Shaking Up Criminal Justice Education with Team-Based Learning

Abstract

This article introduces readers to the philosophy and design of team-based learning (TBL), a method developed by Dr. Larry Michaelsen that was influenced by literature in organizational psychology and pedagogy documenting what actually motivates adults to learn and how they master higher order learning skills. We describe how TBL was implemented in several criminal justice courses and illustrate how this method has drastically reduced student apathy, increased attendance, improved performance, and eliminated frustration for both instructors and students. Additionally, we reflect on how this method has reshaped our roles as educators.

Notes

1. These forms are available for different numbers of questions.

2. Video clips of Bushway’s TBL classes, including student interviews, can be found on the University at Albany’s Institute for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Leadership website at http://www.itlal.org/.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Janet P. Stamatel

Janet P. Stamatel is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Her research interests include cross-national crime comparisons, the consequences of macro-level social changes on social order, and quantitative methods.

Shawn D. Bushway

Shawn D. Bushway is a professor of Criminal Justice and Professor of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany (SUNY). He received his PhD in Public Policy Analysis and Political Economy in 1996 from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. His current research focuses on the process of desistance, the impact of a criminal history on subsequent outcomes, and the distribution of discretion in the criminal justice sentencing process.

William D. Roberson

William D. Roberson is the director of the Institute for Teaching, Learning and Academic Leadership at the University of Albany (SUNY). He received his PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His professional work and research in faculty development is focused on design of courses and learning sequences to promote critical thinking.