Kids learn about procedures in forensics
JEFFERSON – Jefferson-Morgan Elementary School students are gaining a foothold in the field of forensics.
Waynesburg University students joined the students for a footwear specialist training course Thursday.
Faith Musko, instructor of chemistry and forensic science, and Mike Cipoletti, forensic science program director, brought over a dozen university students who worked with 9- and 10-year-old students on math and science through a fun activity.
Diana Moskola, math teacher at Jefferson-Morgan, held a similar program for students a few years ago.
“It was such a success that with the new common core principals I thought this would be a great way of combining math and science for the students,” Moskola said.
The training course created by the university took the kids through the steps of being a forensics footwear specialist.
Students were presented with a case where footwear evidence left at a crime scene could help them determine who was guilty.
To reach their verdict, students took part in multiple workshops learning the characteristics of footwear. They used their own shoes and made prints and analyzed a crime scene’s footwear impressions.
“Math and science can be very abstract to students,” Cipoletti said. “This will help make a connection between the two subjects and also between what they are learning in the classroom and how that will be needed in a job someday.”
Musko described the workshop as, “letting them in on our secrets” by showing them some of the fun things investigators do with math and science.
Emily Haywood, senior and criminal justice major at the university, helped create the workshops and activities for the students.
“I have always loved hands-on work with kids, and it is a good community outreach opportunity,” Haywood said. “I want the kids to have fun and also see the exciting side of joining this field. There is a lot more than meets the eye that goes into it.”
Moskola hopes to continue to hold similar events in the future with the university that help connect what students are learning in school to the real world.