Crime may not pay off, but incorporating crime scene-inspired lessons into STEM chemistry classes does, say Kemily Patillo and Nusret Hisim.
Hisim is a chemistry education technology specialist at Vernier Science Education who helped develop the new Vernier Laboratory Science book. Forensic chemistry experiments.
Patillo is a science teacher at Newton College & Career Academy and has used crime scene-inspired teaching with her students. The two share tips for using crime scene scenarios to teach STEM students. These techniques can be so inspiring to students that not using them is almost, well, a crime.
Crime Scene STEM Scenarios
For decades, procedural television shows like forensic files, CSI, NCIS, and many others have been fueling interest in crime scene investigation. “Some things are real, some things are not so real,” Hisim says of television shows' depictions of crime scene investigation.
Accurate or not, these programs have sparked an inherent interest in crime scene science in many students. Hisim first learned that he could harness that appeal as an educator in Maryland when he began teaching chemistry lessons around various crime scene scenarios. For example, in one lesson students investigated the case of a bottle rocket explosion and were assigned the task of determining whether someone ignored instructions not to pump the bottle too much.
“The actual concept behind this is that equal volumes of gas, in this case air, are added to a container, and equal volumes of different gases with the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of particles. That is Avogadro's Law,” says Hisim. “But if you say it like that, there is no interest on the part of the students. But if you say, 'Hey, if you blow up a bottle, it might explode…'”
Teaching STEM without students realizing it
Hisim's teaching experience inspired Forensic chemistry experiments, featuring 15 experiments designed for high school and college level chemistry students.
“I took concepts that chemistry teachers teach,” Hisim says, including spectroscopy, atomic theory and more. He then worked with other educators at Vernier to shape television crime-style investigations based on them. The laboratory cases/experiments presented in the book include Unusually cold drink, Unsolved carbon dioxide case, Secret message, Mysterious dustand Arson analysis.
“The idea behind the experiments is to make them interesting and attractive. Have a small scenario so that students feel like they are helping to solve a crime and deep down, without realizing it, they learned some chemistry,” says Hisim.
This type of inquiry-based process can also expand the lesson beyond chemistry alone. “Not only are they acquiring those scientific skills, but they are also developing their critical thinking skills,” Patillo says.
Scenario customization
While Forensic chemistry experiments Provides educators with everything they may need, the labs are also designed to be customizable for educators who want to add their own twists.
The concept of using crime scene investigations to inspire chemistry lessons is not limited to the ideas in this book. Patillo was attracted because she had already incorporated similar techniques into her teaching. One lesson she teaches is “The Case of the Curious Pill.” “It's a murder mystery,” she says. “We start with the scenario of a young woman who complains of a headache and her mother gives her an aspirin.” Shortly after the young woman dies.
“Immediately all the children think: it's the mother; “She gave him the wrong medication and that's why they are using her critical thinking skills,” says Patillo. Students do not learn the answer to the mystery until they have covered many different aspects of the unit, which takes approximately three weeks. During that time they learn much more than just the fundamental science of the case.
“They are learning to plead their case with their neighbors, to present an argument correctly. How to change your mind as you get new data. There are a lot of additional skills they are learning besides chemistry,” she says.