Teaching case: a forensic chemistry in the classroom.

• Type: Summary of Presentation in a National Conference
• Date: 2015

Authors

Emerich Sousa (Author) FCUP; Carla Morais (Author) FCUP; Luciano Moreira (Author) FCUP; João Carlos Paiva (Author) FCUP

Conference proceedings National

Title: Atas do VI Encontro da Divisão de Ensino e Divulgação da Química, da Sociedade Portuguesa de Química

Initial page: 205

VI Encontro da Divisão de Ensino e Divulgação da Química, da Sociedade Portuguesa de Química

Coimbra

Scientific classification

FOS: Social sciences > Educational sciences

Other information

Abstract (EN): In this work we present an exposition of as the Teaching Case was used to introduce students to the Forensic Chemistry and some techniques used (as chromatography, spectroscopy, electrophoresis, thermogravimery), apply the knowledge acquired in high school Chemistry and allow increasing the repertoire of abilities of the students, as comunication skill, critical analysis, collaboration and team-work. Participants were 159 students from the Chemistry course of the 2nd year of high school Brasilian public school. The case method is a useful educational tool for teaching science, being a variant of the Problem-Based Learning method (PBL) [1], and has been widely disseminated by some websites and journals [1, 2]. The aim of the technique is to present a problem to students in the form of a narrative [3] and must contain some elements: be short, current, relevant, useful, generalist, awaken empathy and interest, contain dialogues, cause a conflict, force a decision [1, 4]. We conducted a survey of prior knowledge, through a questionnaire containing discursive and multiple choice questions. We discussed the death of a chemist working on a fuel company, a case of police expertise and one of the fields of Forensic Chemistry, a branch of Chemistry that caters to aspects of legal interest [5]. The tools commonly used in criminal forensics may be useful in teaching natural sciences [6] and can arouse great interest students, bringing desirable aspects as drama, suspense and impact. We used a short case, with activity in groups. The case was divided into 5 parts and posted weekly on a college blog page, aiming to create a clime of suspense. After the last activity an assessment of the acquired knowledge was performed and access in blog was monitored. The activty involved undergraduate students who were intern at high school. The results obtained from the analysis of the questionnaires indicated a gain of knowledge in terms of content (forensic concepts and fingerprinting) and this proved to be recognized by the students themselves. The activity proved to be valid to integrate concepts from other areas and allowed the use of much of the knowledge acquired over the Chemistry course (as chemical bonds, solutions, stoichiometry). Furthermore it gave rise to a research project in which students of the college were involved in the creation of new teaching cases related to the area. The questionnaire results suggested that other types of expertise (environmental, industrial, doping) can be worked, increasing contact with the Forensic Chemistry. We suggest more investigation in monitoring the performance of students, for its improvement, and interdisciplinary projects, and not just multidisciplinary, should be encouraged.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific