Teaching a course on prisons: A design, some resources, and a little advice

Challenging What They All Know: Integrating the Real/Reel World into Criminal Justice Pedagogy

“…As stated, the learning environment advocated here is one that is student-, rather than, instructor-centered, involving a variety of active learning techniques, as opposed to the passive traditional lecture format (Bordt and Lawler 2005;Jones 2006;Monk-Turner and Payne;Sims 2006). Active learning refers to those "instructional activities [that involve] students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing" (Bonwell andEison 1991 as cited in Monk-Turner andPayne 2005:166).…”

“…Included among the many active learning techniques in the current college classroom are debates, experiential learning, games and simulations, role plays, group work, case study analysis, use of films and literature, group work, content analysis, use of pop culture, guest speakers, and field trips (Bernstein, Scheerhorn, and Ritter 2002;Bordt and Lawler 2005;Brown 2006;Dabney, Green, Topalli 2006;Engel 2003;Finley 2004;Jones 2006;Kenselman and Johnson 2004;Leblanc 1998: Levy andMerenstein 2005;Lichtenberg, Lune, and McManimon 2004;Livingston 2004;Misra 2000;Monk-Turner and Payne 2005;Nickoli, Hendricks, Hendricks, and Osgood 2003;Oberle 2004;Patenaude 2001;Payne et al 2003;Quinn, Holman, andTobolowsky 1992:, Robinson 2000;Sellers 2002;Sims 2006;Williams and Robinson 2004;Wolfer and Baker 2000).…”

On Teaching Interpretively

“…Classes on gender, critical criminology, postmodernism, or race and ethnicity often look for meanings of justice separated from (and often quite critical of) practice. And one could review Bordt and Lawler's (2005) discussion of a class on prisons and find a class that, while seeming to fall within the normative structure of the curriculum, is interpretive in orientation and quite critical of contemporary crime control practices. Yet, the presence of innovative and creative approaches to the topic of justice tends to be peripheral to the normative structure of higher education.…”

The “Real” CSI: Designing and Teaching a Violent Crime Scene Class in an Undergraduate Setting

“…There is a vast amount of literature that an educator may refer to when attempting to design a general course in criminal justice (Bordt and Lawler 2005;Brown 1982;Durham 1992;Wright 1999). However, the educational literature is not as immense for certain specialized courses.…”

“…Field trips are an effective educational tool in a variety of disciplines including criminal justice (Boyle 1995;Bordt and Lawler 2005;Scarce 1997). Tours to the crime labs at the local police department and state laboratories are very beneficial to a class in violent crime scene investigation; however, they do present some logistical hurdles.…”