University of Pristina Law Professors Trained on Interactive Teaching Techniques

November 2010

On September 29, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) hosted aninteractive teaching techniques seminar for nine University of Pristina law professors. Legal Education Specialist Douglas T. Francis led the training, whichutilized a teaching methods handbook professor Mary Pat Treuthart authored andABA ROLI published in 2007.

A rare opportunity in Kosovo, the workshop encouraged the trainees to better engage students through group work, role play and case studies, and by invitingguest speakers. The training included role playing exercises by ABA ROLI staffand an ABA ROLI-produced video on client interviewing. Since the University of Pristina Law Faculty enrolls more than 1,200 new students every year—making large class sizes often unavoidable—the training discussed how the techniquescan be applied to large classes.

The techniques imparted cost little or no money to implement and they areexpected to increase practical skills training opportunities for law students.Francis said that the long-term plan is “to establish a core group of localprofessors” who use these techniques and will in turn train other professors.

ABA ROLI will assess the application of the interactive teaching techniques in classrooms to find ways to improve future trainings. ABA ROLI also plans to develop similar seminars that are designed for specific legal topics.

To learn more about our work in Kosovo, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at <[email protected]>.