Kenneth R Kreiling, “Clinical Education and Lawyer Competency: The Process of Learning to Learn from Experience Through Properly Structured Clinical Supervision”

This paper argues that clinical education should teach students a method which includes: how to develop theories of problem-solving by utilizing established lawyering theory and experience, how to apply these theories in practice, and how to analyze oneself to improve performance. The paper examines the nuance associated with the aforementioned teaching method, such as awareness of ineffective areas being a condition precedent to effectively learning from experience. It further highlights the importance of cooperation, valid feedback, and quality interpersonal encounters through the lens of “theories of action”. Theories of action are behaviours that are influenced by informal beliefs relevant to deliberate human behaviour; they can be specific or general and depend on a complex system of assumptions, variables, values, and strategies.

This paper sets out the supervision cycle, which traces fieldwork supervision from the initial meeting to the final evaluation. It includes six stages:

1. Initial conference;
2. Preperformance conference;
3. Observations;
4. Preconference analysis and strategy;
5. Post-performance conference, and
6. Final evaluation and termination.

These stages are integral to setting the groundwork for the supervisory relationship, consistent and thorough communication, and encouraging and assisting in student reflection.

Kenneth R Kreiling, “Clinical Education and Lawyer Competency: The Process of Learning to Learn from Experience Through Properly Structured Clinical Supervision” (1981) 40:2 Maryland L Rev 284.