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 Lu-in
Wang, School of Law, attributes her teaching success to
systematic planning, along with a focused spontaneity and
intuitive responsiveness to students.
Her teaching strategies have been enhanced through
conversations with other instructors in the School of Law, where
she says there is a “sense that teaching is very important.
Many of my colleagues share their pedagogies and talk a
lot about teaching.”
Wang’s general approach is to present the fundamental
substantive material initially in a clear, accessible, and
efficient manner by posting brief outlines for each class and
using visual aids, such as graphs, PowerPoint slides, and
diagrams on the chalkboard.
She explains, “The outlines and other visual aids
provide a structure for the class and help to clarify basic
principles. I want
everyone to have a common grounding so we can go on to more
difficult and sophisticated ideas from there.
My lectures have a logical progression in terms of
concepts building on each other.”
Student
Participation
Brief lectures and visual aids serve primarily as a
framework for Wang’s lively classes.
She says, “I spend a lot of time preparing but focus
most of my energy on what happens in class, trying to use all
opportunities to make the material relevant to students.
I don’t lecture for entire classes; instead, I use
lectures for introductions or transitions and to share basic
information. I use
questioning and discussion to get to more sophisticated
content.”
Wang strives to create a classroom atmosphere that
encourages both wide participation and critical discussion:
“What I try to do in class generally is to create an
atmosphere where students are not inhibited because of fear that
they will be insulted or humiliated for contributing.
But at the same time, I think it’s important to
critique what they say. I
try to challenge them in a supportive way.
I want students to feel free to talk, but if I think
they’re going off the topic, I take that as an opportunity to
show them the overall picture of the course; for example, I
explain to them how their question or comment is relevant to
another topic and how that topic relates to the current
discussion.”
Peer
Interaction
Peer interaction is
another strategy that Wang values, explaining, “I encourage
students to listen to and learn from each other.
This is harder in bigger classes, but I try to do it in
all of them. Students’
experiences help to make the material more relevant by taking it
from the abstract to the concrete.
I try to keep track of points that individual students
have made and weave them into later discussions.
This gives students different perspectives and contexts
for considering the issues we raise, and the recurring themes
help them to see how principles can be adapted to different
situations. This is
especially important in law school because it demonstrates to
students how they can develop arguments based upon principles,
retaining a consistent theme throughout an argument.
“For
example, students in law school often think in terms of rules.
But sometimes someone makes a point, for example, that
law can be used in a positive way as an incentive.
After a student hits on this idea on her own in the
Contracts class, I will periodically bring up that point in
later classes and call on that student to elaborate
“That’s part of getting to know the students as
individuals and part of creating a dynamic classroom atmosphere.
I want students to feel that they play an active role in
other students’ classroom experiences, along with their own.
I think it’s so important for students to participate
because it helps them and others to learn.
I try to think of ways to bring everyone into class
discussions. I pay
attention to body language and facial expressions.
Sometimes I have a sense that if I encourage quieter
students, they’ll say something valuable and be glad they
participated. Also,
I put a lot of focus on trying to learn students’ names and
calling on them by name. This
is important to students, especially in large classes.”
Accessibility
Wang’s
concern for her students’ self-confidence extends to her
accessibility outside of the classroom.
“I’m in my office pretty much all day.
Students don’t feel intimidated in the classroom, so
they don’t feel intimidated to stop by my office.
Sometimes they have questions about school in general; as
the semester progresses they come in with more substantive
course questions. Then
they begin to have career-type questions.”
Although all of her
courses are important to her, Wang’s favorite is Antitrust,
which, ironically, she didn’t think she would like teaching. “It’s not just about law; it’s about economics and
human behavior. There’s
much more to it than people would ever think, and at many
levels. So do with
people’s worldviews being different.
Also, there are always antitrust-related matters being
reported in the news. Students often are surprised to learn that even some of their
mundane, seemingly insignificant experiences as consumers tie
into antitrust.”
Another course that is special is the
Violence and the Law Seminar, which focuses on issues such as
hate crimes and violence against women.
Here Wang has an opportunity to tap into her area of
expertise—hate crimes law. Her scholarship takes an interdisciplinary approach, using
literature from social psychology, sociology, and history.
The seminar allows her to integrate interdisciplinary
content in demonstrating to the students how they can approach
their own research papers.
“I try to model for the students how I do my own
research and writing. I
assign them readings that take an interdisciplinary approach and
encourage them to consider legal issues from unconventional
angles. This course
offers students an opportunity to view law from other than a
traditional legal perspective.”
When
Wang started at Pitt as a visiting assistant professor, she
enjoyed teaching but didn’t feel that she was particularly
successful at it. “I
learned that it takes time and experience to develop your own
style and approach and to gain the confidence to use flexible
teaching methods. Each time I teach a course I learn something new about the
material and about teaching.
The excitement of opening up new perspectives for
students makes it all new and exciting again for me, too.”
This excitement has stayed with her throughout her seven
years of teaching at Pitt.
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