Students work together as a legal team on a simulated homicide case. They review police reports, affidavits, and case files that will help them develop a theory of the case.
They also analyze data on incarceration rates in the United States and discuss the concepts of crime and justice, power and fairness. In the process, students explore their own beliefs, assumptions, and experiences and consider what careers interest them.
This is no ordinary high school class. While working for a law enforcement agency may someday turn into more than a dream for some of these students, for now, it is just a simulation they are taking part in through an innovative curriculum that motivates and prepares them for college and careers in the 21st century.
Called Law and Justice, this curriculum and another known as Digital/Media/Arts are funded by The James Irvine Foundation as part of its Linked Learning initiative in California. Linked Learning supports both intellectual and career development, integrating academic and technical education to prepare the next generation of leaders.
“I want to learn what the real reasons are for having laws in the first place,” wrote Nicholas in a student survey given at the beginning of the Foundations in Law course. “By the end of the year, I hope I know which field of law I want to [join].”
During the year, Nicholas’s teacher may reach out to law-related professionals in the field, as encouraged by the curriculum, while Nicholas will read career profiles of various professions and develop a career portfolio. He may even land a law internship before the year is out. Next year, he will likely take the second course, Foundations in Criminal Justice.
“Irvine was interested in changing the way law-related classes are traditionally taught. What’s distinctive about Law and Justice is that it bridges law, law enforcement, and advocacy,” says EDC’s Eliza Fabillar. “It helps students develop foundational knowledge and skills that are relevant to these three areas of the legal system.”
Similarly, the Digital/Media/Arts curriculum brings the world of professional media-making into the classroom, preparing students to enter the growing field of digital arts and new media. Students engage in complex hands-on projects, such as designing and creating video games, planning and shooting documentary films, and making concept art for movie productions.
“We make everything from scratch,” says Hector, a student taking a class that uses the Digital/Media/Arts curriculum. “When you finish a project, you can be proud of it and say ‘I made this. I did it.’ ”
“These courses utilize the media that kids live and breathe everyday,” says EDC’s Cindy Orrell. “To develop the curriculum, we worked with media-makers and artists from across the industry, as well as independent producers. Our advisory board includes teachers, university faculty, and people from companies such as DreamWorks,” she adds.
Like Law and Justice, Digital/Media/Arts has also been piloted in California schools as two courses: one for grades 9 or 10 that teaches fine arts skills in the context of media production and another for grades 10 or 11 that introduces audio production, video production, animation, and video game design, with a focus on storytelling. Projects often focus on students’ own lives and interests, and students are encouraged to tell the stories of their communities.
“High schools teach video production classes, but what’s different about our curriculum is that we focus on telling a story,” says Orrell. “The students become much more thoughtful about what they want to say in their media productions.”
With no comparable curricula available, these two programs fill a void in high schools and academies. The sequence of courses that both programs offer provides the foundation for a coherent program of study, and both programs also feature teacher professional development, which is critical for the success of any curricular innovation.
“Even though this was initially a California-based project, there is a plan to take Law and Justice nationwide, and we’ve already had interest from a few districts,” says Fabillar. And the same goes for Digital/Media/Arts.
Originally published on January 24, 2011