CSFS Educational Blog – Engaging with Learning and Teaching Research within the Forensic Sciences

 

Dr Helen Tidy,  University of Teesside

As the new series of Tea Break webinars focussed on Learning and Teaching (L&T) launched through The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS), I thought it would be a good opportunity to collate and reflect on what support is out there for those wishing to pursue L&T as a research option or to support their teaching within the forensic sciences.

I guess the first place to start would be with the CSFS L&T webinars themselves, these are designed to be short  – the idea being grab your cup of tea (or coffee), tune in and dedicate some time to your own development but in a manner that also allows you to get on with the other 100 tasks that need completing before the end of the day…..The series consists of 5 sessions, all recorded and available to CSFS members, an overview of the series is below:

  • Why do L&T research – Rachel Bolton-King, Nottingham Trent University
  • Identifying research in tour won L&T practices – Professor Ian Turner, University of Derby
  • Ethics for L&T research – Dr Patrick Thomson, University of Strathclyde
  • Qualitative versus quantitative research: which is best for my L&T research? – Dr Paul Chesterton, University of Teesside
  • L&T publications: tips and tricks – Professor Tim Thompson, Maynooth University

This is not the only dedicated place for sharing and learning about L&T research, the #RemoteForensics network, established during Covid times, remains at the forefront of dedicated L&T space. The team have recently moved from monthly sessions to shorter, ad hoc sessions but all the resources can be found on their website and YouTube channel which is open to all. As they were established during Covid when we were all concentrating on teaching remotely with whatever technology we had available, there are some fantastic resources on how to teach in this manner.

I dare not forget the developing resource that is this very CSFS L&T blog, short reads which showcase some of the best practices within teaching, training and learning. Available to members of the CSFS, each monthly blog delves in a very concise manner into the world of L&T, sharing ideas and reflections on practice. The blog was established in September 2022 with the inaugural blog by the CSFS President, Prof Tim Thompson. Since then, there has been over 30 blogs covering practices such as how we teach sensitive subjects (Dec 2024), using battleships for teaching (Sept 2023), the power of cake (Aug 2024) and the power of the infographic (Jan 2024) – in all honesty as soon as I saw there was a blog about cake, you had me………

If you are looking for a more traditional route into your L&T in the forensic sciences, Science and Justice already have one special edition devoted to L&T out there with a second coming soon. There is a comprehensive overview of the published special edition and the full articles, many of which are open access. Keep an eye out for the publication of the new L&T special edition which has a focus on sustainability and inclusive practices. Of course, there are articles concentrating on L&T which do not sit within the special edition including my very own collaboration on using memes in the forensic sciences. The Journal of Forensic Science Education is a further excellent resource for published L&T research and teaching practices, also open access.

Lastly, let’s not forget the emergence of L&T themes within our forensic science based conferences, CSFS introduced a L&T theme into it’s yearly conference which has been a beacon for showcasing L&T excellence in the forensic sciences. This runs parallel to the main sessions allowing participants to flip between practice and L&T. The CSFS annual conference is not the only conference to embrace L&T, the upcoming EAFS (The European Academy of Forensic Sciences) has presentations, workshops and poster dedicated to the subject.

With the end of the academic year thankfully approaching, it is time to reflect on our practices, develop our teaching and learning practices and plan for the new academic year – we now have a wonderful set of resources to help us do this which ultimately means practices within L&T in the forensic sciences will only improve and develop further.

Dr Helen Tidy is an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching at Teesside University. She teaches forensic science at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and loves exploring learning and teaching practices.

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).

CSFS Educational Blog is available each month to members on the member platform Resource Library  

 

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