Catherine Ross Dunham, associate professor of law, and Margaret Robison Kantlehner, associate dean for external relations in the Elon University School of Law, led a session at the Conference on New Frontiers in Teaching and Learning, June 8-9 at Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. The annual conference, hosted by Suffolk and Gonzaga University School of Law, is designed to improve the teaching of law.
Dunham and Kantlehner spoke on the success of Elon Law’s preceptor program, which involves local attorneys and judges who volunteer to mentor law students. Their session, titled “Use of Preceptors to Humanize Legal Education,” detailed the benefits of constructive, non-graded, interactive feedback provided by the preceptors. Dunham has conducted research on self-handicapping behaviors in law students, while Kantlehner has collected data in managing the preceptor program during the inaugural year of the Elon Law School. Their presentation was selected after a national call for submissions.