If You Build It, They Will Come: What Law Students Say About Experiential Learning

From Florida A&M Law Review

This article is a first report on the findings of an extensive case study — a three-year, survey-based, study of University of Denver Sturm College of Law students concerning the Experiential Advantage Program “natural experiment.” The findings should be of considerable interest to the legal community, given that there is general support for experiential learning across most law schools, but a study of this kind — one exploring student views on curricular innovation — has never been conducted before. This Article is divided into four sections. The first provides a general context for Denver Law’s efforts. The second outlines the study itself, and is followed by section three, which analyzes the reasons first-year students chose Denver Law and their interest in EA and experiential learning. The fourth section changes focus and turns to Denver Law students nearing the end of their legal education – 3 and 4Ls. These students, nearing the end of their legal education, were asked a series of “look back” questions asking them about their law school experience, including the EA program and experiential learning.