For many of our students, clinic represents the first opportunity to “try on” a particular type of lawyering. At its best, clinic not only allows students to develop practical skills but also models how to make intentional, ethical, and strategic decisions in legal practice and how to be a thoughtful professional. A key element of any professional environment is the ability to give and receive feedback effectively. The clinic model provides students with myriad opportunities to give and receive feedback in multiple settings (supervision, seminar, rounds, casework) and from various people (professors, classmates). Clinics often emphasize professor-to-student and student-to-student feedback.
One way to further enrich this model is to incorporate structured, mid-semester feedback from students to professors. This process ensures that the clinical experience remains adaptive, responsive, and focused on student learning needs. Mid-semester feedback allows faculty to make real-time adjustments, improving the educational experience while modeling professional growth through openness to feedback. This session will explore best practices for implementing mid-semester feedback, provide sample evaluation questions grounded in research, and offer strategies for responding to feedback in ways that enhance student learning and foster a collaborative, reflective environment.
By integrating this feedback loop, clinical faculty can not only support student development but also refine their own teaching practices, ultimately creating a more dynamic and responsive clinical experience for all participants.