Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

5 minutes – Activating prior knowledge (optional)
10 minutes – Tune in: Test your memory
20 minutes – Find out: What is forensic psychology?
20 minutes – Take action: Eyewitness testimony
5/10 minutes – Reflection

Activating prior knowledge

Optional: If completing these lessons in sequence, invite the students to reflect on what they remember from the last lesson by writing one thing they remember on a sticky note and adding it to the board (you could also use an app like Padlet). You can then discuss the responses and fill in the memory gaps.

Find out: Test your memory

Step 1.

Ask the students to try to remember five things you did yesterday and five things you did on the weekend. Then ask them to remember their eighth birthday. Discuss as a class how easy or hard it was to do this and what made a memory stick out more.

Step 2.

Give the students a word or picture list to look at for one minute and then give them another minute to write down what they can remember. Discuss how they went and what techniques they used.

Step 3.

Have another teacher come in and stage an ‘incident’ (e.g. the other teacher is annoyed about you borrowing a book from them for too long, etc.). Get the other teacher to have (or wear) something distinctive (e.g. a colourful scarf). Don’t say anything more about it once the teacher has left - you’ll revisit this in Part C.

Find out: What is forensic psychology?

Step 1.

Show the students the Introduction to Forensic Psychology PowerPoint (slides 1-26) and discuss as a class.

Step 2.

Get the students to play 'two truths and a lie' in small groups (see slide 27 of the Powerpoint for instructions).

Part C: Eyewitness testimony

Step 1.

Show the students the rest of the “Introduction to Forensic Psychology” PowerPoint (slides 28-48) and discuss as a class.

Step 2.

Ask students to record their eyewitness testimony of the earlier incident between you and the other teacher, including a ‘photofit’ record of the ‘suspect’ from the incident.

Hint: If you want to add to this experience, you could also stage a live or pre-prepared police line up and ask the students to identify the teacher.

Step 3.

Once students finish their testimony, ask them to share it with one or two other students and compare the details. What is similar and different about their statements and photofits? Discuss the findings as a group and discuss the ‘distinctive’ item the ’suspect’ had and how this was supposed to mimic weapon focus.

Step 4.

It’s time for you to come clean! Explain to the class that the event between you and the other teacher earlier was staged - ask them if they could tell that it was a ‘lie’ and how.

Reflection

Tell a friend what you now know about one of the learning intentions for this lesson and then swap:

What is forensic psychology and why is it important?
How are psychology and technology used in the detection of lies?
What is memory and how does it influence eyewitness testimony?

Differentiated learning

Extension - Design a lie detector and draw a labelled diagram of it. Think about the sorts of things you would need to measure based on today’s lesson. Present your design to your teacher for feedback.

Provisions for Learning Support -

Provide students who need it with a copy of the PowerPoint slides.
Group students in a way that allows peer support where needed.

Real-life CSI - Forensic Psychology

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Summary

Lesson guides and printables

In this lesson