Using Cases to Bring Active Learning Into Your ClassroomEileen Underwood, PhDBowling Green State UniversityNovember 2013

The Purpose

• Help students get excited about what they are learning• Relate content to real life situations• Give students time to apply what they

are learning by giving them time to think about applications and situations• Achieve student learning outcomes in

addition to critical thinking, such as interpreting data and graphs

The settingMy experience is with:• Large lecture hall – stadium seating• 50-210 students • (can also be used in smaller classes)

• Use with “clicker” system • (either with clickers or through show of fingers)

• Trial use of undergraduate learning assistants (LAs)

• Case studies done in groups• Assign student groups of ~6• Each LA is interacts with ~5 groups• In large lecture hall every 5th row empty – allow

instructor/LAs access to students sitting in center• One activity or case study per test unit • (5 per semester)

Case studies as an engagement or extension activity

• 5 E learning cycle (Bybee)• Engage*• Explore• Explain• Extend*• Evaluate

• Rodger Bybee, Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997, pp. 176-185

Case studies

• http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection

• The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) is to promote the nationwide application of active learning techniques to the teaching of science, with a particular emphasis on case studies and problem-based learning.

Biology for a Changing World, Shuster et al.Story-line approach fits well with use of case study:

2 examples that I use:

Forensics case study (following Ch7, DNA structure & replication – DNA profiling)http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=492&id=492The Case of the Druid DraculaBy Peggy Brickman

Cancer case study (following Ch10 Mutations & Cancer)http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=481&id=481But I’m too young! A case study of ovarian cancerBy Nancy Rice & Bruno Borsari

Assessment• Formative • If using for credit – award credit for best

effort• Allow make-up opportunities if using for

grade?

• Summative

Pre / Post Assessment Questions for“But I’m Too Young! A Case Study of Ovarian Cancer”

• Found in the answer key section of the web-site

Additional sources

• http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection • Includes links to other case collections• But beware – looking through case

studies can be time consuming and habit forming

Getting started : planning• Must be willing to “wing it” if necessary• Plan out timing (but be willing to be flexible) • Many case studies have suggested timeline in

teacher notes

• Keep teaching journal (what worked, what didn’t, what changes should be used next time)

Potential concerns: may apply to all active learning strategies

• Takes time away from lecture• Only use a few (2-5) per semester• Use “mini-case studies” • Scale down – take less time

• Loss of control of classroom• In large lecture may feel like herding cats to

bring class back to topic• Chose group to report out – jar of numbered

Ping-Pong balls • Smaller class – toss beach ball

• Some students may complain professor not “teaching”• Other concerns?

Adaptations for use in other class settings• Smaller classes • students can become more involved • clicker questions can be rewritten as

open ended questions. • Are any of you using case studies?• Do you have suggestions to encourage

use of case studies?• Have any of you developed your own

case studies?