Curriculum Implications of Anti-Gay Attitudes Among Undergraduate Criminal Justice Majors

To examine attitudes towards gays and lesbians in an undergraduate criminal justice sample and to test previous research suggesting that law enforcement students hold higher levels of homophobia, we surveyed 453 undergraduates. Results indicated higher levels of anti-gay attitudes in criminal justice majors compared to a small sample of non-criminal justice majors and similar levels of anti-gay attitudes between law enforcement and other criminal justice students. Gender, race, religion, gay/lesbian friends, patriarchal attitudes, and completing a social science minor outside of criminal justice were found to be significant predictors of attitudes toward gays and lesbians; while the number of courses in which homosexuality issues were included in discussion was not. These findings are discussed and we offer suggestions for criminal justice curriculum that may assist our students in maintaining and upholding a fair and just criminal justice system.     

Using Movies to Illustrate Ethical Dilemmas in Undergraduate Criminal Justice Classes

Ethics education in criminal justice programs has increased in popularity, but instructors sometimes struggle to teach ethics in such a way that students retain what they have learned and apply ethical principles in the criminal justice field upon graduation. The current research highlights that there are several benefits of presenting ethical dilemmas to students through popular movies such as Mississippi Burning and Road to Perdition. Compared to the control group (Section A) that was taught in a traditional lecture format, students who were required to identify ethical dilemmas in movies (Section B) were more likely to understand the complexities of such situations, to rate unethical behavior properly, and to see how ethical principles could be applied to their everyday lives.     

Integrating Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgender Issues into the Undergraduate Criminal Justice Curriculum

Although criminal justice has made strides to incorporate issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender into both research and teaching, the same cannot be said about issues of homosexuality. Prior research indicates criminal justice students are more homophobic than their peers in other majors and that bias against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) persons continues in the criminal justice system. As a result, this article argues that criminal justice educators should integrate issues of sexuality into criminal justice curricula as part of diversity education within the discipline. Few programs currently do so. This article outlines four methods for infusing justice‐related GLBT content into criminal justice classes, including: The teachable moment; incorporating GLBT‐relevant material in required courses; incorporating GLBT‐relevant material into diversity courses; and the development of new electives. These strategies can help combat heterosexism and homophobia.     

Enhancing Student Learning By Using Mock Trials in Criminal Justice Courses

Lecture-oriented teaching is the principal pedagogical technique in college and university classrooms but instructors will sometimes turn to non-lecture techniques in an attempt to provide a more active learning experience. This article describes a mock trial exercise that has been used over several semesters to provide criminal justice students with an active learning experience and increase their understanding of the inquisitorial process in comparison with adversarial proceedings. We provide sufficient detail to allow interested instructors to conduct a similar exercise in their own course. Results of a multi-semester evaluation to assess student perceptions of the exercise show that students expected and found the exercise to be an enjoyable and informative classroom experience that advanced their learning.     

Learning by Doing: Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice

This article highlights the efforts of colleagues in a criminal justice department to offer experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) to undergraduate students. Operating within the framework of a liberal arts curriculum, we provide criminal justice majors with a range of opportunities that fall under the general rubric of “experiential learning”, including the following: internships, field trips, service-learning, and research projects. Our goal was to combine the academic rigors of traditional, classroom-based learning with exposure to hands-on, real-world, subject-based knowledge. We explain the multistage framework that is used to tie all of our ELOs together across the curriculum. Results from a senior and alumni survey indicate that experiential learning offers significant academic and professional benefits for students.     

Engaging Criminal Justice Students through Service Learning

The increasing popularity of service learning has led to the implementation of the pedagogy across educational levels and disciplines. Evidence of its utilization in criminal justice education spans two decades, most of which include case studies of service-learning courses or projects. These examples of service-learning implementation seem to serve as a best practices guide for other faculty and researchers interested in adopting the pedagogy. By examining responses to offender populations and policy areas by students (n = 37) involved in a service-learning course, the current research adds to this “best practices” approach and is intended to instigate further examination of the benefits of service learning for criminal justice students and the discipline.     

学以致用 以用促学

读写脱节一直是中学语文教学存在的不良现象 ,也是语文教学低效的重要原因。如何使学能致用 ,以用促学 ?本文提出了读写结合的教学模式 ,并从三个环节对这一模式进行探讨。     

浅谈合作学习教学策略在职业生涯规划课程中的运用

合作学习强调只有在一个更大的合作背景下,竞争和个体化努力才能真正有效.因此,在高校学生职业生涯规划中,引入合作学习的理念将丰富职业生涯规划的教育形式和内涵.从育人的角度出发,在合作学习的过程中丰富学生的学习认知和经验,通过合作学习,进一步转变学生的择业思想和学习观念.     

An Assessment of the Relative Importance of Criminal Justice Learning Objectives

This study examines the relative importance of the different learning objectives for criminal justice education as identified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). Three different populations (students, faculty, and professionals) completed a survey exercise in which they were required to rank order hypothetical job applicants who varied in competency on each of the ACJS learning objectives. In addition, students completed the same exercise pre- and post-completion of their required internship to determine if experience in the field affected their responses. Conjoint analysis was used to identify the relative importance of different learning objectives. While results indicate some similarities in responses across all three populations, several interesting differences were observed, and these may have important curricular implications for criminal justice programs.     

Teaching Cybersecurity to Criminal Justice Majors

Responses to breaches in cybersecurity are increasingly reliant on criminal justice practitioners. However, while the demand for criminal justice participation in cybersecurity increases daily, most universities are lagging in their educational and training opportunities for students entering criminal justice agencies. This paper discusses the need for cybersecurity programs in criminal justice, and examines how the evolution of this “new crime” has become an issue for criminal justice professionals in addition to computer science experts. A review of existing cybersecurity programs in Texas suggests that most four-year universities have yet to develop courses/programs in criminal justice. Course recommendations, sample syllabi for cybersecurity courses in criminal justice, and recommendations for development of these programs are included.     

The Experiential Learning Cycle in Undergraduate Diversity and Social Justice Education

Teaching for diversity and social justice is the teaching of complex abstract ideas about privilege and oppression, such as the social construction of social groups and identity. An effective way to teach this material is with experiential learning, but this approach requires much more than exercises and activities. Courses must be consciously structured to emphasize both the elements and cycle of experiential learning, as well as attending to critical thinking and the potential for cognitive dissonance. An example of this process from an undergraduate course is presented to demonstrate course construction, experiential learning strategies, and initial outcomes.     

面向GIS本科专业的计算机图形学课程教学改革

计算机图形学是GIS专业的一门重要基础课,在对该课的教学实践中常出现教学过程与GIS专业需求关系不密切、授课过度追求新技术而忽略基础理论等现象,从而有必要进行教学改革。本文对面向GIS专业的课程章节教学安排、实验中软件开发工具的选择、上机实验和课程设计选题以及教学方法的改革等方面进行了讨论。     

Critical Thinking in Criminal Justice Ethics: Using the Affective Domain to Discover Gray Matters

This paper proposes that an effective way to teach critical thinking would be through a criminal justice ethics class that prioritizes learning in the affective domain to prevent persistence of a polarizing perspective. The premise is twofold: first, that us versus them dichotomies hinder higher order thinking and moral decision-making; and, secondly, that it is much more difficult to overcome dichotomous thinking exclusively through cognitive domain teaching because the tendency is for students to sift through new information and focus only on facts which support preexisting positions and, also, because students may anticipate an intellectual attack on their opinions and become defensive or resistant. For those reasons, the suggestion is to use carefully selected, empathy-evoking films as a stealthier, softer introduction to controversial issues.     

The Efficacy of Student Learning in Large-sized Criminal Justice Preparatory Classes

This study compared the performance of students in large-sized criminal justice preparatory classes of up to 300 students to students in small classes of up to 40 students to assess the efficacy of student learning in large classes. Incorporating a pre-post test design, ANOVA, independent, and paired sample t-tests, student scholar characteristics were assessed to determine which students were more likely to benefit from the large class structure. Results indicated that large classes are as efficacious as small classes and that student performance is quite nuanced. More specifically, students’ gender, age, race, ethnicity, status, and major, significantly relate to success in larger classes.     

Undergraduate Student Socialization and Learning in an Online Professional Curriculum

Using data collected from a qualitative case study of an online baccalaureate nursing program, we examined the influence of online degree programs on undergraduate student socialization and learning. We considered how components of socialization—knowledge acquisition, investment, and involvement—are influenced by the online context. The findings suggest the importance of considering non-academic influences in regards to nontraditional student experiences. The theoretical intersection of online learning and undergraduate student development offers new and significant areas of research, specifically related to the pedagogical role of faculty and the impact of social engagement. Implications for future research and practice are offered. Karri A. Holley  received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. She is Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include graduate/professional education, interdisciplinary curricula, and qualitative inquiry. Barrett J. Taylor  is a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on religious colleges and universities.     

Introducing Forensic Anthropology to the Criminal Justice Department: Designing an Effective Curriculum for the Virtual Field and Laboratory

Forensic anthropology is burgeoning but traditionally under the auspices of anthropology departments where the methodology is grounded. Emphasizing the field’s applications justifies its position in criminal justice departments as identification of human skeletal remains serve to uphold the law. As criminal justice programs expand online, online forensic anthropology curriculum must be evaluated. The purpose of this study is to design a forensic anthropology course that meets objectives as equivalently and effectively online as it does face-to-face and test this by comparison of student learning outcomes and satisfaction between the courses. Learning outcomes are measured using mean scores of labs, quizzes, projects, and final grades. Student satisfaction is measured through evaluations. Results demonstrate that objectives are equally achieved and teaching is effective in both cases as student success is as high online as it is on campus. Student perceptions of the courses are also above average in both methods of delivery.     

Moral Dilemmas and Worst-Case Scenarios: Using Post-Apocalyptic Fiction to Teach Criminal Justice Ethics

Criminal justice courses offer ideal opportunities to present students with contemporary issues that ideally will encourage reflection on moral dilemmas. In a criminal justice ethics course, students encounter complex aspects of the topic, such as the application of theories of ethical reasoning beyond merely an understanding of the malfeasance, nonfeasance, and misfeasance of practitioners in the system. A supplemental book, whether fiction or nonfiction, assigned in addition to a criminal justice ethics textbook may facilitate deeper understanding of theories of ethics. The ideal supplemental reading should reflect the range of ethical theories detailed in the main text. In the present article, the authors discuss and evaluate the use of post-apocalyptic fiction, a popular contemporary genre, as supplemental reading in criminal justice ethics courses. A sample criminal justice ethics course writing assignment, a grading rubric, and a discussion of the multiple assessment measures are provided. Assessment results suggest that the supplemental reading helps students meet the course learning objective, which requires students to identify and apply theoretical models of ethics to specific ethical and moral situations.     

英国英格兰教育改革与学校信息技术教育

普及信息技术教育是英国实现整体教育改革和社会信息化的重大突破性综合举措。英格兰在建设信息化学习资源，提高信息技术教育的标准，促进教师信息素养的提高，推进ICT与课程整合等方面齐头并进，在改革的曲折与理念冲突中，教育理论与实践得到创新发展，社会向信息化的转型逐步实现。英格兰的学校信息技术教育进程反映其新世纪教育改革的重要特点。