Learning goals should be directed at the student learning facts, concepts, skills, attitudes and appreciations. Most legal educators' first step in course planning is to select the casebook. While some legal educators may use additional materials or change the order of the content, many follow the casebook verbatim. Theoretically, the casebook ought to be selected after the objectives of the course have been determined. Nevertheless, the selection of the casebook should be based on some definitive criteria such as content, presentation, instructional design and classroom use.
Content Refers to the concepts, ideas and specific information contained in the casebook.
Presentation Refers to the actual appearance of the content on the page, the physical appearance, the writing style of the authors, the appropriateness of the text and the readability of the text. Instructional Design Refers to whether the materials are consistent with current knowledge regarding the learning process, whether there is alignment or congruence among the text, the content presented and your goals and objectives. Assessing Your Casebook and Other Printed Materials Select at least two casebooks that might be used in teaching the goals and purposes in your instructional plan. Review each casebook separately according to at least six, if not all twelve, of the criteria and indicate your rating on each text on the criteria. Total the criteria and determine which of the two casebooks would be more appropriate for you to use and for what reasons.