Using Cases Flexibly: Goodbye Honeybuckets! Lana McNeil Northwest Campus College of Rural Alaska

The Flexibility of Case MethodsMargaret Waterman Southeast Missouri State University 11th Annual Conference on Case Study Teaching in Science September 24-25, 2010The National Center for Case Study Teaching in ScienceUniversity at Buffalo

Using Cases Flexibly: Goodbye Honeybuckets! Lana McNeil Northwest Campus College of Rural Alaska More than 20,000 rural Native residents in Alaska live in communities without running water and where homes, local government offices, commercial buildings, and even medical clinics use plastic buckets for toilets -euphemistically called "honey buckets." ... spillages have led to the outbreak of epidemic diseases such as Hepatitis A. (An Alaskan Challenge: Native Village Sanitation, US Congress, 1994) John Kepaaq is a member of the Tribal Council of his Alaskan village. John wants to be sure that the sewage system proposed for the village is appropriate for the cold temperatures and safe for the tundra environment. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Case Analysis • What is this case about? • What do you already know about these topics?: • What do you need or want to know about to understand this situation? • What are some ways we could use this case?

Challenges to Science Education • Emerging areas of science, e.g., computational biology • Pressure from exams, such as MCAT, for students to be able to apply knowledge • New NRC report calling for problem centered education, e.g., food, energy • Changing learners: web 2.0 savvy • Cyberlearning as a new way of teaching

Case Study Approaches Can Address These Challenges • They are one tool among many • As we look at the kind of learning goals cases can address, consider these challenges to science education

Cases can be used to meet many objectives • To assess knowledge and skills – all cases • To develop global and multicultural perspectives • To initiate investigations • To introduce new technologies • To emphasize quantitative skills • To introduce tools • To see value of interdisciplinarity Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Pre Assessment PBL can be used as a starting place for assessing what the learner already knows. Example: Dr. McNeil’s Case: let her find out what students already knew about sanitation in their locale. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Assessment The following take home exam was based on a mini case in which a 14 week-old puppy that “chews on everything” was found ill in the back yard. Resources for each student: • prepared slide of suspect plant material • list of back yard plants by gardener Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Assessment Submit a memo reporting your findings as a forensics specialist: Provide an identification of the plant material with evidence to support choices: • root, stem, or leaf • dicot or monocot • herbaceous or woody Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Assessment : • Write a short letter to the pet owner advising the family to remove the poisonous plant from their back yard: • Provide a description of the plant as it would look during flowering and be sure to include: • common and scientific name • habitat preference • danger to humans Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Multidisciplinary Connections Kujira Teruko sat with her friend Sean at lunch and enthusiastically described her brother’s wedding and reception in Japan. “The family hired special chefs who prepared some amazing dishes. My favorite was the kujira.”“What’s kujira?” Sean asked.“It’s whale meat,” Teruko replied. When Sean made a face, she continued, “It’s delicious really. Better than this pepperoni pizza.” Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Isn’t whale meat illegal? I read there’s a huge black market and people pay $400 a pound for what they think is whale meat,” Sean said. Now it was Teruko who made a face. “How do they know it’s not whale meat?” she asked.Some biotech test,” Sean replied with a shrug. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Multidisciplinary Connections • Propose new law on harvesting whales or labeling whale meat • Design a pamphlet for whale meat consumer • Analyze of dimensions of whale bodies, perhaps of different ages (mathematics, surface to volume ratios) • Analyze of force required to harpoon a whale with and without modern propellants • Decide and debate on the pros and cons of deciding who should be allowed to harvest whales • Panel of "experts" predicting populations of whales with limited harvest. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: : Multicultural Perspectives andInitiating Investigations In the 1840’s, Late Blight devastated the potato crop which resulted in mass starvation and forced migration of the human population. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Simulating Late Blight Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Simulation Results: IRELAND 1840’s Cool, wet conditions, no pest management Sporangia from cull pile Infections from volunteers Crop defoliated and entirely lost well before harvest % blight infections sporangia Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Modern Management: Blight Cast Using 1840 conditions. Result of spraying every 5 days = $278 profit, no tuber loss, 3% foliage loss. sporangia sprays Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Investigations and Technologies and Resources New York 99 Ben called his old friend Lynn after hearing the latest count of people sick with West Nile Virus. "Hey Lynn, you work in environmental health, . What can you tell me about this West Nile Virus? We have a real epidemic going on here in Texas and everyone is saying it came from your state." Lynn groaned "I am so sick of New York being blamed! West Nile Virus has been around a lot longer, and it is called West Nile for a reason,” she huffed. “It is true that the first U.S. virus was detected in 1999 in a dead flamingo and a sick horse in New York City. But now it's all over the US. ""It sure is - but, wait - a bird and a horse? I don't get it.“ Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Approximate global distribution of West Nile virus Margaret A. Waterman, 2010 Solomon, T.,Brit. Med. J.326, 865-869 (2003)

“It’s called West Nile for a reason. . .” Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

The Biology WorkBench is a web-based resource for analyzing and visualizing molecular data developed at NCSA (the National Center for Supercomputing Applications). Database searching is integrated with access to a wide variety of analysis and modeling tools Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Aligned Sequences of WNV E Gene Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Introduce Lab Technologyhttp://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/lucre1.html FILTHY LUCRE:A Case Study Involving the Chemical Detection of Cocaine-Contaminated Currency Ed AchesonDepartment of ChemistryMillikin University, Decatur, IL Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Lab Technology Tom Brown was daydreaming while standing in the security line at the airport. He was in a particularly good mood because Grandma Brown had given him $200 in $1 dollar bills as a Christmas present ... Tom had tucked the cash into his carry-on. "Sir?” repeated a loud voice. “We have detected evidence of illegal drugs and will need to search your carry-on.” Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Lab Technology Tom’s cash ($200 in ones) will be treated with methanol to extract any cocaine present in the money. The extract will then be injected into the gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer (GC/MS), which will determine if any cocaine is present. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Lab Technology • Roll the bill and place it into a clean vial. • Add 2 mL of methanol to the vial. • Cap the vial and shake for 1 minute. • Using a glass Pasteur pipette, transfer enough methanol to an autosampler vial to fill the vial about three-quarters full. • Remove the bill from the vial when you are finished using a forceps. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Introduce remote sensinghttp://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/eyesonthebay/index.cfm Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Quantitative Skills http://www.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/ Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Average Age at Death from 1911 until 1919 in the United States (Noymer 2007) Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Which age was the most affected by the 1918 flu? US Deaths per 100,000 Attributed to Influenza and Pneumonia in 1917 and 1918 (Noymer 2007) Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Quantitative Skills and a Simulation Predict generally what changes you’d expect to see in the SIR model results with respect to S, I, and R individuals if you were to simulate the use of masks. (Hint: Assume a 10% decrease in transmission.) Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Simulation Results for Scenario 2 of Avian Influenza with 250 people (200 susceptible) and the use of masks with a 10% reduction in transmission. Masks are used starting on day 30, when the epidemic has already nearly run its course. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Simulation Results for Scenario 3 of Avian Influenza with 250 people (200 susceptible) and the use of masks with a 10% reduction in transmission. Masks are used starting on day 10, when the epidemic is still in its growth phase. Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Footprints “I’m glad I don’t live on a 200 acre farm like you, Sam!” teased Sue as the two friends hurried into their Biology class. “Why?” asked Sam, “Weren’t you just complaining about living in your parent’s downtown condo?” “Well, that’s true,” Sue admitted, “But I was thinking about today’s class assignment on sustainability. I bet you have the biggest footprint in the whole class.” Much to Sue’s surprise, Sam didn’t look all that concerned. He held out his hand and replied confidently, “I’ll take that bet!” Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Objective: Introduce an Online Tool: a global resource used locally • http://www.myfootprint.org/en/visitor_information/ • http://www.myfootprint.org/en/visitor_information/ Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Questions from Footprint Quiz • Food: amount of meat, how much food is local • Goods: how much waste is produced • Shelter: size of home, number of people, availability of water and electricity • Mobility: kinds of transportation, car pooling, air time, fuel efficiency Margaret A. Waterman, 2010

Using Cases Flexibly: Goodbye Honeybuckets! Lana McNeil Northwest Campus College of Rural Alaska

Using Cases Flexibly: Goodbye Honeybuckets! Lana McNeil Northwest Campus College of Rural Alaska

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