Section outline

  • Welcome to [SUBJ ####]!
    Purpose of the Course 

    This Open Educational Resource (OER) Criminology course is designed to introduce high school students to the scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, and social influences on law-breaking. The purpose of this course is to help students understand why crime occurs, how social environments shape behavior, and how research and theory are used to analyze real-world problems in communities. This OER course aims to educate, empower, and equip high school students with the knowledge and skills needed to understand crime as a social issue, apply theory to real-world contexts, and develop critical thinking skills essential for academic and civic success.

    As an OER course, all materials are freely accessible, allowing students, families, and educators to engage with high-quality academic content without cost barriers. This course supports college and career readiness, especially for students interested in criminal justice, psychology, sociology, social work, public policy, law, or community advocacy.

    Course Introduction
    Discuss expected outcomes, real-world application of skills and knowledge, and how the course fits within the program. Articulate the purpose of the course.
    Adopting instructors can embed a welcome video or add additional text here. 

    Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

    1. Understand the difference between the various theories that describe criminal behavior
    2. Apply criminological theories to cultural and local examples; be able to understand which theories work best for types of crime or criminal circumstances
    3. Analyze how environmental and traumatic influences, genetics, criminogenic outcomes, and genetics are related to criminality.
    4. Define the nine steps of the research process, analyze the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches and compare inductive vs. deductive methods.
    5. Analyze how social norms, peer associations, and structural inequalities influence criminal behavior by applying key sociological theories such as Differential Association, Social Disorganization, Anomie, and Strain Theory to historical and contemporary crime patterns in diverse contexts like Louisiana.
    6. Evaluate the role of social bonds, community disorganization, and systemic disparities in shaping individual and group-level deviance.
    Structure of the Course
    Describe the course structure, such as number of modules, to allow the learner to understand how the learning process if structured and carried out. 
     
    Navigating the Course
    Adopting institution should provide learners information on how to navigate the course. Consider adding an introductory navigation video. Text description could include, for example:

    This course is set up in Modules covering various topics which may be accessed from the course navigation menu on the left or by scrolling below. Modules may be collapsed in the menu and it the body of the course to minimize scrolling. Each module includes the relevant chapters followed by various activities, which may include discussion forums, listening activities and quizzes, practice quizzes, module tests, and other relevant activities as appropriate for each module. Many items are required and may be marked as completed automatically when the activity has been submitted (the broken check box), but others will mark as done by the student (the solid check box). 
     
    Please move through the items below and continue through the Learner Support and Getting Started modules before moving on to Module 1. Be sure to check for announcements and due dates to stay on track.
     
    Creative Commons attribution license This course and its contents are developed by Ashley Ojo; Brandon Hamann; David Khey; Franklyn Scott; Douglas Marshall; and Jasmine Wise: and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network, except where otherwise noted. 
     

    Adopting instructors should edit the About Your Instructor and Office Hours Information pages in this Module.

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