Techniques Jan 2013 - 46

Feature
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM WASHBURN

Students learn to work in teams and make quick decisions in specialized tactical training. Here students are responding to a hostage situation on a bus.

classes), a required part of the updated curriculum, which is heavy on science and math. “They are learning life cycles, entomology, chemistry, meteorology and biology, all while applying the scientific method of testing their hypothesis. They are making precise measurements, making calculations and using formulas. And they love every minute of it!” Washburn also has the students write police reports and research papers. He adds advanced vocabulary and calls it the SAT word of the day. “There’s little whining; they don’t realize what we’re doing because it’s a subject they’re interested in,” says Washburn. “Also, public speaking is part of the curriculum in our law class, from a prepared speech (opening statement) to extemporaneous speech (closing arguments), which also prepares students for the SkillsUSA CTSO [career and technical student organization] competition. We had four national bronze medalists this year!”
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER KLEIN

Friendly Competition
The incorporation of SkillsUSA competitions into the classroom brings a whole new level of excitement. As part of the career unit in the first-year course, students are required to participate in an interview. Washburn ramps it up a notch by having the first-year students participate in a classroom version of the SkillsUSA Job Interview Competition. In the Forensics course, students participate in the Job Demonstration Competition to show mastery of forensic techniques. As a portion of their final exam students are teamed up for the CSI competition. “They have 30 minutes to process a crime scene and 30 minutes to complete all the required paperwork. It takes something students hate—final exams—and makes them fun. Students are psyched to take their final. As an added bonus, I can see who will compete well,” Washburn said. State champion CSI teams for the last two years testify to that competitive edge.
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Combining anthropology, biology, anatomy and other disciplines, students learn how to analyze bones to determine sex, ancestry and approximate age.

Techniques

January 2013

Techniques Jan 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Techniques Jan 2013