Case-Based Learning Workshop

1. Case-Based Learning Workshop April 12-13, 2002, Center for Biology Education University of Wisconsin, Madison Margaret Waterman Ethel Stanley Southeast Missouri State University Beloit College

2. “America’s basic research in science, mathematics and engineering is world-class...” “Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology” NSF, 1996. p. iii

3. ... most of its population is virtually illiterate in science” “Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology” NSF, 1996. p. iii

4. NSF recommends that faculty: “Build into every course inquiry*, the processes of science, a knowledge of what practitioners do, and the excitement of cutting edge research.” * “involving the student in asking questions and finding answers” (p. 53)

5. “Devise and use pedagogy that develops skills for communications, teamwork, critical thinking and lifelong learning in each student. . .”

6. “Start with the student’s experience . . . and relate the subject matter to things the student already knows.” (pp. 65-66, NSF, 1996)

7. Strategies How do we bring these elements into science education?

8. Strategies One way is to implement case-based learning in the classroom. “There are lots of good fish in the sea.” W. S. Gilbert, The Mikado

9. Other good fish Wim Gijselaers, 2000 Group Responsibility Authentic Nature of the Learning Task Social Environment Locus of Control External Internal Individual Responsibility Contrived

10. National Institute for Science Education (NISE) “The LT2 Website” Learning Through Technology http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/cl1

11. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. National Research Council, National Academy Press, 2000. “…a new theory of learning is coming into focus that leads to very different approaches to design of curriculum, teaching and assessment…” (p.3)

12. How People Learn Emphasis on learning with understanding (p. 9). Experts have usable knowledge • A rich body of subject matter • Organized around concepts • Knows when to apply

13. How People Learn Learners come “to formal education with a range of prior knowledge, skills, beliefs and concepts” • These affect what learners notice, • how they reason and solve problems, • how they remember (p.10).

14. Prior Knowledge Most students bring personal experience and “informed” views about the nature of the biological world.

15. How People Learn • People construct new knowledge based on what they already know. • “Constructivists assume that all knowledge is constructed from previous knowledge, irrespective of how one is taught . . .” (p. 11).

16. Classroom reality: Constructing knowledge together

17. How People Learn “… people must learn to recognize when they understand and when they need more information” Metacognition - “People’s abilities to predict [their own] performance . . . and to monitor their current levels of mastery and understanding” (p. 12)

18. How People Learn:Instructional Implications • Provide multiple examples, multiple contexts for in-depth subject matter • Use a variety of approaches • Engage prior knowledge • Use self-assessment and reflection as practices to teach metacognition • pp. 14-21

19. So, where do cases fit?

20. Cases: Definition A case study is a narrative - often with characters facing decisions or a dilemma. A case defines a problem space that learners will investigate.

21. Start ICBL Case Work“Derrick’s Malaise”

22. A Case By Any Other Name... • Problem Based Learning - PBL • Investigative Case Based Learning - ICBL • Case study approach • Case method • Context-based learning • Anchored learning • Learning from stories • Teaching with the news

23. All use realistically complex problems All are multidisciplinary All ask learners to consider the events, decisions, facts Elements in Common

24. Cases provide learners with an opportunity to: • Engage with characters and circumstances. • Investigate to understand facts, values, • contexts, and decisions. • Connect the meaning of the story to their • own lives

25. Variations on a Theme

26. What is the role of the instructor? One extreme: John Houseman’s Socratic Method in “Paper Chase”

27. What is the role of the instructor? • another extreme: No instructor role beyond assigning case and grading products

28. What is the role of the instructor? Try Middle Ground Drawing by Neal Atebara, 1987. Used with permission.

29. When do instructors use cases? • At the beginning of the topic • After topic is complete • Throughout - the case work is the instruction • Before lab • After lab • At exam time

30. Why do instructors use cases? • To apply abstract ideas to complex problems • To initiate investigations • To assess knowledge and skills • To contextualize subject matter • To develop global and multicultural perspectives • To see value of interdisciplinarity • To develop metacognitive skills

31. How do instructors expect the students to work with cases? • Solo • In groups • Fully prepared in advance of the case discussion • “Open” the case first in class • Use only the information in the case • Consult additional resources • Should all get the same answer?

32. Clue in to cases Colonel Mustard, Library, Candlestick Small Group, Before Lab, Forensic Problem

33. Introduction to Using Cases

34. Using cases looks like . . . • A first day pre-assessment • Small group interactions within a lecture session • A pre-lab activity to focus on safety issues

35. Using cases looks like . . . • A writing assignment after a video • A whole-class problem-solving session • An exam question to assess knowledge and skills

36. Doing cases looks like . . . • developing collaborative approaches to problem solving • initiating investigations • assessing what they know/need to know • making and supporting decisions • learning specific subject matter • valuing interdisciplinary knowledge • developing and testing skills • producing artifacts that assist others in learning content

37. Using Cases: Pre-Assessment Cases can be used as a starting place for assessing what the learner already knows.

38. Using Cases: Pre-Assessment What the learner wants to know partially reveals how this knowledge is connected.

39. Using Cases - Pre-assessmenthttp://cstl.semo.edu/waterman/ll2001finalprojects/htm2001modules/HOW%20NOW%20MAD%20COW_files/frame.htm Biological Molecules: Proteins +

40. Using Cases - Pre-assessment The Rumor You overhear friends discussing risks associated with breath mints. What biological information can you offer to allay their fears? "I read on the Internet that you can get Mad Cow Disease from Altoids."

41. "Well, they are made in Great Britain and they do have gelatin in them.”

42. Using Cases: Take-Home Exam 30% Biology Majors 65% Preservice Teachers 5% Other Majors Opportunity Teaching Dilemma in Introductory Botany

43. Using Cases: Take-Home Exam Critical knowledge and skills in basic plant morphology to prepare scientists Relevant learning experiences that are valuable in personal and professional lives

44. Using Cases: Take-Home Exam Scenario: 14 week-old puppy that “chews everything” found dead in back yard Resources for each student: • prepared slide of suspect plant material • list of back yard plants by gardener

45. Using Cases: Take-Home Exam 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

46. Using Cases: Take-Home Exam : • 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

47. Using Cases: 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

48. Using Cases: 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 cash 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.”

49. Using Cases: 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.

50. Using Cases: 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.