Teaching Philosophy: A Note from Professor Medha Makhlouf
My teaching philosophy is informed by My Guiding Principles. These are personal to me, but they also show up across my work in many different ways.
First, I am committed to being deliberate, intentional, and clear about why I do what I do. I aim for full transparency about learning outcomes, evaluation methods, challenges students may experience in the course, and resources that are available if students are struggling. I invite student feedback frequently and take it seriously, modifying my courses each semester in response to students’ suggestions and explaining the pedagogical reasons for the changes. I believe that transparency is one way to help level the playing field for students who come to law school with differing experiences in and familiarity with the legal field.
Second, I am committed to drawing on all kinds of fields of knowledge, experiences, and perspectives in order to understand how the world works. Often, the most interesting solutions or innovations are found at the intersection of these perspectives. I was drawn to clinical teaching because I think it is the best approach for teaching students how legal theory informs practice, and practice informs theory. Traditionally, law schools focused on teaching theory, leaving students to learn practice skills and begin developing their professional identities only after they graduated and began working. I will challenge you this semester to reflect on what you’re learning at this intersection of theory and practice, and how it can benefit you as you transition into practice.
Third, I am passionate about removing barriers to students’ learning potential. You’ll recognize this as the driving force behind the MLP Clinic. We’re helping to ensure people’s access to basic needs—food, shelter, utilities, health care—so that they have an opportunity to flourish. In the Clinic, you’ll see this in my assignments asking you to reflect on the barriers that keep you from reaching your fullest potential as an advocate. At the middle and end of the semester, I will work with you one-on-one to strategize about how to overcome those barriers.
Finally, I believe that everyone has the ability to create a life of positive impact. To me, this means discovering what you are uniquely qualified to do and honing the skills necessary to make the greatest impact possible. Many students have a transformative experience in Clinic because of the responsibility they feel for their clients’ cases. But I will also ask you to learn about the systems and structures that create the problems our clients face, and to think about how — with your new experience, new knowledge, and new perspective — you might help to fix them. I hope that students come away from the Clinic with a sense of the power they have to create a better world.