The sixth grade STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes at Lakeland Preparatory School have just concluded an extensive course study in the realm of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). The 9 week course, taught by Mrs. Quanta Hess (formerly Mrs. Spears), introduced the students to careers in forensic science and focused on crime scene recognition and evidence collection.
A little background leading up to the course…last fall, Mrs. Hess was chosen, among 51 other educators in the state of Tennessee, to be a part of the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative (TRSC). According to the TRSC website, it is a “year-long cohort of Tennessee educators working towards ensuring that all students have access to high-quality learning opportunities in STEM by exposing them to 21st Century Skills and local STEM career pathways.”
Mrs. Hess reached out to local law enforcement officers who became actively involved with the students and provided on the job insight via Google meets. They were introduced to the inside of police precincts and official IT labs, and also observed the many different environments CSI agents work in. Mrs. Hess said, “The sheer excitement of processing their own latent fingerprints, alone, won them over with interest!”
At the end of the course, the students were given the assignment of creating their own crime scene story. They had to write/produce their very own crime scene story and present it in video form. “Students and family members were given creative freedom to design their very own crime scenes at home demonstrating student-learned CSI procedures and steps used to solve their criminal case,” stated Mrs. Hess.
The criteria for the project included:
- A CSI name and badge
- Documentation of evidence
- Photography of evidence
- Collecting/demonstrating evidence
- Explaining how the crime was solved.
Two winners were chosen, based on their creativity and use of the knowledge and skills learned. Camden Guillo and Lucas Gillespie were each awarded a certificate of excellence and a $10 Chick-fil-A gift certificate for recognition of their outstanding projects.
Camden said his biggest takeaway from the project is, “Forensic science is much more than a leftover fingerprint. The whole science behind being able to lift the fingerprints, analyze them, and determine who the suspects are was incredible.”
Lucas had this to say, “It wasn’t a normal classroom assignment; being able to do a video where I could create and solve a mystery was pretty fun!”.
