Course Syllabus

HONORS FORENSIC SCIENCE:

Taught BY Marty Sewell

At Forbush High School in the Yadkin County School System

COURSE OUTLINE

            This course is designed to challenge students with topics such as fingerprinting, DNA analysis, blood typing and spattering, trajectories (for ballistics as well as blood spattering) comparative anatomy, and chemical analysis of drugs, poisons, and trace evidence, and the dynamics of Physics.

            Students will learn about the careers involved with Forensic Science and will play mock roles as experts in the field to solve crimes.  They will learn team work in solving the mock crimes and have a chance to change their roles as the year progresses.  The students will all be given the tools to interpret data and techniques involved for physical, chemical and biological analysis of evidence.

 CURRICULUM PACING GUIDE:  There are 11 segments to be taught in throughout the semester.  Some of the material will require more time than others but you should expect to cover these topics throughout the course

1. History and Development of Forensic Science
1. Organization of the Crime Laboratory
2. Services of the Crime Laboratory

2. The Crime Scene
1. Processing the Crime Scene
2. Legal Issues at the Crime Scene/ good lab techniques and safety

3. Physical Evidence
1. Types of Physical Evidence
2. Significance of Physical Evidence 

4. Hairs, Fibers, and Paint
1. Morphology of Hair
2. Identification and Comparison of Hair
3. Types of Fibers
4. Comparison and Preservation of Fiber Evidence
5. Forensic Examination of Paint 

5. Fingerprints
1. History of  Fingerprints
2. Classification of Fingerprints
3. Methods of Detecting Fingerprints
4. Preservation of Developed Prints

6. Forensic Serology
1. The Nature of Blood
2. Forensic Characteristics of Bloodstains
3. Stain Patterns of Blood
4. Principles of Heredity 

7. DNA
1. What is DNA?
2. DNA typing
3. Gel Electrophoresis
4. The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)
5. The Collection and Preservation of Biological Evidence for DNA analysis

8. Drugs
1. Drug Identification
2. Collection and Preservation of Drug Evidence
3. Chemical Analysis of Drugs using Spectroscopy

9. Forensic Anthropology- bones and comparative anatomy, Bertillion measurements 

10. Entomology- How bugs can give a time-line for death and bug morphology

11.  Final Project
1. Use of all the above techniques and information to create their own crime for another team of forensic scientists in their class to solve.
2. Ability to solve a crime that is developed for them by another team of forensic scientists in their class or another class.

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

Students will:

• Apply knowledge learned in previous courses such as Biology and Chemistry
• Work independently and in groups to apply that knowledge
• Use scientific terminology to describe the techniques they are using
• Understand how science is used to solve societal problems such as crime
• Incorporate History with science
• Explain how Criminal justice fits in with Forensic Science
• Understand that Forensic Science is applied Biology and Chemistry
• Learn the new uses of technology in solving crimes and issues of biometrics.
• Expand their use of the English language to document what took place and how they arrived at their conclusions
• Understand that there are limitations to what physical evidence can tell us but that the evidence does not lie
• Expand the use of critical thinking

 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the course is to prepare our students for citizenship and advance their knowledge of science and how it fits in to the world we live in.  The course is designed to motivate students to continue to explore alternate fields of science.

CORE LIST

This list is not all inclusive, it is expected that other ancillary materials can be added to the list to enrich the learning experience but should at least include the following:

• Forensic Science curriculum Guide For Forbush High School by Marty Sewell
• CSI Series or Single Episodes

National Standards for Science in Secondary Education

The National Standards for science state that the goals for students are to be able to:

• Understand the nature of the world around them
• Use the scientific method and other scientific techniques, for problem solving
• Discuss topics of a scientific nature intelligently
• Use their knowledge of science to pick appropriate career paths and become productive citizens

Specifically, the following standards are incorporated into this curriculum:

• Content standard A:  all students should develop abilities to do scientific inquiry and understandings about scientific inquiry.
• Content standard B: develop an understanding of the structure of atoms, structure and properties of matter, chemical reactions, motions and forces, conservation of energy, and interactions of energy and matter
• Content standard C: develop an understanding of the cell, molecular basis of heredity, biological evolution, interdependence of organisms, matter, energy, and organization in living systems, behavior of organisms
• Content standard F: develop understanding of personal and community health, population growth, natural resources, environmental quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and Science and technology in local, national and global challenges
• Content standard G: develop an understanding of Science as a human endeavor, nature of scientific knowledge and historical perspectives

REQUIREMENTS:a 3-ring binder with paper, pen/pencil, calculator, loose-leaf paper, printer paper (one pack-500 sheets) and a folder.  

Class Rules-

1. Absolutely no food or drink, with the exception of water bottles, should be brought to the class.
2. No bad language in my class. I personally will not tolerate any use of curse words in or out of my class.
3. Class disruptions will not be tolerated. This is especially the case during instruction time. Example#1: If you are talking during my instruction, this behavior is disruptive and I am considering it disrespectful. Example # 2: There should be no reason for you to get up and walk around the class during instruction. If you needed get a pencil, paper, or throw something away in the trash, do it before or after class. 

Classroom Procedures

1. Students will maintain an organized 3-ring binder notebook containing all class notes and experiment lab reports.
2. The student will maintain a folder containing worksheets, homework assignments and study guides. All materials will be included in quizzes, and exams
3. The student will be expected to study and prepare for all exams and quizzes.
4. The student will complete all assignments and lab reports on time. Points will be deducted from the total number of possible points for each day that the assignment is late.
5. Students will be on time and in the class before the tardy bell. If you are not in the class by the time the tardy bell rings, you are tardy.
6. Lavatory passes- will not be issued after 5 minutes into the class period and not before the last 5 minutes of the period. These are the most crucial times during my instruction.
7. Lavatory passes will not be issued to anyone without their own student handbook. I do not write passes to get a drink of water, so please do not ask.
8. If you miss a class or lab because of an excused absence, you are responsible to make up the work in a timely manner. Please do not come to me at the start of class to ask what you missed. You can find me after school in room 812-J.
9. Lab makeup times are scheduled with Mr. Sewell on Monday and Thursday afternoons in room 812-J from 2:55 - 3:40 PM. Incompletes will be given only if the student has a substantial amount of excused absences. (Example: long term illness or an emergency at home). You have 1 week from the start of the new marking period to make up Incompletes.
10. Students are responsible for all make up work. Work missed due to unexcused absences will result in a penalty of no less than 25% on the assignment. 

 EVALUATION:
Grading is based on a point system that is converted to a percentage of the course grade.  Grades include:

• Two Exams (a midterm and a final @ 25%)
• A term paper on a topic to be agreed upon with Mr. Sewell (15%)
• Quizzes (15%)
• Formal Lab Reports (15%)
• Informal lab reports (10%)
• Video Reviews (5%)
• Message boards (5% each)
• Class work assignments (10%)