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CSI Durham: The final episodes

From staff reports

Published: Friday, June 8, 2012 2:27 PM CDT

In a quick glance around Vanessa Robichaux's Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) class at Durham Middle School (DMS), you might think real crimes have been committed. Fingerprint dust and evidence bags strewn around, students seemingly wandering about and there no textbooks, but don't fret it's just a scene and Robichaux has it all under control.

Let's put on our CSI caps and find out what's going on in this chaos. What are these kids learning and how are they learning it?

Farmer Pride readers were introduced to the DMS CSI class in Episode 1 earlier this semester. In that article, we told you that students in the class are learning what it takes to be a CSI under their own terms. In Episode 2, we learn what that means and in Episode 3, we learn if the students have solved elaborate mock crime scenes to prove their knowledge and earn their CSI badges.

Episode 2

Robichaux has embraced Lewisville ISD's (LISD) strategic design to bring her vision of a 21st century learning environment to life in the form of a student-led, flipped classroom. A flipped classroom means that students are given content to study on their own time and spend class time on application and mastery through hands-on projects.

Robichaux has turned the table on students in more ways than one. Instead of serving students in a lecturer role with worksheets and written exams, she has morphed in to an instructional leader who serves as a guide and mentor.

"At the beginning of the semester, I explained the required TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) to my students. Basically, what they needed to learn through the course of the semester, and then guided them through a discussion to decide how they wanted to learn the objectives," Robichaux said. "We created a matrix and began our course work."

There are no printed or digital textbooks to reference. Students create their own textbook from notes, drawings and graphs sketched in a spiral notebook throughout the course of the semester.

"When I check in on some of the students to see their progress, what's in their 'textbooks' doesn't always make sense to me, but it makes sense to them and they can explain it to me," Robichaux said. "And that's what matters."

Another important aspect of DMS CSI is that every student starts off with a 100. Robichaux says this empowers students and instills confidence.

"My message to students is that I'm betting on me, because I already have confidence in them." she said. "This concept seems to change their mentality about learning because the pressure is no longer on them, it's on me."

Some might think this classroom model requires a significant extra amount of time and effort on the part of the teacher, but Robichaux says it doesn't.

"I don't spend any more time preparing for this class than I would a 'normal' class," she said. "And, my prep work is a lot more fun because I'm researching, creating videos and setting up crime scenes that help my students grasp the material better than any other method I've found."

The model does, however require additional resources, which Robichaux acquires through grants and, like many teachers, her own personal resources because, "it's what's right for kids."

The students in CSI are seventh- and eighth-graders from all different academic and social backgrounds. In some cases, this diversity might create unrest, but the class is designed to engage all students, and its clear this mission is accomplished. Students who struggle in other areas of school don't struggle in CSI.

"I think it's because they are so busy, they don't have enough time to consider any other alternative to applying themselves," Robichaux said. "My hope is for all students in LISD to be as engaged and interested as mine are."

CSI Durham -- Episode 3

The last six weeks of school, CSI students assumed the roles they have been trained for all semester: CSIs, investigators, crime lab technicians, first responders and cyber crime specialists. They were broken up in to teams to solve one life-like scenario each week. This elaborate project was the equivalent of the students' final exam. What did they have to do pass and earn their CSI badges?

In a cold case scenario, students studied a case file from the 1990s. They used problem-solving and analysis skills to dissect the file, filled with fingerprints and detective reports, to solve the case.

Students have seen CSIs on television discover an unknown bone in the ground and they found themselves faced with a similar scenario. The prompt they were given told them that someone working in the school's garden discovered a bone. Assuming the role of forensic paleontologists, students had to grid the alleged area, chart it on paper, then find and identify the bone.

In a comedic burglary scenario, someone has stolen a cookie. The evidence is in the scene - a half-eaten snack, fingerprints and unknown fibers. Students use a crime scene checklist to chart their evidence and solve the crime.

As crime lab technicians, students were given the evidence and notes from first responders to a crime scene. They were charged with accurately recreating the scene on graph paper and identifying whodunit.

Cyber crime specialists around the world must crack complex code to identify suspects. The junior agents had to use their critical-thinking skills to break three FBI cypher codes.

The final scenario had at least one staff member concerned when they saw what they believed was a body in the ditch behind DMS. Upon closer examination, it was obviously a dummy; all part of a detailed mock crime scene for CSI. In this scenario students had to analyze fake blood spatter to decided which direction the "deadly" blow came from, grid the area, locate additional evidence and complete an analysis of what occurred.

"The scenarios were tough," Robichaux said. "I was very impressed with the students' recollection of knowledge and ability to use resources and prove they've retained what we have covered this semester. They definitely earned their CSI badges in my book."

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