The Learning Opportunities We Don’t Plan For

The beginning of another academic year has me reflecting on what more we can give students beyond the curriculum.

We spend considerable time thinking about what students need to know and what they need to be able to do. We develop learning outcomes, create assignments, design simulations, evaluate learning, and provide feedback. All those things are important. However, some of the most valuable learning opportunities are not found in the curriculum at all.

Sometimes, they arrive in an email.

I remember an interaction with a student from several years ago. The student had sent a series of emails that were, to put it mildly, unprofessional. The tone and content were not appropriate for communication with a professional in my role, and the emails had not been copied to the student’s supervisor.

Initially, I was flabbergasted and then indignant. I was ready to “teach” this student a lesson.

But after some reflection, I realized it was an opportunity.

I replied to the student and copied the student’s supervisor. I later received a call from the student, and we discussed the emails, the expectations for professional communication, and how someone on the other end might experience that communication. The student apologized, and the issue was resolved.

I remember thinking that, if a student is going to make this mistake, I would much rather have it happen with me than with a client, opposing counsel, or a judge.

That experience has stayed with me because it illustrates something easy to forget in legal education: not every learning opportunity is planned.

Finding Opportunity

Requests for extensions or extra credit, missed classes or assignments, academic misconduct, plagiarism, and unprofessional communication can all be frustrating. Something has gone wrong, and our first instinct may be to focus on the problem itself: What happened? What rule was broken? What consequence should follow?

Those questions matter. But they are not the only questions we can ask.

Consider an extension request. We can simply decide whether to grant or deny it. We can remind the student of the deadline and move on. Or we can ask the student to consider what this situation might look like in practice.

What happens when a lawyer has a deadline and realizes they are unable to meet it? What happens when a lawyer cannot attend a scheduled appearance? What happens when a lawyer needs more time to respond to opposing counsel or to file something with the court?

The answer is not simply, “Ask for an extension.”

There may be procedural requirements. There may be consequences. There may be other parties who are affected. The lawyer may need to communicate with a supervising lawyer, opposing counsel, the court, a client, or someone else.

The problem is the starting point. But the problem itself is not necessarily where the learning ends.

The Opportunity Is in the Response

When something goes wrong, there is often something to learn.

The important lesson is not necessarily whether the student receives the extension. The learning opportunity is in helping the student understand how the situation should be handled.

The same is true when a student misses an assignment or class. The question is not simply whether there should be a consequence. There is an opportunity to help the student think about responsibility, communication, and professional expectations.

Even plagiarism or academic misconduct can become a learning opportunity. The opportunity is not in excusing the misconduct. It is in helping the student understand what happened, why it matters, and what the behaviour may mean in a professional context.

In practice, problems are inevitable. What distinguishes a competent professional is not necessarily the ability to prevent problems from occurring. It is the ability to recognize a problem, take responsibility for it, determine what needs to happen next, and act appropriately.

In many situations, how we address a problem is more important than the fact that we discovered it in the first place.

This becomes particularly important in professional education because much of what we are preparing students for involves situations where things will inevitably go wrong.

Lawyers will make mistakes. They will miss something. They will misunderstand something. They will forget something. They will send the wrong email. They will miss a deadline. They will discover that they have given incorrect information to a client.

The question is not whether mistakes will happen. The question is what happens next.

Does the lawyer recognize the problem and act? Do they reach out to the right people? Do they consult their supervising lawyer or mentor? Do they notify their insurer or regulator when appropriate? Do they communicate with the client? Do they take steps to correct the mistake?

Or do they ignore the problem, stay silent, hope it goes away, become defensive, conceal what happened, or blame someone else?

Those are very different professional behaviours, and they are behaviours that can be developed long before someone becomes a practising lawyer.

A student who realizes they have made a mistake in an assignment has an opportunity to learn how to respond to mistakes. A student who recognizes that they have missed a deadline has an opportunity to learn about responsibility and communication. A student who sends an inappropriate email has an opportunity to learn about professional communication and the consequences of putting something in writing.

These are not simply lessons about avoiding mistakes. They are lessons about what to do when mistakes happen.

Consequences Are Part of the Learning

That does not mean there should not be consequences. It does not mean that every mistake should be excused in the name of learning.

Professional standards matter. There are consequences for failing to meet them. We cannot, and should not, turn every professional mistake into a gentle coaching conversation without consequences.

Learning does not always feel good, and sometimes the consequence is part of the learning.

But consequences do not have to end the learning process.

Even when a student faces a consequence, we can still ask what they can learn from the experience. We can help them reflect on what happened, what contributed to it, what they could have done differently, and what they will do differently the next time.

Sometimes the most important lesson is not the rule itself but understanding why the rule exists and what can happen when it is ignored.

Judgment Is Knowing What to Do Next

This is where learning becomes more than knowing a rule.

Students need to develop the judgment to recognize when something is going wrong and the professional responsibility to do something about it.

In practice, recognizing that something has gone wrong is only the first step. Professional judgment is demonstrated in what we do next.

Do we take ownership? Do we seek advice? Do we communicate promptly? Do we take steps to mitigate the consequences? Do we learn from what happened?

Those are the kinds of decisions lawyers will have to make throughout their careers.

The unexpected situations students encounter during their education can provide opportunities to practise that judgment before the stakes become higher.

A student who learns to acknowledge a missed deadline and communicate about it may be better prepared to respond when they encounter a missed deadline in practice.

A student who learns to acknowledge and correct an inappropriate email may be better prepared to deal with a communication problem with a client or opposing counsel.

A student who learns to ask for help when something has gone wrong may be more likely to seek advice before a problem becomes more serious.

These experiences can help students move beyond knowing what they should do in theory to developing the judgment to recognize what needs to happen in a particular situation.

We Need to Be Open to the Learning Opportunity

Recognizing these opportunities requires something from those of us who teach and supervise students. We must be open to seeing them, and that can be difficult.

When a student sends an inappropriate email, misses a deadline, asks for another extension, or fails to meet an expectation, our first reaction, like mine in my example, may be frustration or annoyance. We may be tempted to respond quickly and move on.

But sometimes the most valuable response is to stop and ask, “What can this person learn from this?”

That does not mean ignoring the behaviour, lowering standards, or failing to impose consequences. It means recognizing that the situation itself may be the teaching moment.

If we want students to become professionals who respond to problems thoughtfully, responsibly, and promptly, we need to model those behaviours ourselves. How we respond when a student makes a mistake communicates something about how we expect professionals to respond when things go wrong.

For supervising lawyers, mentors, faculty, and other educators, this may mean taking a few extra minutes to have a conversation. Sometimes it may be appropriate to address the issue with an individual student. Other times, the situation can provide a valuable lesson for an entire group.

The important thing is to avoid treating every mistake simply as an inconvenience or a problem to be dealt with.

Instead, we can ask whether there is something here that the student needs to understand before they encounter the same situation in practice.

Professionalism Begins Before Practice

We often talk about preparing students for practice. We create simulations and experiential learning activities that give them opportunities to apply their knowledge in realistic situations.

But practice will also provide something that no carefully designed simulation can completely replicate: unexpected problems.

A client will call at the wrong time. A deadline will approach faster than expected. An email will be misunderstood. A mistake will be discovered. Something will not go according to plan.

Those moments are inevitable.

Our role as educators, supervisors, and mentors is not to prevent students from ever experiencing problems. It is to help them develop the skills, judgment, and professional habits to respond appropriately when problems arise.

Sometimes that means deliberately creating opportunities for students to experience mistakes in a safe environment. Sometimes it means recognizing an opportunity when one unexpectedly presents itself. And sometimes it means simply asking a student to stop and think about what happened and what they will do differently next time.

Professionalism is not something that begins when a student becomes a lawyer. The behaviours that define professionalism are developed long before practice.

They are developed when a student learns to take responsibility for a missed deadline.

They are developed when a student learns to communicate appropriately.

They are developed when a student recognizes that asking for help is sometimes the responsible thing to do.

They are developed when a student makes a mistake, acknowledges it, and takes steps to correct it.

The beginning of a new academic year is a good reminder that learning does not only happen when we are teaching.

It happens when something goes wrong.

It happens when a student makes a mistake.

It happens when a student asks for something they should have planned for differently.

It happens when we have an uncomfortable conversation.

And it happens when someone is willing to stop, reflect, and learn from the experience.

The curriculum may tell students what they need to know. Our response to the unexpected can help teach them how to become professionals.