Dr. Brenda Russell, Program Coordinator for the Criminal Justice degree and Professor of Psychology at Penn State Berks, was recently awarded a Penn State Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence 2015-16 Teaching Grant for her project titled ?A Visit from John Douglas: The Criminal Justice System: Law and Disorder.?
Criminal Justice includes the study of the agencies and procedures used to manage crime and the persons accused of violating criminal law. Faculty from the Penn State Berks Criminal Justice major will use a presentation from Dr. John Douglas, a world-renowned FBI and criminal profiling figure, as a springboard for classroom discussion and assignments such as case studies and debates, investigating the impact of media on investigative procedures, trials, and punishments. According to Russell, most students and the general public understand criminal profiling in the context of television shows, which influences what jurors expect to see in criminal cases and their decisions.
"It was a banner year,? comments Angela Linse, Penn State Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence's executive director. ?The quality of the projects and proposals was outstanding and we had sufficient endowment funds to support every project put forward for consideration. We were impressed by our faculty?s creativity and the solutions they?ve designed to overcome the challenges they face as they attempt to introduce new teaching and learning techniques into their classrooms,? she added.
The Teaching Project Grant program is a competitive program designed to provide support for Penn State faculty, departments, and degree-granting programs who want to engage in projects that support teaching and learning endeavors in undergraduate education.
