In his article for the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) blog, Professor Christopher J. Robinette shares how he transformed traditional classroom engagement for Southwestern’s Online J.D. program.
Initially skeptical, Robinette worried that without live interaction, students might disengage. Determined to address this, he devised the “Universal Socratic” method, an adaptation of the Socratic method that brings structured, case-based questioning to an online format where all students are engaged, not just the one “cold-called.”
Using a combination of case-based questions and immediate feedback, Robinette ensures that each student engages critically, one question at a time. “In the traditional classroom, one student is on call,” he explains. “In an online course, all students can be engaged. And it can be verified.” Robinette’s interactive exercises start with fundamental concepts and build toward complex analysis, helping students stay focused and actively learn the material on their own schedules.
Original source can be found here.