Lightening the (Cognitive) Load: Strategies to Combat Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome in Law School Learning
Start Date
31-5-2024 8:30 AM
End Date
31-5-2024 10:00 AM
Document Type
Presentation
Description
Students who fall into historically underrepresented populations at law schools face additional cognitive burdens that can affect their ability to learn and retain information as easily as some of their classmates. This session will discuss the cognitive effects of impostor syndrome and stereotype threat experienced by many groups of law students and give practical suggestions for how to help these students—as well as all of their colleagues—learn more effectively. Attendees will have an opportunity to put several of these practical suggestions into practice during the session.
Speaker Bio
Alyson Drake is the Head of Instruction & a lecturer at the University of Houston Law Library. Alyson is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of cognitive science and evidence-based legal education and regularly writes and speaks on these topics, focusing particularly on best practices for long-term retention of learning. She is one of the founders of the Teaching the Teachers Conference for Law Librarians, the architect of the Teaching the Teachers Beginners’ Bootcamp, and a 2022 recipient of the American Association of Law Libraries Emerging Leader Award.
Shamika Dalton is the Law Library Director and Associate Professor (tenured) at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, CO. Before becoming a director, she worked as the Associate Director at the University of Tennessee College of Law and in several roles at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Shamika has dedicated her research and professional service to celebrating the contributions of law librarians of color, educating the profession about the importance of racial diversity, and advocating for cultural competency in legal research instruction. In July 2019, Shamika received the Joseph L. Andrews Award for her book, Celebrating Diversity: A Legacy of Minority Leadership in the American Association of Law Libraries (2nd edition).
Lightening the (Cognitive) Load: Strategies to Combat Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome in Law School Learning
Students who fall into historically underrepresented populations at law schools face additional cognitive burdens that can affect their ability to learn and retain information as easily as some of their classmates. This session will discuss the cognitive effects of impostor syndrome and stereotype threat experienced by many groups of law students and give practical suggestions for how to help these students—as well as all of their colleagues—learn more effectively. Attendees will have an opportunity to put several of these practical suggestions into practice during the session.