan, Christine H. Swan & Karin Thurman

You only need two essential skills to become a great legal reference librarian: clairvoyance (to understand what is actually being asked by the patron) and omniscience (to be able to answer the question) This workshop is designed for librarians new to legal reference, either because they are new to law libraries or because they are new to reference. It will teach participants how to amaze patrons with their ability to provide insightful, useful research guidance and answers to reference questions. This workshop is appropriate for librarians from all types of law libraries.

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