Introduction
Prime time television shows glamorize crime scene investigation, hence increasing the popularity of high school forensic science course offerings. Being socially popularized, however, does not equate to generating academic strength in a subject. In this course, students must combine skills across each of the core sciences, as well as learn to read critically, calculate accurately, and argue cogently. My role as a teacher is to entice student engagement and to provide them with meaningful experiences that enhance learning.
Incorporating a unit on forensic entomology enhances a course that often favors the study of physical sciences related to violent crime, such as explosions, gunshots, and vehicular collisions. The topic invites students to not only examine their natural world, but rather to engage themselves with it. In this unit, a student could become the forensic entomologist who calculates the number of days that a body has been exposed to the environment based on the blow fly life cycle. Another student could become the international trade specialist who defends or prosecutes an illegal insect collector. Insects work dutifully as silent witnesses, and forensic entomologists must provide a voice for them in the court of law. The ability to practice applied knowledge of these species – a study originating from understanding mechanisms of evolution – is thus essential to these specialists.
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