Dr. DeJong Receives ASC Teaching Award

October 12, 2021

Dr. Christina DeJong has received the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Teaching Award for her commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate level teaching throughout her academic career. The ASC Teaching Award was established in 2008 as a lifetime-achievement award designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate and/or graduate teaching over the span of an academic career. This award is meant to identify and reward teaching excellence that has been demonstrated by individuals either (a) at one educational institution where the nominee is recognized and celebrated as a master teacher of criminology and criminal justice; or, (b) at a regional or national level as a result of that individual’s sustained efforts to advance criminological/criminal justice education.

 

Christina DeJong is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Her scholarship is focused on the intersection of gender, sexuality, and race, particularly with regard to victimization and treatment by the criminal legal system. Over the course of her career, she has been committed to providing a meaningful educational experience for students at all levels of study. Her primary areas of teaching are in the areas of gender and crime (undergraduate), genocide and human rights (general education), research methods (masters), and advanced statistical analysis (doctoral). She has also taught courses for students in the Interdisciplinary Studies major, and mentored students in the Social Science Scholars program at MSU. As an instructor, she utilizes active and engaged learning rooted in critical, feminist, and queer pedagogies. These strategies place women and minoritized groups in the center of the discussion, and do not accept the status quo view of the criminal justice system. In her classes, students are encouraged to carefully analyze reliable sources of information and avoid making assumptions based on common myths and media portrayals of the criminal justice system. Critical pedagogies also reject traditional assessment methods, such as standardized tests. Assessments are rooted in critical thinking and evaluation rather than rote memorization. During the summer of 2020, Dr. DeJong created the Graduate Teaching Workshop for all graduate students scheduled to teach during the 2020-2021 academic year. In these meetings, the group not only discussed best practices for instruction, but strategized how best to manage online instruction during a global pandemic.