THE SCHOLARS' SCOOP

DNA, crime scenes, and more! The Forensic Science pathway at GSP is a very interesting class taught by Dr Abul Yarali. Abdul is a professor in Cyber Security here at Murray State University. I had the opportunity to observe the Forensic Science class on the evening of July 9th, and I was interested to see what they were working on.

When I got there, Abdul had given everyone in his class a mix and match worksheet. There were 10 terms and 10 definitions and the scholars all had time on their own to try to get the 10 terms with their correct definitions. All of the terms were related to forensic science and some of them included: DNA, crime scenes, scientific terms, and more. While they had been learning this material for weeks, the task was still difficult because the terms could be interpreted differently.

After individual work, Abdul grouped the class back together and asked them to share out what they got. Multiple students raised their hands and there were majority agreements however there were many different answers within the group. Then Abdul told the group the correct answers to each question and gave a thorough explanation of why some answers weren’t correct.

The students collaborated during this task and were able to have their own opinions while also respecting those of their classmates. It was cool to see how the class worked together and it was clear this was a tight group. They all laughed with each other and showed everyone respect. It was very nice to see a group that liked each other so much and also had a great relationship with Professor Abdul.

After this worksheet activity, the class had a discussion about how crime scenes used forensics to collect proper evidence. This was a very interesting conversation and it was clear the class was learning a lot. Abdul did a great job of keeping this class interesting and he made it fun. The class learned a lot and had fun with each other while doing it. The Forensic Science class was a great representation of what GSP is all about!