A Primer on Learning Styles: Reaching Every Student

Many authors and researchers have written extensively about learning styles, but the literature can be daunting to the uninitiated. This article establishes a framework that will put the literature into perspective, will allow professors to evaluate what is meant by learning syle, and will give them guidance for how to be more effective teachers both in the classroom and out. Part I discusses how knowledge of learning styles will help professors achieve their pedagogical goals. Part II discusses the personal characteristics that contribute to learning style. Finally, Part III applies the learning styles to the learning cycle and discusses how professors can most effectively help their students grow

The ALWD Citation Manual: A Clear Improvement over the Bluebook

The Association of Legal Writing Directors released a new legal citation manual in 2000. The ALWD Citation Manual is designed to meet the needs of legal practitioners rather than the needs of law journals. M.H. Sam Jacobson discusses how well the manual promotes atrribution of ideas and statements and communicates how sources support the text for which they are cited

A Primer on Learning Styles: Reaching Every Student

Many authors and researchers have written extensively about learning styles, but the literature can be daunting to the uninitiated. This article establishes a framework that will put the literature into perspective, will allow professors to evaluate what is meant by learning syle, and will give them guidance for how to be more effective teachers both in the classroom and out. Part I discusses how knowledge of learning styles will help professors achieve their pedagogical goals. Part II discusses the personal characteristics that contribute to learning style. Finally, Part III applies the learning styles to the learning cycle and discusses how professors can most effectively help their students grow

The Curse of Tradition in the Law School Classroom: What Casebook Professors Can Learn from Those Professors Who Teach Legal Writing

The typical law school pedagogy suffers from a ham butt problem. As the story goes, a woman was preparing a ham dinner when she carefully cut off the ham butt before putting the ham in the oven to bake. A friend asked her why she did that. She said she did it because her mother did it. Why did her mother do it? She had no idea. So she asked her mother, why do you cut off the ham butt before putting it in the oven? Her mother said she did it because her mother did it. What was the reason? She did not know, but she should ask her grandmother. So, she did. Her grandmother told her a baking pan she once had was too small, so she cut off the butt to make the ham fit. While tradition may have explained the act, the reasons for its origin were long lost, or never known, and likely no longer relevant. The tradition was comforting, but the act occurred without thinking. This lack of thought is the curse of tradition. Without thought and rational reasoning, tradition stifles the adaptations required to evolve and adapt to changing demands and conditions. And so it is with law school pedagogy. Some years ago, editors of a law review questioned a statement I made in an article that the days of The Paper Chase in law school were over. Understandably, a statement about The Paper Chase would not be clear to the editors who knew nothing about a movie made long before they were born, so I thought their point was well-taken. To establish the connection I wanted to make with the movie, I rented it to get a fresh perspective. To my surprise, my thesis was bogus: not a darn thing had changed in the law school classroom. The professor still ran the show using a quasi-Socratic style of questioning in a course for which no textbook existed, only a casebook containing a collection of edited cases. How is it that after decades of critiques and studies by scholars and outside evaluators alike, everything remained the same? It is a ham butt problem: tradition

The ALWD Citation Manual: A Clear Improvement over the Bluebook

The Association of Legal Writing Directors released a new legal citation manual in 2000. The ALWD Citation Manual is designed to meet the needs of legal practitioners rather than the needs of law journals. M.H. Sam Jacobson discusses how well the manual promotes atrribution of ideas and statements and communicates how sources support the text for which they are cited

Safety of hospital discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery

Background: Ileus is common after colorectal surgery and is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. Identifying features of normal bowel recovery and the appropriateness for hospital discharge is challenging. This study explored the safety of hospital discharge before the return of bowel function. Methods: A prospective, multicentre cohort study was undertaken across an international collaborative network. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The main outcome of interest was readmission to hospital within 30 days of surgery. The impact of discharge timing according to the return of bowel function was explored using multivariable regression analysis. Other outcomes were postoperative complications within 30 days of surgery, measured using the Clavien\u2013Dindo classification system. Results: A total of 3288 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 301 (9\ub72 per cent) were discharged before the return of bowel function. The median duration of hospital stay for patients discharged before and after return of bowel function was 5 (i.q.r. 4\u20137) and 7 (6\u20138) days respectively (P < 0\ub7001). There were no significant differences in rates of readmission between these groups (6\ub76 versus 8\ub70 per cent; P = 0\ub7499), and this remained the case after multivariable adjustment for baseline differences (odds ratio 0\ub790, 95 per cent c.i. 0\ub755 to 1\ub746; P = 0\ub7659). Rates of postoperative complications were also similar in those discharged before versus after return of bowel function (minor: 34\ub77 versus 39\ub75 per cent; major 3\ub73 versus 3\ub74 per cent; P = 0\ub7110). Conclusion: Discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery appears to be safe in appropriately selected patients

Safety and efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce ileus after colorectal surgery

Background: Ileus is common after elective colorectal surgery, and is associated with increased adverse events and prolonged hospital stay. The aim was to assess the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for reducing ileus after surgery. Methods: A prospective multicentre cohort study was delivered by an international, student- and trainee-led collaborative group. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The primary outcome was time to gastrointestinal recovery, measured using a composite measure of bowel function and tolerance to oral intake. The impact of NSAIDs was explored using Cox regression analyses, including the results of a centre-specific survey of compliance to enhanced recovery principles. Secondary safety outcomes included anastomotic leak rate and acute kidney injury. Results: A total of 4164 patients were included, with a median age of 68 (i.q.r. 57\u201375) years (54\ub79 per cent men). Some 1153 (27\ub77 per cent) received NSAIDs on postoperative days 1\u20133, of whom 1061 (92\ub70 per cent) received non-selective cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors. After adjustment for baseline differences, the mean time to gastrointestinal recovery did not differ significantly between patients who received NSAIDs and those who did not (4\ub76 versus 4\ub78 days; hazard ratio 1\ub704, 95 per cent c.i. 0\ub796 to 1\ub712; P = 0\ub7360). There were no significant differences in anastomotic leak rate (5\ub74 versus 4\ub76 per cent; P = 0\ub7349) or acute kidney injury (14\ub73 versus 13\ub78 per cent; P = 0\ub7666) between the groups. Significantly fewer patients receiving NSAIDs required strong opioid analgesia (35\ub73 versus 56\ub77 per cent; P < 0\ub7001). Conclusion: NSAIDs did not reduce the time for gastrointestinal recovery after colorectal surgery, but they were safe and associated with reduced postoperative opioid requirement

Safety of hospital discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery

© 2020 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons LtdBackground: Ileus is common after colorectal surgery and is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. Identifying features of normal bowel recovery and the appropriateness for hospital discharge is challenging. This study explored the safety of hospital discharge before the return of bowel function. Methods: A prospective, multicentre cohort study was undertaken across an international collaborative network. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The main outcome of interest was readmission to hospital within 30 days of surgery. The impact of discharge timing according to the return of bowel function was explored using multivariable regression analysis. Other outcomes were postoperative complications within 30 days of surgery, measured using the Clavien–Dindo classification system. Results: A total of 3288 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 301 (9·2 per cent) were discharged before the return of bowel function. The median duration of hospital stay for patients discharged before and after return of bowel function was 5 (i.q.r. 4–7) and 7 (6–8) days respectively (P < 0·001). There were no significant differences in rates of readmission between these groups (6·6 versus 8·0 per cent; P = 0·499), and this remained the case after multivariable adjustment for baseline differences (odds ratio 0·90, 95 per cent c.i. 0·55 to 1·46; P = 0·659). Rates of postoperative complications were also similar in those discharged before versus after return of bowel function (minor: 34·7 versus 39·5 per cent; major 3·3 versus 3·4 per cent; P = 0·110). Conclusion: Discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery appears to be safe in appropriately selected patients