Donald J. Kochan,
“Thinking” in a Deweyan Perspective: The Law School Exam as a Case Study for Thinking in Lawyering,
12 Nevada Law Journal 395 (2012).
Abstract:
As creatures of thought, we are thinking
all the time, but that does not necessarily mean that we are thinking well.
Answering the law school exam, like solving any problem, requires that the
student exercise thinking in an effective and productive manner. This Article
provides some guidance in that pursuit. Using John Dewey’s suspended conclusion
concept for effective thinking as an organizing theme, this Article presents
one basic set of lessons for thinking through issues that arise regarding the
approach to a law school exam. This means that the lessons contained here help
exercise thought while taking the exam — to think through the exam approach.
The second more subtle purpose is to demonstrate that the law school exam can
serve as a case study in the effectiveness of certain thinking tools that have
much broader application. For that reason, this Article is not your typical
“how-to” guide, but instead provides guidance critically and generally
applicable to the thinking enterprise itself.
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