How Do We Use Case Studies and Promote Team
Learning to Engage Students
Highlights from the Case Studies Science Workshop, May 2010
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
University of Buffalo
Ji-Eun Choi
March 28, 2011
Outline of presentation
 What is a case study?
 Effectiveness of case study
 Different types of case study
 Sample case study
 What is team-learning?
 Sample team-learning activity
 Summary of case study and team-learning
 Overall discussion
What is a case study?
 Replication of a real experience with problems to generate
discussion
 General structure of teaching a case study:
 Instructor provides background information and data relevant
to the case study (e.g., lecture notes, reading material or other resources)
 Provide a series of questions
 Students utilize resources to answer questions and prepare for
in-class discussion.
 During discussion, students explain their answers and
instructors can reemphasize subject material.
Johnson, Atwood Publishing, 1995
Student learning from a case study
 Learning by doing
 Development of analytical and decision-making skills
 Promotes learning beyond rote memorization
 Internalization of learning
 Development of oral communication skills
 “Spices up” the semester
Herreid, JCST, 1994a; Cliff and Curtain, JCST, 2000
Dreaded student expressions
Disadvantages of the case method
 Limits information coverage
 Instructors need to develop techniques to manage
discussion
 Requires more preparation time from the instructors
 Time to adjust to case study learning by students
Herreid, JCST, 1994a
Case study as an effective teaching
method
 Cliff and Wright (1996) reported that students in an
anatomy and physiology course said the use of cases
made it easier to learn the subject (74%) and deepened
their understanding (70%).
 Attendance in a general biology course based on team
learning and case study was 95-100% compared to 6785% in a biology course based on lectures (Herreid,
unpublished).
Case study as an effective teaching
method
 Small groups demonstrated greater academic
achievement and more favorable attitudes toward
learning in SMET courses (Springer et al, 1999).
 Dinan and Frydrychowski (1995) reported that using
team learning in an organic chemistry class covered
more material and their students received higher scores
in a national exam compared to the lecture method.
Types of Case Study
 Directed cases
 Review of course content in a setting of a story
 Questions have closed-ended answers.
 Analysis (issues) cases
 Students will analyze the situation or the proposed scenario.
 What are the facts? What happened? What were the events? How
might the events have unfolded differently?
 Dilemma (decision) cases
 A decision has to be made by the student regarding the proposed
scenario.
 Students will decide on an action with knowledge of the
consequences and the risks/benefits.
Directed case method
 The direct case study enhances student’s understanding of
essential concepts of a course and encourages critical thinking.
 Structure of the directed case method:
 Set predetermined learning objectives
 Create a scenario of a real circumstance using various resources
(e.g., newspaper articles, textbooks, actual or fictional events) that requires




application of course knowledge
Provide a list of questions
Can be distributed at the beginning of a lecture series or at the end
Students complete the analysis outside of class independently or in
groups
Submit case study answers prior to in-class review of the case
Cliff and Curtin, JCST, 2000
Analysis case study
 The analysis case study focuses on the development of
analytical skills and understanding of a particular problem.
 One structure of analysis case study:
 Use journal articles as the basis of a case
 Provide the introduction and table/figure sections (and series of
questions if more guidance is needed) to the students
 Students analyze the tables and figures
 Group or class discussion of student analysis
Herreid, JCST, 1994b
 Provide the introduction
section (not abstract) to
students.
 Supplemental information
or references can be
provided.
 Provide tables and figures
of the journal article.
 Possible Guided Questions:
 What information does
each figure convey?
 How do you think the data
were obtained?
 Write an abstract for this
paper.
Diabetes Prevention Program
Research Group, NEJM, 2002
Dilemma case study
 The dilemma case study promotes the development of
higher-order reasoning skills, understanding of a particular
problem and sense of urgency or importance of the problem.
 Structure of a dilemma case study:
 Good for controversial subjects
 Provide a story that introduces a problem and a central
character who has to grapple with the problem.
 Lay the foundation for a possible solution to the problem.
 Students decide an action with consideration of the
consequences.
 Instructor or students summarize the lessons learned.
Herreid, JCST, 1994a
Key points in teaching a case
 Establish a clear set of learning objectives for
the case study.
 Provide leadership during discussions: raise key
questions to help students refocus, if students
are off track.
 Encourage and guide, but refrain from actively
participating.
Johnson, Atwood Publishing, 1995
Sample case study
 The following case study was implemented in CRS 101 for
incoming students interested in science.
 Learning objectives:
 Demonstrate the scientific method in action.
 Understand the process of experimental design.
 Understand a relationship between music and exercise.
 First, background information was provided regarding
scientific inquiry and then the case study was handed out to
the students.
Scientific Inquiry
 “the diverse ways in which scientists study the
natural world and propose explanation based on
the evidence derived from their work. Scientific
inquiry also refers to the activities through
which students develop knowledge and
understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an
understanding of how scientists study the
natural world.”
National Science Education Standards
Scientific Method
 Make an observation
 Ask a question
 Research background information
 Formulate a hypothesis
 Design and conduct an experiment
 Analyze your results
 Draw conclusions
 Confirm or reject hypothesis
“Phys Ed: Does Music Make You
Exercise Harder?”
Sample class discussion format
 Each group should share their answers to the whole class.
 As different answers are discussed, write the group answers
on the whiteboard/smartboard/flipchart.
 Writing on the board is a way to confirm that students’ views
have value.
 A point written on the board can be used to promote further
research on the topic for an assignment or future in-class
discussion.
 An “answer” can be revealed or not.
Different formats of case study
 Discussion format
 Debate format
 Public hearing format
 Symposium – role playing
 Trial format
 Problem-based learning format
 Team-learning format
Herreid, JCST, 1994a
Team-learning
 With group goals, if students value the success of group, then
they will encourage and help others to achieve the same
goals (Springer et al., 1994).
 Provides immediate feedback and one-to-one tutoring
(Michaelsen et al., 1984)
 Improves communication skills, problem-solving abilities and
teamwork capabilities
 Introduces students to real-world experiences (e.g., working
with others in a future job)
Creating groups
 Students are more likely to have positive experiences in
classes where groups are formed by the instructor.
 Four to seven member groups do well.
 Smaller groups lack resources
 Larger groups have difficulty maintaining cohesiveness.
 Once formed, do not change the members within groups.
Feichtner, JME, 1984
Group assignments
 Portion of the individual’s grade is awarded based on group
work and peer evaluations.
 Provide feedback to individual students throughout the
semester to discuss individual roles within the groups.
 Implement various assignments:
 case studies
 quizzes
 presentations
 projects
Feichtner, JME, 1984
Individual/Group quizzes
 Group members will be quizzed on case study preparation,
lecture material, reading or other assignments.
 First, each student completes the quiz individually.
 Afterwards, the same quiz is completed as a group.
 Quizzes are graded during class time and the groups have the
opportunity to discuss their answers and submit “appeals.”
 Grades are awarded based on the predetermined
contribution of the individual and group score (e.g., individual
score=70% of quiz grade and group score=30% of quiz grade).
Michaelsen et al., JME, 1984
Sample lecture and group quiz
 A similar method to the following was used to teach in-class note-
taking skills to incoming freshmen in CRS 101.
 The following method can be used to promote learning from
lecture or from various assignments.
 Learning objectives for the sample lecture:
 Describe the functions of the systemic and pulmonary circulations.
 Identify the internal anatomical structures of the heart.
 List the structures in the order that blood flows through the heart.
 Be able to apply normal anatomy and physiology of the heart to
heart failure.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
CO2
O2
Systemic and
Pulmonary
Circulations
Pulmonary circuit
O2-rich,
CO2-poor
blood
O2-poor,
CO2-rich
blood
Systemic circuit
CO2
O2
Saladin,
McGraw-Hill
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Aortic arch
Ascending
aorta
Superior vena cava
Left pulmonary
artery
Branches of the
right pulmonary
artery
Pulmonary trunk
Left pulmonary
veins
Right pulmonary
veins
Left auricle
Right auricle
Right atrium
Right ventricle
Inferior vena cava
Left ventricle
(a) Anterior view
Saladin,
McGraw-Hill
Apex of heart
Internal Anatomy of Heart
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Aorta
Right pulmonary
artery
Superior vena cava
Right pulmonary
veins
Left pulmonary artery
Pulmonary trunk
Left pulmonary veins
Left atrium
Right atrium
Right AV
valve
Right ventricle
Inferior vena cava
Left AV valve
Left ventricle
Saladin,
McGraw-Hill
Reflection of group quiz experience for
the instructors
 Did you pay attention to the lecture more because you knew
a quiz would follow the lecture?
 Did you pay attention more because it would be a group
quiz?
 Did a group member catch something in the lecture that you
did not?
 Did you learn from your group members?
In summary
 Team-learning or learning from others is associated with the greatest
retention rates.
 Team-learning assignments include case studies and individual/group
quizzes, in addition to the more common group projects and
presentations.
 There are different types of case study: directed, analysis and
dilemma.
 Case studies can be created based off of newspaper articles, journal
articles, real or fictitious events that relate to course content.
 Case studies may be an effective tool to engage students who learn
best by application and association.
 More importantly, case studies may promote students to be better
learners.
References

Cliff, W.H. and Curtin, L.N. (2000). The directed case method: Teaching concept and
process in a content-rich course. Journal of College Science Teaching, 30(1):64-66.

Cliff, W.H. and Wright, A.W. (1996). Directed case study method for teaching human
anatomy and physiology. Advances in Physiology Education, 15:S19-S28.

Dinan, F.J. and Frydrychowski, V.A. (1995). A team learning method for organic chemistry.
Journal of Chemical Education, 72(5):429

Feichtner, S.B. and Davis, E.A. (1984). Why some groups fail: A survey of students’
experiences with learning groups. Journal of Management Education, 9(4):58-73.

Herreid, C.F. (1994a). Case studies in science – A novel method of science education.
Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(4): 221-229.

Herreid, C.F. (1994b). Journal articles as case studies: The New England Journal of Medicine
on breast cancer. Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(6): 349-355.

Johnson, G.R. (1995). First steps to excellence in college teaching. Madison, WI: Atwood
Publishing.

Michaelsen, L.K., Watson, W.E., and Schrader, C.B. (1984). Informative testing – A
practical approach for tutoring with groups. Journal of Management Education, 9(4): 18-33.

Springer, L., Stanne, M.E and Donovan, S.S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on
undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering and technology: A meta-analysis.
Review of Educational Research, 69(1): 21-51.