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The use of critical incident cases in classrooms.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

The use of problem-based learning or case study teaching has become widespread in disciplines such as the health sciences, business, public administration, and environmental studies but gradually instructors in additional fields are seeing the pedagogical value of case study teaching and learning in the classroom. This article addresses how faculty from Biology and Geography use case studies and they share two critical incident stories (mini-cases) that they have written and use in their classes.

Introduction

Case studies are one of the most dynamic methods to beckon learners down their own pathways of learning. They allow students to find their own answers to complex problems. They offer students an experience that has significant psychological and social as well as intellectual dimensions (Fink 2003). Case studies are appealing to students because they have a "true to life" feel and help bridge the gap between theory/practice and the academy/workplace (Barkley et al. 2005). As a result of attending the "Enlivening Teaching: Using Discipline-Based Cases to Improve Learning and Teaching Conference" sponsored by Pace University's Center for Case Studies in Education in 2001, we were eager to pursue case method teaching and we now use cases in our classes as a result. This conference increased our understanding of how powerful case studies can be and we returned with a belief that finding and writing cases appropriate to our disciplines should become a priority. We agreed that the use of cases was a great way to engage students in their own learning and enrich the classroom setting.

Case instructors must attempt to balance two somewhat different instructional goals: 1) to systematically analyze the case itself and 2) to link the case to the broader policy context and to relevant research findings, theories, and analytic frameworks (Honan and Sternman Rule 2002). Cases should provide contextualized learning and usually require that the student not only apply course content but also consult alternate sources (McKeachie 2002). As reported by Herreid (1997/1998), the following is a list of key components of a good case: an interesting plot, a current problem, an element of suspense, empathy with the main characters, contains dialog, provokes conflict, relevance to the audience, forces decision-making, general applicability, brevity, strong pedagogical purpose.

Despite the fact that Biology and Geography are disparate fields, we have found that our use of cases has many similarities. The following paragraphs include examples of our own critical incident (mini-cases) and how we use them in our teaching. We will then focus on the assessment of student learning as a result of case study teaching in the classroom.

Santanello

One of the classes I teach is "Human Sexuality and Reproduction". Cases have proven to be very good learning...

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