Visualizing the Criminal Justice System
Thomas Horejes, Ph.D.
Faculty Learning Community (FLC) & Gallaudet Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Initiative (GSTLI)
Research Question
The Criminal Justice System is interwoven in
three major branches – police, courts,
corrections. There are also 13 major steps that
guide the overall Criminal Justice process. My
research question inquires: what are implications
that a visual model of the Criminal Justice
System will enable students to better connect the
inclusive criminal justice system as a whole?
Method for Assessment
1. Investigation
SOCIETY
CRIME
2. Arrest
Police
3. Booking
Objectives
The teaching approach for this course will
visually model the three branches and 13 steps as
an interrelated learning corpus of the criminal
justice system. By doing so, an actual and recent
criminal case will be showcased and involve all
branches and most (if not all) of the steps.
Students will use the criminal case as a core
visual and gravitating mechanism to explore
ways that the police, courts, corrections as well
as its steps play a critical and interrelated
function of the criminal justice system.
This modified teaching approach is an attempted
departure from the lecture-based and twodimensional approach that incorporated these
branches and 13-steps as isolated data sets.
Rather, by using one criminal case as a
gravitating tool, the objective of this project is to
examine the ways that this modified approach
would emerge as a multi-layered learning and
interactive approach on understanding the
criminal justice system. Lastly, this project will
be used to assess the ways that this visual
approach accomplishes SLO #2 Critical
Thinking and SLO #4 Knowledge & Inquiry.
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2011
www.PosterPresentations.com
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Criminal Justice
(an actual criminal case)
4. Charging
13. Release
5. Initial
Appearance
Courts
Corrections
6. Grand Jury
7. Indictment
12. Corrections
11. Appeal
10. Sentencing
9. Trial
A mixed-methods evaluation will be completed
by students towards the end of the semester to
address the objective; namely, how well the 13steps and the three branches were incorporated
throughout the course. Some questions include:
1) Were the 13-steps of the Criminal Justice
System and its connections clear? Are you
able to identify the 13-steps? If so, please
summarize them here.
2) Were the three parts of the Criminal
Justice System clear? Are you able to
identify each of the three parts of the CJ
system? If so, please summarize them.
3) Are you able to apply knowledge about
the Criminal Justice System, its three
branches, and the 13-steps to better
understand our society?
• The first two questions addresses SLO #2
Critical Thinking
For this course, I inquire: are students able to
incorporate the interconnectedness of these 13steps and its function toward one of the branches
of Criminal Justice system as a whole?
• The Last question addresses SLO #4:
Knowledge & Inquiry
For this course, I inquire: are students able to
understand the ways that the CJ System
contributes toward our society as a whole?
8. Arraignment
Results will be used to compare from
Department assessment data and prior student
evaluations not utilizing this modified approach.