CSFS Education Blog – ‘A picture is worth 1,000 words’
THE USE OF AN INFORGRAPHIC AS A FORM OF AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT IN FORENSIC SCIENCE HIGHER EDUCATION.
Katie Davidson, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
I am a big advocate of innovative teaching practices and creating engaging learning activities for my students, and the topic of forensic science lends itself very well to this. I am always on the hunt for ways to incorporate technology into my teaching or utilise free and accessible resources in the design of authentic and inclusive content. Assessment is an area that I feel can be quite challenging to modernise and redesign due to the traditional exam structures that have been the norm in higher education.
I deliver content related to crime scene investigation in the first semester of our MSc and final year Undergraduate forensic programmes. This content was historically assessed in the form of an essay style exam question in a 100% module exam paper, and over the years it became increasingly difficult to create appropriate and varying exam questions to effectively assess this topic due to how scenario based and problem-solving it is. Following a curriculum review within the teaching team; we identified particular issues surrounding modules that had this 100% traditional exam assessment, realising that this was not the most inclusive form of assessment and also not the most effective way to assess some content. Our aim was to provide more variation in assessment format and the opportunity for our students to demonstrate their abilities in a more engaging and authentic manner. After brainstorming a few different ideas, the concept of an infographic assessment was proposed.
I quickly discovered that an infographic would be the perfect format for students to demonstrate their understanding of crime scene investigation principles whilst having the opportunity to be creative and communicate in a way that worked for them. I wanted to develop a continuous assessment question that reflected the learning objectives of the module topic but also addressed possible issues such as plagiarism or collusion. Therefore, students were asked to create an infographic using a crime scene scenario designed by them that aligned with set criteria, such as being a major crime, located in their hometown or city, along with at least two different evidence types present. They then had to communicate how they applied crime scene management principles (secure, preserve, record, and recover) to their specific scenario in this visual format. Guidance was provided on online resources and free software that could be used, such as Canva and Google Earth, along with suggestions on inclusion of environmental and geographical information related to their scene scenario. To support the infographic, students were also required to write a 500-word justification for the decisions they have or have not made at their crime scene to demonstrate their understanding and reasoning.
This assessment, which contributes 25% of the overall module grade, was first rolled out to both MSc and Undergraduate (approximately 80) students on forensic programmes last academic year but has been delivered again this year due to its success. To support the introduction of this new form of assessment, several supporting activities were delivered to ensure students had the awareness and understanding to undertake it. Firstly, a workshop at the beginning of the semester introduced them to the concept of an infographic and a similar type of activity, working in groups to create an infographic to communicate a historical forensic case study, where informal feedback was provided. Secondly, a Google Earth Crime Scene workshop [1] (Figure 1) delivered slightly later in the semester consolidates the key crime scene investigation practices and justifications for actions taken and gives students the opportunity to evaluate good and bad practice during a crime scene examination.
Figure 1. Google Earth Crime Scene Workshop Activity [1]
In the first year this assessment was delivered there were quite a few queries and questions from students, which was understandable due to this new form of assessment. Most questions were seeking clarification of the criteria or confirmation of the assessment requirements which were quite straight forward. There was a lot of variation in the infographics, both in presentation and the proposed scenarios, which was great to see. Some students got very creative with the major crimes and there was also a lot of individuality in how the information had been presented, using a range of different resources (Figure 2). A banded 0-100% marking scale was used to provide a clear breakdown of the criteria and reflective feedback descriptors for each band and then more tailored feedback was provided on the assessment if needed. The descriptors highlighted that it was substance over style that was being assessed to reassure students the focus was on demonstrating their understanding, not how jazzy it looked!
Figure 2. Examples of infographics created by students – MSc (left) and BSc (right)
Overall, the assessment was done well, with most students meeting the assessment criteria, however there were some common mistakes seen. These were made due to not reading the guidance information clearly, focusing on the backstory of the case rather than the scene examination, or repeating the same information on both the infographic and written justification. However, there were also clear demonstrations of critical thinking and going above and beyond the scope of the taught material which allowed fair assessment of the submissions in line with the marking criteria. Comparing the outcomes of the last two academic years, there has been an increase in the average mark obtained and in the overall pass rate (81% to 88%) across both cohorts, with marks ranging from 20-90%.
I feel that the infographic has been a positive addition to the module and provides an alternative form of assessment that I believe students appreciated compared to a traditional exam. I also feel that it assesses at an appropriate level allowing students to demonstrate other assessment skills in line with the topic learning objectives. The future plans are to keep using this form of assessment but that there are opportunities to develop it further, for example introducing different criteria for the crime scene scenario or having students create their own virtual crime scene using Google Earth. I think infographics are a great way to assess student understanding in a quick and fun way and that they can be used for any topic which makes them very versatile. There is also the scope of having this as a developing continuous assessment that students have to work on each week, building a more complex scene as the weeks go on and introducing new concepts that they have to consider.
References
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Davidson, K. (2021) “Google Earth as a resource for remote teaching: an application to crime scene investigation”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (22). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi22.777
Katie Davidson is a Forensic Scientist and Teaching Associate on the Forensic Science MSc course at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, based in the Centre for Forensic Science. Katie worked for one of the largest Forensic Service Providers in the UK for several years, mainly in the areas of blood and biological trace evidence, before transitioning into academia. Drawing on her previous experience as a forensic examiner, her areas of teaching include crime scene investigation and management, blood pattern analysis, and trace evidence examination.
Please note the contents of this blog represent the views of the author and not The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. If you would like to write your own Learning, Teaching or Training blog, please contact Dr Helen Tidy (H.Tidy@tees.ac.uk).
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