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Pivoting with excellence: Law associate dean hones sense of gratitude through online transition

Law
January 06, 2021

by Frank Garza

Ramona Lampley_G&B_Web
Ramona L. Lampley, J.D.

This fall, Ramona L. Lampley, J.D., Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, kept students engaged through a hybrid of synchronous and asynchronous components, coupled with multiple assessments and a flipped classroom model.

This teaching method included pre-recorded short lectures, multiple-choice quizzes, a 70-minute Zoom lecture and the use of discussion threads to assess legal writing.

Lampley has seen a tremendous improvement in her students’ writing abilities through the use of discussion threads and individualized feedback.  Seeing her students on Zoom has become one of the highlights of her day, she said.

“We’ve had to adapt to a new way of life, and those moments of seeing a face and smile become even more special,” Lampley said. “I am grateful to interact with motivated and inspirational law students and colleagues who make amazing contributions to our community.”  

More about how the St. Mary's University School of Law community responded to the pandemic:

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In some ways, going virtual has made it easier for the Office for Law Student Affairs to meet with students, said Alan K. Haynes, J.D., Assistant Dean for Law Student Affairs. Setting up meetings with students before could be difficult, especially if they lived outside San Antonio. Even if it’s just a conversation, Haynes will use Zoom instead of the phone to talk to the student.

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Even before COVID-19 hit, Colin P. Marks, J.D., Associate Dean for Graduate and Summer Programs and Ernest W. Clemens Professor of Law, was certified to teach classes online. So, when he pivoted his approach mid-semester last spring, his students continued to learn through short video lectures with quizzes and a once-a-week Zoom session to discuss learning objectives and questions.

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Hustling to move the law school’s Externship Program online by summer, Amanda Rivas (J.D. ’09), Director of Externships, said her main focus was on supporting externship supervisors and externs as they switched to remote working environments, ensuring that students would continue to receive challenging work and feedback.

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This year, the St. Mary’s University School of Law community joined together as never before to meet the needs of its student body and the San Antonio region.

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Several St. Mary's Law students and alumni joined an effort by the San Antonio Legal Services Association (SALSA) to draft wills for health care workers battling COVID-19 on the frontlines in San Antonio this summer.

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