ABSTRACT
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 138 Experiential Learning Model ............................................................................ 138 Experiential Learning in Criminology Justice ................................................ 139 Cooperative Educational Experiences and Internships in Criminal Justice ................................................................................................140 Internships ............................................................................................................141 Service Learning in Criminal Justice Higher Education ............................... 143 University Year in Action, Juvenile Justice Assistants Program, and Justice Volunteer Center ............................................................................ 144 Workshops, Practicums, Field Trips, Guest Speakers, and Team Teaching ...........................................................................................145 Mock Trial Competition .....................................................................................147 Workshops Focusing on Comparisons of Criminal Justice Systems ........... 148 International Education in Criminal Justice: Case Exemplar, Molloy College .................................................................................................... 150 The Ireland Experience ...................................................................................... 153 The Vienna, Austria, and Prague, Czech Republic, Experiences ................. 154 Reflecting on the International Educational Experience .............................. 155 References ............................................................................................................ 156
The Association for Experiential Education (2014, 1) defines experiential education as “a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, and clarify values.” In Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement: Experiential Education Student Interest Form, experiential learning is defined as “engaged learning in which the learner experiences a visceral connection to the subject matter and combines direct, meaningful student experiences with guided reflection and analysis (Learn and Serve: America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse).” This distinction between experiential education and experiential learning may be splitting hairs, but experiential learning focuses on the learning process of the individual while experiential education refers to much a broader concept, that is, the methods used in facilitating the experiential learning of the individual.* For example, a student can learn about the criminal justice system by being arrested, processed through the court, sentenced, and by being sent to prison. However, the same student can also learn about the criminal justice system by participating in a class in which students are given an opportunity to observe, or even participate in, the criminal justice process, as well as having an opportunity to reflect on the processing of individuals through the system. For example, a sociology-criminal justice course taught by the author required the students to spend an evening on patrol with police officers, observe court hearings, visit prisons, and even to spend one night in jail.† Obviously, the experience of the person who was processed through the system as a defendant is more profound and meaningful than that of the students who receive their information through observation and questioning of the participants in the process, while the experiential education experience provides opportunities for a more structured, focused, goal-oriented learning experience.
