Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

Week 1. Introduction: Media depictions of crime and criminal justice

Week 2. Researching crime and the media (please note that I have added this topic to the list. Its inclusion is designed to help lay the theoretical foundation for the unit).

Week 3. Bear Brook: Emerging technologies to solve crime – the rise of investigative genetic genealogy 

Week 4. Serial: The popularization of investigative journalism into crime

Week 5. West of Memphis: The demonization of teenagers

Week 6. When They See Us: The demonization of young black and Latino boys

Week 7. Amanda Knox: The characterization and demonization of ‘femme fatales’

Week 8. Murder on a Sunday Morning: Issues of eyewitness misidentification

Week 9. Making a Murderer: Reigniting public interest in wrongful convictions

Week 10. The Teacher’s Pet: Bringing new evidence to light in murder cases

Week 11. The Innocence Files: Police and expert witness misconduct

Week 12. Roll Red Roll: ‘Anonymous’ taking on sexual assault offenders online

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit comprises 150 hours of study in total. It will be taught over a 12 week semester and includes one 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial each week or ACU Online 10 week asynchronous delivery mode. The balance of the hours committed to this unit comprise private student study and undertaking of assessments.

Our strategy is to encourage students to actively engage with unit content and their peers; to provide a clear link between lecture content and tutorial practicum to develop skills that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Within an integrated learning framework, lectures will provide core content relating to the topics identified above and begin the process of exploration, which will be followed by detailed explanation and further investigation in tutorials. Through direct interaction between students and teachers, students are encouraged to engage in critical analysis of the foundational knowledge they acquire; to test that knowledge by applying it to factual situations; and to reflect on their learning. Each component is intended to build on knowledge and skills and progressively scaffold student learning. 

 The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple preparatory and practice opportunities to guide in-class and out-of-class study. Technology assistance in the form of online learning resources, notices, assessment information (including online submission, marking and return of results/feedback), is student focused, affording greater accessibility and flexibility to the learning experience. 

ACU Online

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.