The Course

A major priority in the design of this course is the engagement of students as scientists and citizens. This is accomplished through the variety of techniques described below.

Forensic Investigation: Seeking Justice Through Science Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 115kB Jul14 08)

Course Statistics

When has the course been offered: First offering - Spring Quarter 2001; Most recent offering - Summer 2004

Average number of students: 40

Course Level: Chemistry 300, Chemistry 301 (optional lab)

Prerequisites: Completed Explorations sequences in Science, Social Science, and Arts

Course Management (Policies, Procedures, Logistics)

The forensics course consists of 3 weekly hours of "lecture" and a 3-hour laboratory period. One instructor teaches both the lecture and lab sessions as there are no TAs at SOU. Because this course is offered as a "Synthesis and Application" class, the laboratory is an optional component
and more emphasis is commonly placed on in-class demonstrations. The lectures are very interactive with a typical class consisting of approximately 1/3 lecture, 1/3 debate or discussion (typically cases or societal issues), and 1/3 demonstration.

Forensic Investigation makes use of classroom interactive technology - EduCue's Personal Response System (http://www.educue.com). This technology is used to keep students involved in class discussions by giving them the ability to share their opinions (mostly anonymously). For example, students are asked to vote on what they feel is the appropriate forensic technique to apply to a given case before, during, and after the
content of the techniques are taught. The class results often facilitate discussion of the pros and cons of a given method. This technology is also used to monitor concept understanding and to allow students to "voice" their opinion on controversial topics or methods without fear of personal confrontation with peers having different views.

Case Studies

Each of the listed content areas is introduced with a real-life case study to draw student interest, provide a frame of reference, and stimulate thinking. If possible, many local cases are used in the course of each term (i.e., I-5 killer Randall Woodfield). However, there are a number of compelling national cases that have been used with great success:

Forensic Content	Case Studies Used
Trace Evidence and Latent Fingerprint Detection	-Richard Ramirez (LA Nightstalker) -Wayne Williams -DC snipers -O.J. Simpson -Jason Massey
Arson and Explosives	-Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie -Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing -Intentionally set forest fires
Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology	-Marilyn Monroe -Stella Nickell -John Belushi
DNA Evidence and Serology	-Green River killer -O.J. Simpson -Jeffrey MacDonald -Anastasia Romanov -JonBenet Ramsey -Unknown Soldier of Vietnam
Forensic Pathology and Autopsy	-Medgar Evers -Louise Woodward -David Koresh and the Branch Davidians
Forensic Anthropology and Odontology	-Joseph Mengele -The Romanov family -Ted Bundy -Captain Anthony Shine
Ballistics and Vehicular Accidents	-John F. and Bobby Kennedy -DC snipers
Forensic Psychology and Criminal Profiling	-Aileen Wuornos -Susan Smith -Great Train Robbery of southern Oregon

The lecture portion of each of the major content area is accompanied by a corresponding Power Point presentation. This presentation is made available to the students (via the web or Blackboard) prior to the class. The presentations serve as outlines the students can follow and I encourage them to bring printouts of the file(s) to class. Students spend less time copying words and definitions and (in theory) more time listening
to examples, listening to classmates voice their opinions, and/or thinking about the material being presented.

Understanding Context

Forensic Investigation makes use of in-class demonstrations to reinforce concepts or methods that are not practical to perform in lab. Typical demos include color tests, chromatography, luminol detection, and latent fingerprint identification methods. The class also benefits from the fact
that our instruments are on our campus commuter network. Using this network, it is possible to show the class how to set up and run instrumental methods. For example, the GCMS, with the help of our sample changer, can be set up and run from the classroom. Students watch data as it is collected in real time (while we do other things, of course).

Laboratory Exercises

The Forensic Investigation course is offered with an optional laboratory. As in any science, lab work allows the student hands-on experience with
lecture topics and promotes a more secure understanding of the steps and procedures of a forensic technique. A laboratory sequence to compliment
Forensic Investigation has already been tested. The 10-week lab general education lab includes the following topics:

Trace Evidence Analysis - including hair, fiber, and glass.
Latent Fingerprinting Methods - including powders, iodine, ninhydrin, silver nitrate, and cyanoacrylate fuming.
Gunpowder and Ballistics - (bullets can be obtained from a local firing range or a class can actually test fire weapons at the proper location and with the proper guidance); lead and nitrite residue analysis is quickly and easily performed in the lab.
Drugs in Blood - a toxicology lab featuring gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
Chromatography of Ink and Handwriting Analysis - for aiding in the identification of suspects.
Blood Typing and DNA Fingerprinting - which introduces blood typing methods, gel electrophoresis, DNA fingerprinting strategies, and luminol detection of blood.
A Mock Crime Scene - where students employ learned laboratory methods to solve a fictitious crime. In springs of 2002-4, the faculty in the Departments of Biology and Chemistry graciously provided fingerprints and hair samples and became "suspects" for this lab. The lab is performed in teams of 3 or 4 students over the course of 3-4 weeks.
Writing and Communication Skills - The students file a report of their "crime scene" findings with their instructor and present their findings
to the class as a group. Another student team acts as a defense attorney for the "defendant" in the case. The remaining students act as the jury. The entire process can really demonstrate exactly how hard it can be to "prove" a case although the evidence may only point at a single suspect.

Guest Speakers

Finally, Forensic Investigation makes use of guest speakers. To this point, speakers have included the lead Arson Detective for southern Oregon (and his accelerant detecting dog) and the Chief Deputy Medical Examiner of Jackson County. Both speakers presented local cases that reinforced concepts covered in class, addressed aspects of dealing with the media in regard to community sensitivity, discussed their background and the qualifications for their line of work, and spoke to the issue of fighting crime on smaller and smaller state budgets.

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