Teaching Criminology Through Experiential Learning: Issues and Strategies

Abstract

Experiential learning can take many forms and be usedin many ways. In its basic form, it involves moving awayfrom a strict lecture-based model of teaching toward an approach that positions the student as an active participantin his or her own learning and development. Typical useof the approach is in smaller-sized, advanced level classeswhere student involvement is often the expectation. The approach can, however, be used to capture the learning imaginations of students in lecture halls in their early undergraduate years. This paper explores the issues ofadopting an experiential approach in the discipline of Criminology, as well as describing various strategies toalleviate them.

Key words: Criminology; Higher education;Experiential learning