Problems-based learning for teaching forensic anthropology in Secondary Education

Abstract

Growing interest in Criminology degrees over the past few years is
mainly due to various television series on forensic matters. These
programs have created a distorted image of forensic anthropology
which has led not only to an increase in the number of degree
applicants but also, in many cases, disappointment among students
regarding the course contents. Consequently, knowledge
of forensic anthropology in pre-university environments involves
designing educational innovation projects with active methodologies
that manage to train students in the essential areas of this
discipline and in the tasks performed by forensic anthropologists.
This work presents the results of an educational innovation proposal,
based on Problems Based Learning (PBL), implemented
among students to assess the effectiveness of PBL in the learning
of forensic anthropology. In a workshop, students work as anthropologists
for a day, applying forensic methods and techniques to
identify several individuals by determining their stature, gender
and age. The results show that PBL encouraged a motivating environment
and significant and collaborative learning to determine
the identity of the individuals, and more advantageous acceptance
is perceived of the method and workshop techniques both by the
participants and by teachers in the school.