VCU news

By Brian McNeill

In a Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School classroom, Lacey Reynolds, a junior forensic science student at Virginia Commonwealth University, asked eight middle school students dressed in white lab coats to imagine a dented Diet Coke can as a key piece of evidence.

"Let's say we found this soda can at a crime scene," Reynolds said. "What kind of things would we look for?"

"Saliva? Blood?" ventured one middle schooler.

"DNA?" another said.

"Boogers?" joked a third.

As the middle school students looked on, Reynolds's co-teacher, Carla Barrera, a senior forensic science VCU student, dusted the can with pink fluorescent fingerprint powder.

"OK, now we're going to take the ALS – our alternative light source – and see what evidence we can find," said Reynolds, as she illuminated the can with a black light, revealing glowing pink fingerprints. "See how it glows under the black light?"

Reynolds and Barrera are among seven students in the Department of Forensic Science in the College of Humanities and Sciences who are teaching forensic science methods and techniques to roughly 25 students at after-school programs at MLK and Fred D. Thompson middle schools in Richmond and Fairfield Middle School in Henrico County.

The program, launched in the fall, gives middle school students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with "CSI" style techniques, including fingerprint and blood spatter analysis, DNA sample testing and crime scene processing.

"The obvious benefit is that it empowers young people at this critical age to appreciate science in tangible, relevant ways," said Michelle Peace, Ph.D., interim chair of VCU's forensic science department. "That a light goes off for them that 'science is cool.' That they connect the fun and engaging exercises they do with our forensic science students to principles that they are learning in their classrooms."

Along with forensic science techniques, the middle school students also gain experience with general science skills such as sensory observations, critical thinking, and classification and identification.

"It's very challenging to find engaging programs for the kids, especially in the health sciences," said Tamiko Williams, who coordinates after-school programs at MLK on behalf of the nonprofit Communities in Schools. "For this program, though, the students just keep coming back. They're very, very engaged."

Williams added that the program has opened the middle school students' eyes to new possibilities of science-oriented careers.

"They've seen shows like 'CSI' and 'NCIS,' but this has really showed them that this is a profession you can do," she said. "It also forces them to think critically and use tools to try to figure out what happened. It gives them the ownership to figure out what's going on, rather than relying on other people telling them what's going on."

Learning to communicate

For the VCU students, the program provides a chance to serve the community and inspire a younger generation.

"My favorite part of teaching at MLK has been the interaction with the students and seeing the enthusiasm they have towards the activities we do and will be doing," Barrera said. "I really like seeing that because one of our goals is to get the students engaged and to pique their interest in science."

In return, the VCU students gain valuable experience from teaching the after-school program, Peace said. For example, she said, it helps them hone their public speaking skills, which is essential for forensic science technicians.

"The specific application for our majors is learning to communicate scientific principles at the seventh- to eighth-grade level," Peace said. "This translates to testifying as an expert witness about scientific findings so that a jury can understand. This is not to imply that people who make up juries are not intelligent, but just that the layperson 'forgets science' back to about the seventh- to eighth-grade level."

Barrera agreed, saying she is learning from the process of explaining and breaking down forensic science techniques and concepts.

"One way to know you understand something is to be able to explain it to someone else in a way that they can understand," she said. "Working with the students allows me to work on explaining complex concepts in a manner that people who don't have a forensic science background can understand and it also allows me to strengthen my understanding of forensic science concepts."

The program also provides the VCU students with an important experience of engaging with the "real world" off-campus, Peace said.

"We have seen their confidence and self-esteem increase, for some, a thousand-fold," she said. "For others, it's been an affirming experience. Our students have been energized and moved by the power of teaching – and, really, the power of kids 'getting it' – of seeing the light go off in a young person's eyes that they made a connection."

Micahaya Cooper, an eighth-grade student at MLK, took part in the forensic science after-school program last fall and now volunteers as an assistant.

"At first I thought it'd be boring, but then we started doing hands-on learning and I loved it," she said.

Cooper's favorite activity, she said, was when the middle school students analyzed a murder scene that featured  a mannequin with "wounds" to its head and neck. A critical piece of evidence  was a screwdriver covered in dried blood.

"We had to figure out what happened," she said. "What the suspect did and what weapon he used."

On Monday, when Reynolds and Barrera taught the MLK students about fingerprinting, they led the middle schoolers through a variety of exercises. They demonstrated the different kinds of fingerprint powder, explained the three key fingerprint characteristics – loops, whorls and arches – needed for analysis, and had the students dust for fingerprints on a variety of surfaces.

The students also lifted their own fingerprints off surfaces with tape, and inked their fingerprints on balloons, which they then inflated to magnify the different characteristics.

Inspiring growth in middle schoolers

In Reynolds' view, the most valuable part of the program is that it shows how cool science can be outside of the regular classroom.

"If we are able to help them see learning in a better light, then maybe they will take that curiosity and show it in their classes during the day," she said. "For the kids this is a fun experience that gives them a break from the normal after-school tutoring sessions, they think they are getting away with studying and doing homework, but they don't realize this is teaching them other things outside of the normal math, social studies and science they are presented with during the day."

The program launched with a grant from Service-Learning @ VCU and the forensic science department provides the supplies and materials.

Each of the participating VCU students is enrolled in a course, Special Topics: Service Learning, co-taught by Peace and Jo Murphy, communications and program coordinator in the forensic science department.

The students receive one credit hour and must commit to 20 hours of service, at least 50 percent of which is working directly with the middle school students. The other half of the students' service is spent planning out activities, as well as writing weekly blogs and working on projects.

Kenner Fortner, a senior forensic science major who kept a blog while participating in the program in the fall, said the experience was rewarding and "challenging in all the right places."

"I felt it was the type of environment where you could get as much as you put into it, and I put everything I could in," he said. "What I got back was critical reflection of myself, lessons in the importance of teamwork and the feeling that I made a difference in a younger student's day."

The highlight, he added, was watching the middle school students grow over the course of the semester.

"On the first day, everyone was quiet when asked a question, and there were a lot of disruptions," he said. "Towards the end of the program, we had them shouting out answers and fully cooperating."

 

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