Building Better Educators: Using Inside/Out Prison Exchange Program as a Teaching Practicum

• In Event: Inside Out Prison Exchange Program Arrives "Down Under:" The Outcomes of the Inaugural Program in Australia

Abstract

Previous literature and presentations have sought to illustrate the benefits of The Inside/Out Prison Exchange program for both the prison inmates and college students involved. This presentation will focus on the use of the Inside/Out program as an educational tool for graduate students and young instructors. This presentation will focus on the experience of the presenters, outlining the logistics of this type of practicum, challenges faced, and benefits and overall take-away for both the primary faculty member and the graduate student learner. We will highlight the importance of training graduate students to prepare for the range of challenges that can arise with this type of course, focusing on three aspects in particular: preparation, teaching in a correctional setting, and managing a classroom comprised of students with extremely diverse backgrounds. Overall, the goal of this presentation is to open discussion on using the Inside/Out classroom process as a tool to prepare future educators. This training has the benefit of not only preparing graduate students to use the Inside/Out program in their future careers as faculty, but also helping shape versatile, resourceful educators who are comfortable using a wide variety of tools and tactics to teach complex issues of crime and justice.

Authors

• Carrie Oser, University of Kentucky

• Allison Adair, University of Kentucky