Crime Scene Investigation

Students solve crimes via crime Scenes. Teachers will set up crime Scenes with murder weapons and other evidence, student use their prior knowledge to solve the crimes. Students are in groups and there is one crime scene for each group. Specialists are on place to assist the students but not to give them the answers. There is one teacher for each group to evaluate the group and follow their progress.

Educational Level

Higher Education

Student Age

19+

Number of students

40

Lesson duration

4-6 hours

  • Students prepare for a crime scene investigation
  • Students learn to investigate a crime scene
  • Students learn to draw conclusions from their discoveries
  • Students learn to work together as a team
  • Students reflect on their work and the work of other students

Students will know how to:

  • activate their prior knowledge
  • prepare for crime scene investigation
  • investigate a crime scene and find evidence
  • be a part of a team/group

Wi-fi, cameras

One or more specialist in the field joins via telepresence robot. The specialists guide students through solving crimes and finding evidence at the campus of the University.

Case-Based Learning: Students apply course knowledge to devise one or more solutions or resolutions to problems or dilemmas presented in a realistic story or situation 

Fieldwork: Students learning how to conduct research and make sound professional judgements in r sciplines. In more structured group assignments, students are often given roles that allow them to focus on specific tasks and then cycle through those roles in subsequent activities.

Role Plays and Simulations: Students acting out roles or improvising scripts, in a realistic and problematic social or interpersonal situation. Students playing out, either in person, or virtually, a hypothetical social situation that abstracts key elements from reality

Flipped Classroom: In the basic structure of a “flipped classroom,” the students first engage the content online (through readings, video lectures, or podcasts), then come to class for the guided practice.

Real-world situations 

Collaborative Learning: The value of learning in groups is well supported by research and is required in many dimensions.

Lesson Plan
Before the Lesson:

Teacher

  • Decide which crime scenes to use
  • Contact the experts to get input regarding the setup of the crime scenes
  • Divide students in groups
  • Prepare or link to the materials regarding crime scene investigations
  • Post information and guidelines in LMS
  • Prepare rubrics for students
  • Let students know how they will be evaluated
  • Prepare the setup for evaluation (print rubrics if needed and form for feedback)
  • Book all the classrooms and make sure that everything that is needed is there on the day
  • Set up the crime scenes

Students

  • Read the materials they get
  • Prepare for the crime scene investigation
  • Meet in groups and prepare without knowing what kind of case they will be investigating
  • Be sure they are prepared
Lesson:

Teacher

  • Explaining the set up and go over what is expected from them
  • Explain how evaluation will take place and what they themselves will be evaluating
  • Explain what they can use the experts for

Students

  • Investigate the crime scene
  • Find the evidence and draw conclusions from that
  • Solve the crime
After Lesson:

Teacher

  • Evaluate the students (teachers get help from the experts with this)
  • Fill out rubrics for everyone and give feedback
  • Re-evaluate the plan and materials for next time

Students

  • Evaluate their role, how they did and what they wished now that they did different (self-evaluation)
  • Evaluate the other students they were working with (peer review)
  • Evaluate the setup, how hard/easy it was

Author: AH, University of Akureyri

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Possible questions for your evaluation of the TRinE Teaching Scenario
  • What feedback / reflection was provided by the teacher?
  • How is the feedback from the students?
  • Why did you decide to use TRs?
  • How did the TRs inform your lesson plan?
  • What shifts or stretches are you making regarding the TRs?

Does the use of the Telepresence robots:

  • align to learning outcomes?
  • align to assessment?
  • support your educational context?
  • differentiate for individual students?
  • enhance student thinking by addressing different levels of thinking?
  • extend learning authentically beyond the classroom?
  • increase engagement and active learning?
  • promote and support collaboration?
  • provide opportunities to construct knowledge?

Are the students participating / motivated / progressing?

1 Comment
  1. Author

    Teacher’s Reflection: The more you prepare this the easier it is on the day.

    Student’s Reflection:
    “very nice way of learning”
    “nice to meet the experts in the field and get tips and tricks from them”

    – Why did you decide to use TRs? To get specialists to help the students investigate the crime scenes set up by the teachers

    – How did the TRs inform your lesson plan? They did not really inform the lesson plan but at the same time we would have some limitations without them

    – What shifts or stretches are you making regarding the TRs? I make sure that there is room for the TR at the scene (so it does not have to drive through the evidence)

    The TR’s have changed a lot for us. The specialists do not live around the school and before we had to get them onsite and that costs a lot for us and takes a lot of time for them. Now there is no travel time, and they just log in and assist the students. This has helped us to get more specialists to join in.
    This kind of work is so necessary for the students, they learn a lot that is impossible to learn in any other way. They need to be hands-on to realize how it is to arrive at a crime scene and take everything in.

    Reply

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