Using a Crime Lab Model to Enhance Undergraduate Science Education

跨学科(99)学术价值：北达科他州大学正在加强跨学科STEM教育的基础设施，以促进学生进入科学领域。我们正在创造一个犯罪实验室的环境，在这个环境中，我们使用基于案例的教学、最先进的技术和专业的客座演讲者来教授法医学。一门新的非专业入门课程提供了一种无缝的讲课/实验室方法，在实际案例研究的背景下教授科学方法。对于专业，我们加强了我们的高级课程，在案例教学的同时增加了新的实验室经验。我们与州总检察长办公室和中西部法医资源联盟的合作正在加强我们的演讲系列、我们的区域网络和我们的学生安置。为了满足越来越多的美国印第安人学生进入入门课程和专业的目标，法医科学俱乐部成员正在接受培训，以便与Trio项目的工作人员和我们的美国印第安人学生支持服务办公室合作。因此，缺乏服务的学生接触到了学生榜样，而法医学专业的学生则获得了宝贵和多样化的文化经验。在专业背景下，实验室经验与基于案例的教学的创新联系正在增加学习经验的深度、丰富性和现实性，提高对科学发现过程的理解，并鼓励假设检验和批判性思维。最先进的设备可用于在课堂、实验室和现场培训本科生，显著提高了我们招收学生进入理工科的能力，增强了学生在STEM学科中的留存和成功，并获得了项目认证。该项目正在加强学生在STEM学科的学习，使本科生在实习、研究机会、研究生院以及科学家和专业人员的职业生涯中更具竞争力。由此产生的识别受害者和罪犯以及解决犯罪的能力的提高将对公共利益作出重大贡献。

Interdisciplinary (99)Intellectual Merit: The University of North Dakota is enhancing its infrastructure for interdisciplinary STEM education to facilitate the entry of students into the sciences. We are creating a crime laboratory setting in which we use case based instruction, state-of-the-art technology, and professional guest speakers to teach forensic science. A new introductory course for non-majors provides a seamless lecture/laboratory approach to teaching the scientific method in the context of actual case studies. For majors, we have enhanced our upper division course to include new laboratory experiences along with the case approach. Our collaborations with the State's Attorney General's Office and the Midwestern Forensic Science Resources Consortium are enhancing our speakers series, our regional network, and our placement of students.To target the increased enrollment of American Indian students into the introductory course and the major, Forensic Science Club members are being trained to work with TRIO program staff and our Office of American Indian Student Support Services. Underserved students are thus exposed to student role models while forensic science majors are gaining valuable and diverse cultural experiences.The innovative linkage of laboratory experiences with case-based instruction in a professional setting is increasing the depth, richness, and realism of the learning experience, heightening the understanding of the process of scientific discovery, and encouraging hypothesis testing and critical thinking. The availability of state-of-the-art equipment to train undergraduates in the classroom, the laboratory, and the field, has significantly improved our ability to recruit students into the sciences, enhance student retention and success in STEM disciplines, and achieve program accreditation. The project is enhancing student learning in the STEM disciplines, making undergraduates more competitive for internships, research opportunities, graduate school, and for careers as scientists and professionals. The resulting improved ability to identify victims and criminals and solve crimes will contribute significantly to the public good.