Lessons from prison teaching for the university classroom

Lessons from prison teaching for the university classroom: strategies and risks Joey Whitfield, MLANG

• Module taught in prison to a class composed of an equal number of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students Inside Out teaching in Cardiff • First developed in 1997 there are now 300+ courses across 25 states in the USA, in Canada and in the UK at Durham and Kent • Classes use ‘facilitated’ discussion and guided group activities • Uses transformative and experiential pedagogy • Two modules have been delivered in HMP Cardiff with a third beginning next week • First with MLANG students, second LAWPL students • ‘Crime and Social Justice in Global Perspective’ • Facilitated by me but with guest sessions from colleagues from Social science, Law, Journalism and Media Studies

Student Comments • ‘For me, [the gender class] was the class that most challenged my beliefs and preconceptions about the topic in question. I felt quite tired after class, it was really frustrating to talk so in-depth about a topic and still come out with more questions than answers. ’(Outside student) • ‘In my mind crime and punishment are indisputably linked, but why? I had spent my 22 years never questioning this. Why did I believe crime meant punishment? Why not resolution, justice or restoration in certain instance? ’ (Outside student) • ‘The way the Crime and Social Justice course unfolds allows the ‘Inside’ students particularly, to reflect on issues of crime and justice which may have personally affected on them and their loved ones [means] it could even form part of the rehabilitative process. ’ (Inside student) • ‘The whole experience has been hugely thoughtprovoking and thoroughly engaging, often giving me sleepless nights thinking about the day’s meetings and topics discussed. I think we’ve gone through the full range of emotion, at some of the facts we’ve found out. ’ (Inside student)

• In ‘Crime and Punishment in Contemporary Latin American Culture’ - research-led literature and film module Lessons in everyday teaching • Creating learning community • Classroom manifesto, classroom layout, use of a talking piece, subtle ice-breakers • Experiential learning, facilitated ‘active learning’, use of personal experience and emotion in the classroom • Student feedback: Learning not ‘sort of abstractly academic or a means to a grade or job and that it has wider and more personal relevance!’.

Risks of experiential teaching • Experiential learning can be challenging for the unprepared student • Cuban revolution exercise • ‘Kill the English’ etc. • Icebreaker in the inside out demonstration which upset a participant • Conclusion: learning community must be built over time, trust gained • Learners in prison are more resilient