I recently asked students: How do you schedule non-homework tasks each week? A list or an app? How do you choose what you will do (e.g., flashcards, outlining, or a practice exam)?
These questions contain an important assumption—that students actually engage in non-homework tasks each week. That, as it turns out, was an unfounded assumption. I was disappointed to learn that the vast majority of law students focus nearly all of their time completing “homework,” at the expense of scheduling and engaging in the exam preparation that needs to be ongoing throughout the semester.
Professor Herbert N. Ramy, ASP Director at Suffolk University Law School and author of Succeeding in Law School, recommends dividing study into three phases—pre-class, in-class, and post-class review.
THE PRE-CLASS PHASE. The goal of the pre-class phase, Professor Ramy explains, “is to be sufficiently familiar with the material so that one can be an active participant in the classroom dialogue.” He finds that “many diligent students overemphasize this facet of the process when, in reality, they are working with the least amount of information.”
THE IN-CLASS PHASE. Professor Ramy states that the in-class phase is for “correction and emphasis.” He urges students to examine: (1) whether they correctly identified the central ideas and (2) which principles the professor is emphasizing through the use of hypotheticals and other examples.
THE POST-CLASS REVIEW PHASE. Professor Ramy states that the post-class review “is where the lion’s share of the learning takes place.” He explains that “[t]he student now has what they have read and what they have gleaned from the classroom discussion. With this in hand, the student is ready to delve deeper into a topic. For example, can the student still work through the analysis required to answer the professor’s hypo? Even better, can the student identify the tension points in the rule, which is where the juiciest exam fact patterns originate? This is also where the individual concepts are placed into a broader context using the principles addressed earlier in the semester (outlines, flowcharts, etc).”
According to Professor Ramy, the post-class review consists of two distinct phases, which he calls the “micro and macro level review.” The micro level involves students reviewing their notes to confirm a solid understanding of the material covered in class. This review is not a big picture overview; rather, it is a close examination of one particular class. Professor Ramy says that “understanding a single lecture is enough work by itself,” and cautions that students should “not fool [themselves] into thinking that this step will only take a few minutes.”
Moving from the “micro” to the “macro.”
After students have reviewed and corrected their notes, Professor Ramy urges them to “switch gears from the ‘micro’ to the ‘macro.’” The “macro” review casts a wider net, incorporating the discrete concepts logically into a course summary. Whether in a mindmap or an outline, the goal is to develop “a big picture of how an entire area of the law operates.”
Professor Ramy explains that “[c]reating a course outline will not be as simple as merely tacking this week’s notes at the end where last week’s notes left off. Instead, many of this week’s ideas will actually contain aspects of ideas that you may have covered several weeks earlier. Similarly, this week’s concepts may be incomplete without additional material that you won't cover for several more weeks.”
It is important to recognize that all three phases are not created equal. The post-class review—likely the most overlooked phase throughout the semester—is undoubtedly the most beneficial and time consuming. As Professor Ramy explains, “law school learners are simply incapable of developing a nuanced understanding of any topic until this final phase, when the stage has finally been set for true mastery.”
So how do students find the time for this important phase? Some students are able to build in non-homework study tasks by setting a timer. They allocate a certain amount of time each week and accomplish what they can during that time frame. Others recommend using time blocking and kanban tools. Whatever your method, it is important to recognize Professor Ramy’s observation that “the vast majority of the learning happens” in the post-class phase. Thus, if your focus is only on homework, you are greatly reducing your chances for long-term success.
*A special thank you to Professor Ramy, who granted permission to use his quoted material in this post. These concepts are explored more fully in his book, Succeeding in Law School, which just happens to have a new, 3rd edition being released in March 2020. You can pre-order Professor Ramy’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Succeeding-School-Third-Herbert-Ramy/dp/1611638372/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WPI59ZMJ0LE6&keywords=succeeding+in+law+school&qid=1582577871&sprefix=suceeding+in+law+s%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1
Learn more about time blocking here: https://www.calendar.com/blog/is-time-blocking-effective/
Learn more about kanban here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryancollinseurope/2018/07/19/how-to-use-kanban-to-become-insanely-productive-a-short-guide/#3e46bba33c16