One of my goals is to make sure students can personally connect to the work in Constitutional Law class. Fortunately, this is not difficult considering the Con Law is, in one sense, an ethics class and students are asked to judge (in the style of a SCOTUS justice) all the time. The semester starts with a scenario involving a Florida public elementary school principal’s demand that a burqa-clad Muslim teacher swap out her burqa for a hijab because parents are complaining that the kids are scared of the teacher without a face.
The Moot Court students participate in allow them to engage in authentic disciplinary practices by performing the roles of lawyers and justices. They write a legal brief or a judicial opinion. They work collaboratively and independently as do most lawyers and judges/justices. During oral arguments, students also have to present their ideas and/or ask questions, another real world activity for people working in law or politics or business.