Click here to navigate by to the Criminal Justice Department's main page.
Teachers Learn Forensic Science
By JAZMINE ULLOA, The Brownsville Herald
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" might be an exciting show to watch but probably not the best resource for a forensic science student.
"They have some pretty impressive imaginary technology. They retrieve DNA samples in a matter of minutes, which is just not possible," forensic professor Michael Lytle said, lightly chuckling as he taught a special class for science teachers Saturday at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
Ltyle, director of the university’s Forensic Investigation Program, led the interactive course to help educators understand how to better introduce forensic science in their classrooms and prepare students for a career in the field.
Forty middle school and high school teachers from across South Texas attended the lab to learn about the processes of fingerprinting and crime scene documentation through hands-on exercises and instruction. The participants, part of the Region One Texas Regional Science Collaborative, will then in turn mentor about 200 teachers more upon returning to their campuses and districts.
Now that forensic science has become an approved science course to teach in the fourth year of high school, the interactive course is much needed, teachers said.
Forensic science was added to the high school curricula during the 2008-2009 academic year, and "most of these teachers don’t have a program at their schools, yet, so this will be a good start for them," Region One Director Elda Christian said.
The best high school forensic science courses give students a broad survey of all the disciplines incorporated in the field, such as anthropology, chemistry and biology, Lytle said.
High school teachers should not delve too deeply into one area of forensic science because they do not have enough experience in the field, and they should not spend too much time on hands-on activities to the point that the class becomes solely entertainment, he said.
"Rather, we want students to get excited about science, so they can pursue science in college," Lytle said.
The students with best job opportunities in the forensic field more often come from science backgrounds and not criminal justice, because they know how to operate both in a lab and at a crime scene, Lytle said.
To Efran Rodriguez, he said the advice will help him include something new in class.
"I saw how I can incorporate forensic science into my AP and pre-AP chemistry classes," said Rodriguez, who has taught high school chemistry, physics and IPC courses at the Science Academy of South Texas for the last 13 years. "I also can show them that lab safety is important not only in the classroom but in the real world as well."
Cindy Mascorro, 25, said she became interested in the discipline after watching actual case studies on truTV. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in biology with an associate’s in forensic investigation.
She was not introduced to forensic science in high school but if she had, she said, "It would have helped my career out and I could see myself working as a DNA analyst by now."