Creating Significant Learning Outcomes in Criminal Justice Courses: A Classroom Activity to Encourage Reflexivity and Empathetic Thinking

Abstract

The experiences and discourses within a college classroom can have meaningful and lasting influences on students. In this article, we present and analyze student reactions to a Criminal Activities Checklist, a unique classroom activity that demonstrates the social construction of “the criminal” and “law-abiding citizen” and challenges the “us versus them” mentality. Additionally, the activity illustrates the importance of recognizing privilege in society and understanding how privilege can interact with the criminal justice system. We analyzed 170 qualitative responses from students who participated in the activity at teaching-centered universities in Colorado and Oregon. Our findings demonstrate that the activity fostered student Reflexivity regarding their misperceptions of crime and criminals and demonstrated Empathetic Thinking towards those with less privilege or who were affected by the criminal justice system.