Pearson Forensic Science: An Introduction
Core Code Alignment
Science
Biological Science
08020000100: Forensic Science
Biological Science
08020000100: Forensic Science
Recommendation
Recommended Teacher Resource
Evaluation
This book has a lot of great information and valuable lab ideas. It does not cover all of the Strands and Standards in Medical Forensics so wouldn't make a great primary book. It does provide a lot of resource material and has lots of great pictures and graphics. The labs that are offered at the end of each chapter are all well thought out and would be easy to incorporate into in any classroom settings.
Educators Using These Materials
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Rubric : Science 2025
Compliance with State Law (Required)
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitive Materials and Prohibited Submission 53G-10-103, R277-628 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Prohibited discriminatory practices 53G-2-103-5, 53B-1-118 and 67-27-107 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Maintaining constitutional freedom in the public schools. 53G-10-202 | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Free from advertising, e-commerce, or political interest | This item has not been graded. | |||||
Standards
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presence of Three Dimensions of Science: Builds understanding of the science and engineering practices (SEPs), disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs). i. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the SEP(s) ii. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the DCI(s) iii. Provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the CCC(s) | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| Does a great job of covering all the elements. | ||||||
| Integration of Three Dimensions of Science: Materials integrate elements of the SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs for student sense‐making: Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are integrated (consistently utilized in conjunction with each other) to help students make sense of phenomenon and solve problems. | Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are consistently integrated. | Three dimensions of science are integrated in certain portions of the instructional material. | Three dimensions of science are rarely integrated in the instructional material. | Three dimensions of science (SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs) are separated and not integrated for student sense making. | ||
| Does a great job of covering the three dimensions. | ||||||
| Alignment to Standards: The DCI Concepts (science content) in the instructional materials align to the Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 100% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 75% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to 50% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | DCI concepts (science content) in the instructional material align to less than 50% the SEEd Standards for the Grade/Course. | ||
| Most of the Utah Strands and Standards for medical forensics are covered. This book does not cover forensics psychology at all and doesn't cover anthropology in much depth. | ||||||
| Scientific Accuracy: Uses scientifically accurate and grade‐appropriate scientific information, phenomena, and representations to support students’ three‐dimensional learning. | Instructional materials are scientifically accurate and grade appropriate. | N/A | N/A | Instructional materials are NOT scientifically accurate and grade appropriate. | ||
| This book is appropriate for 11th and 12th grades. Some of the pictures are gory and should be viewed by older high school students. The material is scientifically accurate. | ||||||
Pedagogy
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus on Phenomena (Science) or Problems (Engineering): Making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to a problem drive student learning. i. Student questions and prior experiences related to the phenomenon or problem motivate sense‐making and/or problem solving ii. The focus of the lesson is to support students in making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to problems iii. When engineering is a learning focus, it is integrated with developing disciplinary core ideas from physical, life, and/or earth and space sciences | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The text provides case studies and examples using forensic science so that students can engage and come up with solutions to the problems being presented. | ||||||
| Scaffolding: Identifies and builds on students’ prior learning in all three dimensions i. Provides supports to help students engage in the practices and gradually adjusts supports over time so that students are increasingly responsible for making sense of phenomena and/or designing solutions to problems (Required) ii. Explicitly identifies prior student learning expected for all three dimensions iii. Clearly explains how the prior learning will be built upon | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met (i MUST BE MET) | Only Criteria Indicator i has been met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The book does a good job with how the chapters are arranged so that the students can build on prior knowledge that was gained in previous chapters. | ||||||
| Teacher Supports: Supports teachers in facilitating coherent student learning experiences over time i. Provides strategies for linking student engagement across lessons (e.g. cultivating new student questions at the end of a lesson in a way that leads to future lessons) ii. Providing strategies for ensuring student sense‐making and/or problem‐solving is linked to learning in all three dimensions (e.g. Claim Evidence Reasoning-CER Framework for communicating sense-making, teacher probing questions) iii. Provides additional resources for student learning (e.g. Models, simulations, and/or data sets for students investigation) | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The book has a lot of case studies as well as lab experiments that the teacher can set up and use to engage the students. | ||||||
| Assessments: Includes formative, summative, and guidance measures for interpreting student performances that assess three‐dimensional science learning. i. Embeds formative assessment processes throughout conceptual development that surfaces student understanding to inform instruction ii. Embeds summative assessment processes following conceptual development that evaluate student learning and measure understanding iii. Includes aligned rubrics or scoring guidelines that provide guidance for interpreting student performance | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The book has knowledge checks throughout the chapter and then end of chapter reviews of every chapter so that the students can test their knowledge that they have learned. | ||||||
Accessibility
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant and Authentic: Engages students in authentic and meaningful scenarios that reflect the practice of science and engineering as experienced in the real world. i. Students experience phenomena or design problems as directly as possible (first-hand or through media representations) ii. Includes suggestions for how to connect instruction to the students' home, neighborhood, community and/or culture as appropriate iii. Provides opportunities for students to connect their explanation of a phenomenon and/or their design solution to a problem to questions from their own experience | 3 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | None of the 4 Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The book has a lot of case studies and real world forensics cases that relate to each chapter. The cases are engaging and thought provoking. There are also lab experiments related to each chapter that the students can perform the be more engaged with the chapters and problem solve. | ||||||
| Teacher Supports for Diverse Learners: Provides guidance for teachers to support differentiated instruction i. Includes appropriate reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking alternatives (e.g., translations, picture support, graphic organizers, etc.) for students who are English language learners, have special needs, or read well below grade level ii. Provides extra support (e.g., phenomena, representations, tasks) for students who are struggling to meet the targeted expectations iii. Provides extensions for students with high interest or who have already met the performance expectations to develop a deeper understanding of the practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts | 3 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 2 of the Criteria Indicators are met | 1 of the Criteria Indicators are met | None of the Criteria Indicators are met | ||
| The book has a lot of pictures, graphic organizers, data charts, and other supported material to differentiate that material so that the students can learn in diverse ways. | ||||||
| Accessible for all students: Engages students using methods, vocabulary, representations, and examples that are accessible and unbiased for all learners (e.g., Deaf and Blind, English Learners, Gifted and Talented, Special Education). | Instructional Materials are accessible for all students | N/A | N/A | Instructional Materials are NOT accessible for all students | ||
| This book does a good job of being accessible for all students. | ||||||
| Physical Characteristics | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Technical Standards | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Ethnic Studies- (Ethnic studies in core standards and curriculum should be a narrowly tailored incorporation of age-appropriate opportunities that naturally arise through education without pretextual effort in courses, programs, or activities where ethnic studies is not a primary focus. The material should incorporate a curriculum of people and cultures that reflect the state’s various demographics without commentary that seeks to violate the neutrality standard established in codes: 53B-1-118, 53G-2-103, 53G-2-104, 53G-2-105, 67-27-107, | This item has not been graded. | |||||
| Shared Values and Character Traits | This item has not been graded. | |||||
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