Information covering important topics for today's educators and parents. Each module in the series is designed as an extended activity lasting approximately eight to ten days in which students join an imaginary organization and engage in research that fosters scientific thinking. The modules contain a video program that shows students how science fits into real life occupations, a student research handbook with 26 hands on, cooperative learning activities, and a teacher's guide. This module begins with a whole class training session in which students determine which suspect stole cookies from the bakery by testing shoes for the presence of baking powder. In the next session, students watch the video, which introduces the crime, explains the kind of work they will be doing in a crime laboratory, and describes the research team concept.
Students consult their handbooks and choose the appropriate tests to perform.
They also examine the results and report their findings. The second set of team investigations involves evaluating eye witness reports to find a pickpocket. Each report hinges on a particular scientific principle such as lenses, magnetism, and shadows. Students design tests to investing these principles and use the results to determine which of the eyewitnesses are reliable. The student research book contains simple crime reports and illustrated instructions for each test.