Using Memes to Surface and Support Assessment Emotion in Mock Courtroom Assessments within the Forensic Sciences

Preparing forensic science students to give evidence as an expert witness in court is a key expectation for forensic science degree programmes. The most common way this is achieved is by mock courtroom exercises. However, anecdotally, these exercises can be source of significant anxiety for students with a knowledge gap around how students feel and how best to support them. Building upon previous research into the use of memes within forensic science education, this research explored student perceptions of their mock courtroom assessment through student produced memes. Forensic science undergraduate students from three UK universities were asked to produce a meme as part of a preparatory activity for a mock courtroom assessment and complete a survey on their experience of the activity. Examination of the memes showed the emergence of several key themes, the most prominent being assessment emotion with most of the emotion being negative. In addition, it was found that other prominent themes included the assessor themselves, speaking and presentation emotion and how familiar the students were with the evidence type they were presenting. Addressing these themes as part of the mock courtroom preparation process would help students feel more equipped for their assessment.