Judiciary Hosts Event During National History Day,
Shares Educational Resources
One hundred teachers of American history and government from across the nation participated recently in a special event held during the National History Day annual conference and competition by serving as "virtual" judges in a moot court. As part of this event, sponsored by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the teachers also had the opportunity to hear about educational resources available on the Judiciary's web site, <www.uscourts.gov>. One of those resources is a lesson plan based on the moot court experience.
The half-day program, held June 11 in Washington, D.C., centered on a simulation of Illinois v. Wardlow, a real Fourth Amendment case relevant to middle-school and high-school students. During the moot court, teachers came to their own determinations on the case and delivered their votes by a hand count.
The purpose of the demonstration was to prepare teachers to make a decision in the case before them and to facilitate their ability to lead a courtroom role-playing exercise. As part of the program, attorneys from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts worked with high- school students by serving as counsel and justices with them during a demonstration of oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Afterwards, the teachers discussed how they could use or modify the exercise in their classrooms and in local courtrooms with interested federal judges.
"This (moot court simulation) was an excellent way to incorporate experiential learning in the classroom," said one participant. "It's one thing to say that the Judicial Branch interprets the laws, but this simulation shows how the courts do this. This simulation takes learning objectives beyond the comprehension stage to the application and evaluation stages of learning."
Events like this one are part of the federal courts' national outreach initiative for high-school seniors and their teachers. The umbrella program is called Open Doors to Federal Courts, and the theme for 2002 is Jury Duty: A Rite of Passage.
This year's annual event, which is scheduled to be held at registered federal courthouses the week of November 11, includes a teachers' orientation at the local host courthouse, a lesson plan for teachers' use in the classroom, and guidance for lawyers and students taking part in the enactment of the jury selection process.Last year, 43 courts representing every federal circuit joined the program and took part in the activities.
National History Day was started in 1974 to improve the teaching and learning of history in elementary and secondary schools. More than 700,000 students took part in local and state programs and competitions in 2001, culminating in a national competition.