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  This teaching guide is a resource for lecturers  

 

Teaching methods

 

Academics have an important role to play in teaching curricula (according to key learning objectives) and facilitating student learning. The E4J University Modules on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice provide teaching materials and pedagogical tools and resources to help academics teach classes and courses on crime prevention and criminal justice related topics and facilitate student learning.

 

Student learning

Individuals learn in a variety of ways. Some students thrive in courses that involve a face-to-face interaction, while others thrive in virtual, self-paced classrooms with written communications as a form of interaction. Other students thrive when “learning by doing.” In these classes, students complete practical exercises and case studies, applying what they learned in the classroom to real-world situations and problems. The Modules were designed with different learning styles in mind.

There are two types of teaching styles, teacher-centred and student-centred (Bain, 2004; Brown, McDaniel and Roediger, 2014; Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 2000). Teacher-centred approaches rely on lectures as a central mode of delivery. Lecturers provide a framework for assigned material and synthesize and analyse in a way that facilitates higher cognitive thinking. The lecture-style is an authority model of teaching that imparts information to students using a one-way form of communication, with the exception that multimedia is used, and/or demonstrations and other activities. This teaching style involves little to no interaction, apart from question and answer sessions. Here, lecturers orally communicate information to students and students passively receive this information. For this reason, this style of teaching facilitates what is known as passive learning. This form of passive learning is assessed using formal and objective forms of assessment, such as examinations. Teacher-centred instruction methods also do not incorporate student preferences or provide active learning opportunities. By contrast, student-centred teaching styles include inquiry-based learning and cooperative-based learning, whereby the lecturer serves as a facilitator and delegator of learning. As a facilitator of learning, academics promote student self-learning and guide students’ learning process by stimulating discussions, and encouraging both the asking of questions and the search for answers. As a delegator of learning, an academic encourages individual and group work (the latter of which is a form of cooperative learning, whereby students work together to complete an assignment). For these reasons, student-centred styles incorporate student preferences in teaching and provide active learning opportunities. Active learning provides students with opportunities for reflection and application of knowledge. These activities include problem-solving, practical exercises, discussions, group work, role-playing, and peer review. These types of activities seek to engage students in value-based education, motivate them to become part of a positive criminal justice reform that is needed, cultivate their sense of social justice/natural justice, and help them identify and build upon their expertise. An example of such a student-centred, active learning assignment involves calling on students to identify a crime/criminal justice problem in their own country that warrants their government’s attention, identify the causes of that problem, think about ways to practically approach the problem, and propose realistic solutions to that problem by explaining the connection between their proposed solutions and the causes of the problem. Blended or hybrid styles of teaching incorporate both teacher-centred and student-centred teaching styles. This style is considered as a form of integrative learning, combining both passive and active learning (Miller, 2005).

In addition to differences in learning styles, students have different learning abilities. Teaching styles should be modified based on students’ needs and learning abilities. The teaching style and pedagogy chosen to engage students in learning thus varies by class and course. Using a variety of teaching styles can assist lecturers in reaching all students within their classroom.

 

Learning outcomes and assessment tools

Bloom (1956) identifies three educational domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Within the cognitive domain, Bloom (1956) identified six cognitive levels, including “knowledge (i.e. ability to remember information); comprehension (i.e. ability to understand information); application (i.e. ability to use what they learned); analysis (i.e. ability to analyse information); synthesis (i.e. ability to combine what was previously known with other information learned to create new knowledge), and evaluation (i.e. ability to judge information)” (UNODC E4J Cybercrime Teaching Guide, p. 14). The cognitive domain includes both lower cognitive thinking (e.g. knowledge and comprehension) and higher cognitive thinking (e.g. application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation), which emphasize problem solving, creative thinking, and critical thinking skills.

Bloom’s taxonomy and the 2001 revision of Bloom’s taxonomy by Anderson and Krathwohl have been used to explain student learning. Specifically, learning outcomes are devised based on the lower and higher cognitive thinking of both Bloom’s original and revised taxonomy.

Learning outcomes based on the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) identify the following expectations for students’ academic performance: learners are required to demonstrate that they know something (remember), comprehend something (understand), can apply what they learned (apply), can analyze information (analyze), can assess information (evaluation), and can develop something new (create) (UNODC E4J Cybercrime Teaching Guide, p. 16).

The learning outcomes describe the measurable knowledge, skills, and abilities that students who complete courses based on the Module content should be able to demonstrate. The proper articulation of learning outcomes is essential to effective teaching. It is imperative that learning outcomes are clear, measurable, and reasonable given the course material and instruction. Preferred learning outcomes are those associated with integrative approaches – including written and oral communication, problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, and the ability to apply theory to practice. The latter skill enables students to use what they learned in the classroom and apply it to real-world situations.

Assessment tools objectively and subjectively evaluate student learning and determine whether learning outcomes were met (CARLA, n.d.). Objective assessments examine “students’ ability to recognize correct content and if designed correctly, to understand content” (Schwartz, n.d.) Subjective assessments, by contrast, can assess multiple learning outcomes beyond those commonly evaluated by objective assessments, particularly those based on cognitive skills such as analysis, evaluation, and creation (Schwartz, n.d.; UNODC E4J Cybercrime Teaching Guide, p. 16). The Crime Prevention Criminal Justice Module Series focuses on subjective assessments, in that they assess applied knowledge, and critical competencies in achieving criminal justice reform, in accordance with international law. The Modules include multiple forms of objective and subjective assessment tools including quizzes, exercises, case studies, essay questions, examination questions, assessed presentations, research papers, report analysis, and policy analysis (see Section 3.B of this Teaching Guide for more information).

Did you know?

There are numerous open source resources to assist academics in creating learning outcomes and assessment tools for these outcomes (see for example: Tools and Resources made available by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence of Penn State University).

Academics are encouraged to reference the material on assessment tools in the Modules from other E4J University Module Series on counter-terrorism, cybercrime, integrity and ethics, and trafficking in persons/smuggling of migrants. For example, the E4J Counter-Terrorism Teaching Guide has detailed information on innovative teaching strategies with and without technology requirements (see below box on Gallery Walk for an example). In addition to the Gallery Walk, academics can also adapt exercises included in the E4J Integrity and Ethics Teaching Guide, in the following manner:

  • The Model United Nations Simulation, whereby students choose a crime prevention or criminal justice debate topic and a country that they will defend in a UN Module United Nations Simulation (Note: students must choose a country that they are not resident or citizen of).
  • Pop culture examples of crime prevention and criminal justice issues. Here, students discuss the depiction of these issues in pop culture and the implications of the way these are depicted. 
  • Decision cards. Students are presented with a crime prevention or criminal justice issue that requires a decision. They are asked to choose from the decision cards that are distributed and place their decision in a box. The students are asked to consider the decisions of their classmates. The students are asked to evaluate the decisions of their classmates – ideally those who have a different point of view.

Gallery Walk

1.1  Brief description of the tool

Gallery Walk is a discussion technique that gets the students out of their chairs and into a mode of active engagement. A Gallery Walk can be conducted with computers, with pieces of paper on tables, or with posted chart paper. It can be scheduled for 15 minutes (a Gallery Run) or for several sessions.

1.2  How the exercise aims to enhance student learning

It provides an opportunity for the students to share thoughts in a more intimate, supportive setting rather than a larger, anonymous class. It also provides the instructor with an ability to gauge the depth of student understanding of particular concepts and to challenge misconceptions. Gallery Walk promotes class discussion and debates, higher order thinking (analysis, evaluation and synthesis), cooperative and collaborative learning, team building, and encourages alternative approaches to problems through exposure to different perspectives. Furthermore, it reassures students that their voices, ideas, and experiences are valued. It can serve as an ice breaker since it promotes interaction amongst the students and the instructor, encouraging movement and interrupting the lethargy that sometimes results from being seated for long periods.

1.3  Ways in which it could be embedded into a class and the technicalities of how to do it

Generate Questions: Think of four to five questions to use around a central class concept. Student teams in a Gallery Walk typically number three to five. So, for a class of twenty write four to five questions. For larger classes either write more questions or repeat the same set of four to five questions, posting the same question set in different sections of the room.

Write Questions: Before class time, write the Gallery Walk questions on large sheets of paper, post-it paper, flip charts, whiteboards, or simply write questions on pieces of paper. An advantage of whiteboards is that the boards can be used repeatedly. Write one question for one sheet of paper.

Post Questions: Post the questions on the wall around the room, giving sufficient separation space between sheets. Alternatively, questions can be placed on desks dispersed throughout the room. Prepare Students: The first time Gallery Walk is used, give students instructions for carrying out the technique. If the Gallery Walk has formal oral and written evaluation, mention the important components of that evaluation.

  • Group Students and Assign Roles: Arrange students into teams of three to five. Provide each group with a different colored marker or pen. Ask that each group member introduce themselves. If cooperative learning techniques will be used, assign roles like leader, reporter, monitor, and recorder. The role should be alternated between each team member. To add even more cooperative group structure, add an "emissary" function to each group. The "emissary" communicates any questions or problems to the instructor. This added role forces group members to channel their discussion through another member of the group.
  • Begin Gallery Walk: Direct teams to different charts or "stations." Upon arriving at the station, each team writes comments for the question posed at the station. To avoid chart clutter and rambling comments, encourage the recorder to write in a bulleted format closest to the top of the chart.
  • Rotate to New Station and Add Content: After a short period of time, say three to five minutes but the exact time will depend upon the nature of the question, say "rotate." The group then rotates to the next station. At the new station the group adds new comments and responds to comments left by the previous group. To involve all group members, switch recorders at each station.
  • Instructor Monitors Progress: As groups rotate, the instructor nurtures student discussion and involves all group members. Be ready to rephrase questions or to provide hints if students either don't understand or misinterpret questions; be ready to provide instructions for those that still don't understand how to conduct a Gallery Walk. To spur discussion, ask questions like "Your group seems to think ..... about this issue. How would you rephrase or summarize what has been discussed so far?" or "What similarities and differences do you see between the responses you are giving at this station and what was summarized at the last station?"
  • Return to Starting Point: Teams continue to review the answers already contributed by previous groups, adding their own comments. This procedure continues until groups have visited all stations and return to the station at which they started. Instruct students to record their original (starting) question and to sit down in their teams to begin the "Report Out" stage.
  • Report Out: In the "Report Out" stage, the group synthesizes what has been written about their original discussion question. Allow about ten minutes for the group to synthesize comments. The "reporter" chosen earlier, summarizes the group's comments with the help of other group members and makes an oral presentation to the class using the blackboard or on an overhead projector. The oral report should not exceed five minutes in length. Alternatively, students can write a written report composed either individually or as a group.
  • Gauge for Student Understanding: During "Report Out" stage, the instructor reinforces correctly expressed concepts and corrects for misconceptions and errors. What, for example, did students seem to readily understand? What did they find difficult and how can I adjust my teaching to accommodate students?

1.4 Variations of the Gallery Walk Technique

Gallery Run – "Gallery Run" is a faster version of "Gallery Walk." The questions posted at each station are lower level questions involving knowledge or comprehension. Such questions typically don't need as much discussion and debate as more open-ended questions. To avoid groups from filling in all possible answers at a station, "run" groups through stations at a much quicker rate. This allows subsequent groups to contribute new material. The "report out" stage can still involve the use of higher order thinking skills when groups synthesize and evaluate the material summarized on their charts.

Computer Tour – "Computer Tour" is carried out the same way as a "Gallery Walk", except the question or image to be discussed at each station is displayed on a computer rather than a sheet of paper posted on the wall. The advantage of this approach is that images for discussion can quickly be posted.

Source: UNODC E4J Counter-Terrorism Teaching Guide, citing Francek, M (2020). Gallery Walk. Pedagogy In Action - Science Education Resource Center: Carleton College.
 
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