Juvenile Delinquency & Gangs: MIDTERM PROJECT.

Juvenile Delinquency & Gangs: MIDTERM PROJECT.

Course Level Student learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate the ability to propose decisions as it relates to criminal justice
• Develop critical thinking skills to analyze ethical issues
• Analyze gang involvement
• Discuss systemic response to gang membership

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Present a well-written position
• Incorporate high-quality sources
• Provide appropriate evidence for claims
• Apply theory where appropriate
• Write in a clear, well-organized paper in APA format

You will be submitting your Midterm Project on Canvas,

For any of the projects, you will be focusing in on one of the following Research Question:

How can we prevent at-risk youth from joining gangs in the first place?

How can we get gang members to leave their gang lifestyle and become conventional members of society?

1. For the first option, you will report all about the goal ofpreventing gang membership. You will be thinking about how we need to change society–not just a few individuals–to get at the root of the issues, and change  This will not just be your opinion; you will back up your recommendations with the ethical reasoning, theories, and evidence that you have collected this semester, in our course. No matter the category, or format, you will need to address at least ONE policy that should change.

2. For the second option, you will have to report on all of the systems that lead towards, and address what we would need to do as a society to get gang members to quit their lifestyles. No matter the category, or format, you will need to discuss at least ONE policy that should change to have gang members quit their gangs.

Do

Are you interested in really making a difference in the world? This may be the option for you. This format takes some creativity, and some research, but maybe more engaging for those who are more interested in doing, instead of always just analyzing. For this Midterm Project, write a proposal to “do” the service it would take to make those changes. Treat this as if you are writing a proposal to do some volunteer service that will create real, systemic social change. Tell the reader what you propose to do, why it will make a difference at the level of society, and back up your assertions with what we have learned this semester. You do not need to get bogged down in details about renting space, or setting up a non-profit; focus on the details that best relate to the course, and to the discipline of criminology and criminal justice: how can you get at the underlying social issues, instead of providing surface Band-Aids? What are your goals, and how can you utilize the skills and labor of people (including yourself) to accomplish those goals?

Format choices:

• Submit a 4 to the 5-page proposal, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and a 12-point font comparable to Times New Roman in size.

   you are expected to:

• Thoroughly and accurately cite (yes, even in presentations, videos et al.).
• Utilize at least TWO of the assigned readings from the course (each chapter counts as one reading).
• Utilize at least TWO academic or high-quality sources outside of the assigned materials. If you have any questions about a source being academic, please ask. In general, this does NOT mean blogs–this means scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. You will need to use the library to find these, not just Google.
• Addrezss at least ONE policy that must change to prevent future social problems, at the level of society. Be sure to explain what you mean thoroughly, and back up all of your assertions with scholarly evidence.
• Provide a clear thesis, and scholarly evidence to back up that thesis.
• Assume an audience that has NOT taken this course. Explain as if you are presenting to the Lasell student body at large; explain any jargon they would not understand and assume they are at least at an undergraduate college level in their educational background. Be sure to balance this with maintaining an academic tone.
• Contact me sooner, rather than later, if you have ANY questions. Start formulating a plan now, and be open-minded to pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Talk to me, or start an email thread, to bounce around ideas!

NOTE: No matter your category or format, you MUST adhere to all of the requirements listed above. In some cases, you may need to submit a 1-2 page write up to discuss the connections between your project and the course materials and to show and explain your sources to me.

Some creative project ideas:

• (20 slides x 20 seconds each)
• Take a series of photographs
• Design a website about one of the topics you found most engaging (or enraging!)

Former students have:

• Developed a video game
• Designed a curriculum for high school girls
• Designed a website
• Filmed spoof commercials
• Made video slideshows with images, music, and text
• Created spoof advertisements by changing real visual advertisements

Juvenile Delinquency & Gangs: MIDTERM PROJECT.