Lesson description:
In this lesson students will take a look at criminal profiling, it's importance in the field of Forensic Science as well as the potential controversy that surrounds criminal profiling.
Learning objectives:
- The learner will be introduced to the field of Forensic Psychology and it's usefulness in the field of Forensic Science
- The learner will examine Criminal Profiling and the potential positive and negative aspects of using Criminal Profiling to catch a criminal
- The learner will analyze past Criminal Cases and form a profile of the criminal based on what they have learned
Learner-centered outcomes:
- As a result of this lesson, the learner will be able to define what Forensic Psychology is and have an idea of the history of Forensic Psychology as it applies to the Forensic field
- As a result of this lesson, the learner will be able to categorize Criminal Profiling using a scientific approach as to it's validility in its application to the Forensic Science field
- As a result of this lesson, the learner will be able to perform a Criminal Profile on a serial killer of their choosing
Assessment methods:
- The learner will be introduced to the concept of Criminal Profiling, it's history and the difference between inductive and deductive profiling. They will then demonstrate their understanding using mindmap (http://mind42.com/)
- The learner will use past examples of both successes and failures in Criminal Profiling in discussing whether they feel it is a valid scientific approach to apprehending criminals. They will post their thoughts on a community blog and will be required to comment on at least one of their comments thoughts on the subject
- Using what they have learned, the learner will profile a serial killer of their choosing and make a wikipage of their profile. Then they will provide a series of questions about their wikipage to be answered by another of their classmates. Each learner will be required to make a wikipage as well as pick another of their classmates choices to answer the questions provided.
Resources needed:
- Computer with internet access
- Published powerpoint www.julianhermida.com/criminalprofiling.ppt
- Profiling quiz http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/quiz-central/law-enforcement/profiling.html
- Copy of the article: Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis ROBERT T. FINTZY, M.D. Found at http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=174351
- Sign up with mindmap http://mind42.com/ (valid email needed)
- Wikipage set up for classroom
- Community Blog
Alternative Instructional Strategies:
- For students unfamiliar with making connections using methods such as a mindmap, instead as a group we will make the map, first listing out the information we have gathered on one side of a sheet of paper and then making sense of where and how to place the information of the map
- The teacher will list the potential successes and failures of Criminal Profiling, as well as reviewing what a valid scientific approach would be. Then the students will choose which "side" they will be on (useful or not useful or inbetween) and will write a paragraph explaining their feelings on the issue, and whether or not they feel Criminal Profiling was indeed a valid method of a scientific approach to solving a crime
- Instead of a wikipage, the students will make a powerpoint with each slide representing a factor of criminal profiling (childhood, education, profession etc). They would then present the powerpoint to the rest of the class
This lesson is definitely designed to be a hybrid between traditional and online learning. While the teacher does use some online resources to communicate the information, it is teacher directed as well as student centered.
