Comments on: Using a Teacher’s Manual

By: Elizabeth Nowicki

Elizabeth Nowicki — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:12:04 +0000

Thank you all for the insight. I had no idea that people were posting in response to this because my e-mail was not receiving your replies.

I apologize in my delay for thanking you! This feedback is great.

Thank you, all. This has been helpful.

By: Thaddeus Pope

Thaddeus Pope — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:14:56 +0000

When I was teaching new courses for the first time, I relied heavily on teacher’s manuals. But a big factor in choosing those early casebooks was not only the manual but also the broader “author support system.”

For example, did the authors send slides, recordings, and other material to use and adapt? Did they track (via blog or website) the latest developments and suggest how and where they might be integrated into the course? In short, I wanted more than a bound book. I wanted a service.

By: Joseph Slater

Joseph Slater — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:44:58 +0000

This may seem fairly prosaic, but if the book is anything other than a first edition, a detailed description of what has been added and what has been cut from the previous edition would be helpful. Explaining why the changes were made would be a bonus.

By: Lori Ringhand

Lori Ringhand — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:46:33 +0000

Make it electronic. When I first started teaching, I would build my lecture notes from the basic case/discussion information presented in the manual. So having the manual in electronic form was very helpful.

By: Bridget Crawford

Bridget Crawford — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:52:35 +0000

These are great questions. When I first started teaching, I probably would have benefited from a few “red flags” anticipating material that students likely would find especially difficult or frustrating. The first few times through a course, I was just a few days ahead of my students and didn’t always see the bumps that they would experience.

I also am always looking for ideas for the very, very first day of class, so if experienced users of the casebook had any exercises, vignettes, etc., those would be helpful, too.

By: Paul Horwitz

Paul Horwitz — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:37:50 +0000

I second the view that syllabi are a great part of a teacher’s manual. So might be past exam questions, exercises, etc. I also agree that a teacher’s manual that simply recounts the case adds very little. But one that puts the cases in context, draws connections to other cases and other sections of the book (since teachers who are new to a course may be just a few days ahead, and certainly may not grasp the gestalt of either the book or the subject matter), and gives instructive suggestions about *how* to teach a given case or section are much appreciated. That doesn’t guarantee adoption, since one may well use several different TMs but just one book, but it does ensure gratitude and increase the likelihood of adoption.

By: Bruce Boyden

Bruce Boyden — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:00:42 +0000

Akin to what James said, I find it useful when a teacher’s manual indicates where the casebook case fits into the broader law on that issue. Is it an outlier case, an old chestnut, or a typical example? Even in areas I know well, I haven’t researched everything, and that would be helpful.

By: Jessica Erickson

Jessica Erickson — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:45:57 +0000

I agree with the past comments. I like to have detailed answers to the problems, as well as other hypos/lines of discussion that follow from the cases. I also always appreciate any backstory to the cases or information about the proceedings after the decision was handed down.

By: Spencer Waller

Spencer Waller — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:41:46 +0000

The most useful feature for me are detailed answers to the problems posed in the book, particularly if the teacher’s manual conveys what the authors thought was important about the problem. Otherwise I don’t really use the manuals.

By: Michael Froomkin

Michael Froomkin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:43:07 +0000

The single most useful thing in a teacher’s manual — and the one most likely to be absent — is detailed information on pacing, and the provision of multiple alternate syllabi depending on what you might want to emphasize, how many credits you have, and where the course falls in the sequence. Usually there’s none or one. Sometimes there’s the 3 or 4 credit version (but the 3 credit never cuts enough).

The hardest thing for even an experienced teacher to tell with a new subject, or even a new book on old subject, is how to pace it.

After that, I like cute anecdotes…

By: James Grimmelmann

James Grimmelmann — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:36:32 +0000

Not helpful: repeating the basic facts and holding of the case.

Helpful: explaining why you picked the case, and what points about it you consider interesting.

The manual is helpful as a source of ideas and in learning how to work with a book rather than against it. The second time around with a book, I don’t even crack the manual open.