Juvenile Justice
None.
The Sakai-based aspects of the course were developed from a summer institutional technology program at Texas State University – San Macros. I have taught the juvenile justice course several times and encountered three challenging student misconceptions: (1. Individuals (including juveniles) that have committed crimes have done so primarily of their own free will. 2. Criminal behavior is the product of current circumstance, with little influence from historiographic events. 3. Many of the students feel that the criminal justice function/profession is largely separate from other social functions.). In developing this course project, the primary goal was to promote a more accurate understanding of the factors that increase the likelihood of a juvenile entering the juvenile justice system and the pragmatic difficulties that juveniles (and their families) face when attempting to offset these factors. More specifically, I wanted to bridge the gap between theory and practical application or praxis in the juvenile justice system. Through these concepts, a semester-long “juvenile wiki project” was designed, where students would be assigned random cities and compare/contrast the textbook explanations of criminal justice and social systems with the actual practices of cites throughout the country. In addition, they would be assigned a socio-demographic characteristic (e.g. “raised by single mother”, “foster care juvenile”, “racial/ethnic minority”) to determine the additional effects of that characteristic on a juvenile’s success or failure within the larger juvenile justice system. Students would also have the opportunity to examine, critique, and question their peers’ findings. Finally, students’ motivation, prior knowledge, learning guidance, feedback, and project evaluation were all considered prior to implementation.
The greatest challenge was stepping away from the paradigm of a safely prepped class into a technologically constructed, semester long project that would greatly enhance the course. Although the challenges of a new course paradigm occasionally arise, the numerous technological resources available to instructors and students on campus have eased the overall transition.
Over the course of the semester, a traditional textbook was utilized as the primary source of presenting the primary course theories and principles, with the “juvenile wiki project” acting as a praxis-based challenge to the textbook suggestions. For example, chapters on the theories and principles of juvenile policing, probation, treatment, diversion, and institutionalization were presented and discussed. Next, students would research the praxis of these services in their assigned zip codes to determine their strengths, limitations, and opportunities for improvement, as well as the larger effects of their assigned “difficulty variable.” They were responsible for contacting various agencies in their zip code, retrieving information, and presenting/discussing it on their wiki page. Also, guest speakers were presented in person (whenever possible) to present an additional perspective of theory v. praxis.
The Sakai aspect of the course presented an opportunity to “breathe life” into what has traditionally been a theoretical course and to bridge the gap between theory and practical application. Since much of the information that they would obtain on their particular city would come from the web, it seemed a natural inclination to use the wiki tool to both capture their work and to allow peers to examine and compare the overall wiki coursework.
At the end of the semester, students provided an oral presentation where they utilized their wiki findings to explain why their juvenile had an increased/decreased likelihood of entering the juvenile justice system and the challenges their juvenile faced with their “difficulty variable
In the previous version of this course, the communication and collaboration were primarily traditional classroom interactions between instructor and student. This project enhanced the overall interactions between instructor and student, as well as amongst students. Since each individual was responsible for creating a particular wiki page and providing feedback to their peers’ wiki pages, it enhanced the overall communication within the course. Moreover, since the wiki page assignments correlated to the major course topics, the classroom discussion was also enhanced.
For example, there was a chapter in the textbook on “diversion programs.” While we were discussing the chapter, students were given the task of tracking down various diversion programs in their designated zip code and modifying their ongoing wiki. They addressed the travel distance, program availability, the limitations (if the diversion program was solely available to residents of a particular city), the strengths of the program, and the expectations of the program. Students’ collaboration came in the form of being required to read their peers’ wiki projects and share comments and questions on their peers’ wiki pages. Subsequently, a guest speaker (Director of a local teen court) came to speak to the students about her specific diversion program. As the result of the textbook discussion and their wiki projects, students were more prepared to ask pointed questions and discuss larger issues with the guest speaker.
The unique strength of the communication and collaboration evidence for this project came in the form of community communication. Since each student was assigned a zip code within an American city, they often communicated with police departments, treatment centers, (diversion programs in the example provided above) and other social service and criminal justice agencies in order to acquire useful information towards their overall project.
Prior to the start of the “juvenile wiki project”, the classes were provided instruction on the needed requirements for effectively completion. A university librarian not only provided detailed instruction, but also provided a “widget” within the SAKAI system that allowed for students to “instant message” her throughout the semester with questions or seeking advice. The syllabus was made available online and in written form with written expectations for the project and for writing style and content. Also, each wiki assignment was made available online with detailed expectations and a basic example of assignment expectations. The overall wiki project coincided with the layout of the textbook, so the sequencing of the project was consistent with their textbook readings and their classroom discourse. Further, I would attempt to prompt questions / discussion on the similarities and/or differences between the textbook explanation of a particular subject and their findings for their particular city. Finally, guest speakers and films further allowed for addressing the overall content in a comparative manner.
The goals and outcomes for this project were clearly stated within the syllabus, during the detailed description of the project, and in the assessment requirements. All seven principles (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) were taken into consideration prior to the creation of the project and were successfully established.
1. The dialogue between students, instructors, and peers was prompted within the wiki pages and strengthened through Socratic course dialogues. Because each wiki assignment was consistent with the text and course, student, instructor, and peer dialogue remained focused and topical throughout and questions were consistent with the larger social issues of their respective cities.
2. The interactive nature of their wiki pages, both through reading and commenting on peers’ work, allowed for reciprocity in the analysis of work. Through analyzing their peers work, they further developed a cooperative relationship. Finally, the main page of the “juvenile wiki project” had a section that allowed for information, findings, or statements by any participant that they felt would be of interest to the entire group.
3. Students were examining the current practices and policies of police departments, treatment facilities, juvenile courts, diversion programs, etc. throughout the country and sharing information with one another, allowed them to move away from traditional passive learning into a more active learning. They were empowered to bring textbook and personal knowledge into the “juvenile wiki project” and classroom discussion, as well as to incorporate knowledge of their various cities and the collaborative information found on their peers’ wiki pages to bring a more active process to the classroom.
4. Prompt feedback was provided from both the instructor and their peers. The feedback from the instructor came in the form of general feedback of common errors to the class and specific feedback to individuals. The feedback from their peers was done on the wiki page itself in the form of additional questions and/or comments that arose from the student’s wiki posting.
5. The time management of the “juvenile wiki project” is largely self-governed, as wiki pages are extremely difficult to use when large numbers of students access the page(s) simultaneously. Therefore, their task of completing wiki pages encouraged effective and strategic time management.
6. High expectations were communicated to the students in the form of the amount of work and points that would be allotted to this project in the overall course, as well as through clear communication of the expected amounts and types of work expected on the “juvenile wiki project”. Furthermore, it was communicated that it would be difficult to succeed in the course without succeeding on this project.
7. The diverse talents and ways of learning were paramount to this project. Students were able to better understand through the textbooks and traditional lectures (the instructor), through guest speakers (practitioners), through movies and documentaries (visual commentary), through their own research (self-actualization), and through each other (peer learning). Individuals learned according to their strengths and experienced intersectionalities of learning.
The original intention of the “juvenile wiki project” was to maintain consistency with the primary aspects of the course. All major aspects of course learning are utilized within SAKAI (announcements, assignments, syllabus, wiki, resources), which lends to an aesthetic design that provides student’s with a consistent location for the majority of “juvenile wiki project” and overall course information. Furthermore, each student’s wiki page has a consistent design, which provides for effective peer navigation and feedback. Different types of media were used throughout the semester and course accessibility was addressed as it occurred, although there have been minimal accessibility issues.
The instructor, as well as the teaching assistant, was available on a daily basis and via email. In addition, the institutional technology department has numerous resources available to students for SAKAI, including video instruction, FAQ’s, and a “searchable knowledgebase.” Finally, students have direct access to a campus librarian through a widget in SAKAI and appropriate resources were consistently added for on the fly support.
Most everyone that has ever been employed is aware that the description of job duties is often vastly different than the work that is completed. The use of Sakai in this course bridges the gap between theoretical explanations of why juveniles enter the juvenile justice system, what the juvenile justice system provides and the true praxis of the juvenile justice system in various cities. Also, the “juvenile wiki project” humanizes both the “juvenile” and the criminal justice and social services that would be utilized. Because they’re contacting various agencies for information, they’re able to understand the assistance, the bureaucracy, and the challenges that juveniles and the parent(s) face daily.
The “juvenile wiki project” has unmistakably transformed the student’s educational experience. On a basic level, they are learning more about the various cities throughout the United States from a demographic, criminological, and juvenile perspective. More important, they are learning the real factors that juveniles face, the larger social and demographic variables that limit their success, and the difficulties juveniles (and their families) face in maneuvering through the various systems. From the start, they were enthusiastic for a new type of learning and assessment. Although I plan to create a wiki student evaluation, my assesment is based upon intitial feedback and feedback received during the semester. One student stated, "I've really enjoyed the change of pace from other classes. It has made the class more interesting." Another student explained, "I am better understanding the complexities of the {juvenile justice} system. I've never really considered these types of issues before." They (and I) believe that their practical learning has been enhanced as the result of the project.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
