U of Texas Law Dean Calls for Socratic Teaching to Combat AI

The dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law has called on faculty to rethink their teaching styles to emphasize a Socratic mode of instruction, arguing in a memo to faculty last week that artificial intelligence poses a threat to learning essential skills.

Though the law school dean, Bobby Chesney, acknowledged the necessity of training students to take advantage of AI capabilities, he wrote in the eight-page memo that faculty need to “take best advantage of the precious opportunity that the classroom setting provides.” He said faculty should take steps to ensure students are not distracted or reliant upon their screens while engaging in dialogue in class, noting that the classroom as a supervised setting is the “sole context” in which professors can ensure students are learning without using AI.

“In the emerging age of AI, our students will flourish best if they possess the fruits of both traditional legal training and a thoughtful program of AI upskilling that will help them make the best possible use of AI once in practice,” Chesney wrote.

The memo outlines the law school’s approach to AI in three areas: determining what AI knowledge and skills students should learn, preserving the integrity of assessments, and mitigating students’ use of AI in completing course materials and assignments.

In addition to emphasizing a Socratic mode of teaching, Chesney said the law school will redouble efforts to emphasize the “value of doing the hard work in the first instance themselves.”

The memo comes as law schools across the country are determining their stance on AI. As of 2024, 62 percent of law schools had incorporated formal opportunities to learn about or use AI into their first-year curriculum, while 93 percent were considering updating their curricula to include AI education, according to data published by the American Bar Association.

Chesney did not return a request for comment on whether he consulted law school faculty and staff before crafting the new approach to AI or how they have responded since he sent the memo.