Forensics

[zippymom]

Our co op is offering a Forensics class next year. It is suggested for 6th-12th grades. Would you consider it a high school science? Worthy of high school credit if I beef it up? What about lab credit? The description of the class is: Turn on the TV and you can't miss the role forensic science plays in our world today. More and more, we hear about DNA, fingerprints, blood evidence, dental records and trace evidence being used to solve crimes, both new and old, but how is it all done? We will take our CSI interns through each step of crime scene analysis, by using fun & challenging hands-on experiments such as, the "how- to's" of documenting a crime scene, dental impressions, handwriting analysis, shoe impressions, anthropology and blood splatter to name a few. Through these experiments they will learn critical thinking skills, how to analyze and collect information & how to apply that information to form reasonable theories, how to communicate and defend a scientific arguments among many other skills. Real crime scenes will be created to have our new CSI agents process it. They will use the skills to collect and measure evidence, use reasoning and critical thinking to determine the difference between relevant and irrelevant information and hopefully solve the crime. What say the hive?

[AK_Mom4]

Forensics is offered in public high school here as a half credit social studies elective (one semester). This sounds pretty close to what happens in the class here - it's very hands on.

[Miss Marple]

In our co-op, any class taught to that wide of an age range was always watered down for the younger kids. So my experience in our co-op would be that I would not consider it high school credit worthy unless I did an awful lot more with it at home. Your co-op may be different. I finally pulled my boys from our co-op when they started picking middle school materials and saying that they would expect more from the high schoolers. The truth was that *that* never happened.

 

Will the class utilize a prepackaged curriculum that is age/grade based on the high school level? If not, I'd definitely take a critical look at how the class would be taught and what the high school expectations would be.

[regentrude]

In our co-op, any class taught to that wide of an age range was always watered down for the younger kids. So my experience in our co-op would be that I would not consider it high school credit worthy unless I did an awful lot more with it at home. Your co-op may be different. I finally pulled my boys from our co-op when they started picking middle school materials and saying that they would expect more from the high schoolers. The truth was that *that* never happened.

 

Will the class utilize a prepackaged curriculum that is age/grade based on the high school level? If not, I'd definitely take a critical look at how the class would be taught and what the high school expectations would be.

 

 

I agree. I can not imagine a class that is taught to 6th graders to be of a sufficient level to warrant high school credit. The age spread is just too big.

[TechWife]

As a course, yes, forensics is a valid science elective. You would need to look at what they are doing in the course and determine if you need to beef it up. There is a high school intro to forensics textbook by Safferstein - I believe he also writes college texts on the subject. I think Pearson is the publisher - check their website. Be sure you are in the high school science section. The illustrated Guide to Home Forensics Experiments might prove to be a good resource as well.

[Mom22ns]

As a course, yes, forensics is a valid science elective. You would need to look at what they are doing in the course and determine if you need to beef it up. There is a high school intro to forensics textbook by Safferstein - I believe he also writes college texts on the subject. I think Pearson is the publisher - check their website. Be sure you are in the high school science section. The illustrated Guide to Home Forensics Experiments might prove to be a good resource as well.

 

 

I wouldn't think the co-op thing would be enough, since 6th graders can come along. However, ds is going to do Forensic Science next year for 11th grade. We are using Safferstein's high school level book (Pearson) for a spine. I looked through syllabuses for dozens of public high school forensics classes. Some were a semester, some schools offer 2-3 YEARS of forensics. I am not planning to count it as a lab science as he has already done BIology and Chemistry with labs and we're planning to do Physics with lab his senior year. However, I did look at the Illustrated Guide and there are several other options out there as well. This is a very popular course and it is easy to find a lot of support resources out there.

 

Here is Pearson's support site for their high school Forensic Science.

Here is the one for the college text.

Teaching Company has this course.

And I've seen this website suggested over and over, although I found it a bit basic.

[zippymom]

Thank you for the information and opinions! Definitely some good advice to mull over before making a decision. :001_smile:

[swellmomma]

I have read that exact blurb about a forensics course on the RR site I believe. It sounds like a packaged curriculum they are using. I would wait until the class itself is happening to determine for sure if it is worth credit or if I need to beef it up at home. I like the idea of a .5 credit for social science elective.

 

I was looking at those forensic courses on RR last night to do next fall with my teens which is why I realized I had read that blurb before.