In addition to research, John is invested in the dissemination of knowledge through teaching. Over the past two years, he has taught a diverse set of undergraduate classes in traditional in-person, online, and hybrid settings (i.e., a combination of face-to-face and online). These courses include introduction to criminal justice, criminological theory, crime control policies, and policing. He has also taught a graduate-level policing course.
John's teaching philosophy centers on presenting material to students in a multi-method fashion (i.e., auditory and visual) in order to cater to individual learning styles. Related, he employs differentiated instruction to address varying levels of student ability and expertise. He believes such strategies are imperative for maximizing learning among all students in a given classroom. Additionally, John strives to create an engaging and interactive classroom culture suitable for the 21st-century student. This includes infusing technology, such as Twitter as well as YouTube/internet videos to illustrate the concepts discussed in the readings and/or lectures. During the current event exercises that he begins his lectures with, he attempts to relate course material to relevant real world applications appearing in the news media. Moreover, he tries to set aside a portion of each class period for a seminar-style format where the students are required to pose stimulating questions to the class. His goal is to ultimately create lifelong learners by instilling in students transferable skills that transcend specific courses; this includes the ability to think critically and to assess material in order to become good consumers of information. Instead of simply asking students to memorize or describe information, John's objective is to get them to analyze and evaluate material/concepts introduced in each course.
*Click the links below for examples of recent course syllabi.