Techniques Jan 2013 - 45

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM WASHBURN PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM WASHBURN

Forensic skills like ﬁngerprinting provide real-world applications of biology, genetics and physical science.

The program tours the FBI Academy as a part of the annual trip to Washington, DC. Such in-the-ﬁeld learning experiences can help students project themselves into their career ﬁelds.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM WASHBURN

it was the delivery of high-level academic concepts that kept the program in the spotlight. The program has been recognized repeatedly as one of the best in the country, and Washburn himself has dozens of awards and recognitions to show for it. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution awarded Washburn the Millennium Honor Teacher Award primarily for his educational innovation. He won several teacher-of-the-year awards, including the Trade & Industrial Educators of Georgia’s award.

When 1 + 1 = 2
Hands-on is the byword describing the program which serves about 500 students in four Fulton County high schools, including Cambridge High, where Washburn is establishing a new program this year. The curriculum takes concepts in areas like math, science, writing, reading, public speaking, and history and contextualizes them. “Every day in my class I hear someone say ‘Oh, that is why we learned that!’” says Washburn. One activity that puts math in context is the blood spatter lab. A “spatter head”—the same used by professionals—is hit to
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study how blood sprays. Blood evidence at crime scenes can tell how many perpetrators there were, where the victim was when the assault occurred and even if the perpetrator was right or left handed. Students make measurements and calculations based on the result of the strikes and then compare these to the predictions made by the formulas used by crime scene investigators. One stage of the calculations requires the use of cosines to determine the angle of impact. “Students see the cosines and almost hyperventilate, but when they see how the cosine solves the equation, they aren’t intimidated any more. Suddenly, math isn’t to be feared but rather seen as useful.”

How It All Works
A popular field experiment involves comparing the decomposition of three pigs, called “The Three Little Pigs: Hunting for a Serial-killing Wolf.” One is left in a field, one is protected in plastic wrap and a third is submerged in water. “Pig decomposition is frighteningly parallel to decomposition in humans,” says Washburn. “The experiment involves predicting the outcome of each pig and predict-

In the blood spatter lab, students simulate the blood spray caused by certain types of assaults. The resulting patterns are analyzed, measured, and then compared to formulas used by professional forensic scientists.

ing which will go the quickest. Then they watch the decaying pigs and take notes for 60 days to see how bone, muscles and tissues deteriorate in different conditions.” Then students write a full lab report (a task new to many in CTE
January 2013

Techniques

Techniques Jan 2013

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