Case Studies
While reading through the third section of this class I couldn't help but think of Case Studies. I love to use case studies because they allow me to take the abstract information I provide during the lectures and make it applicable in a real work scenario.
Often, giving an assignment for students to preview, followed by a lecture, and concluding with a case study allows the students to understand and relate to material that they would not have otherwise.
Heather,
Thank you for sharing the different ways you are using case studies. I am a big fan of case studies and use them frequently in my courses for the reasons you list. They are a great way as you know to get students to see relevancy and application of the course content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also agree with your incorporation of case studies as part of the learning experience. As a clinical instructor, I have found that the 'combination' of lecture, hands-on practice with the skill being presented and then followed up with case studies, have helped my students apply their new knowledge with more success. They have told me that it helps them to see the application of the new theory/skill to a real work scenario. Sometimes the case studies are for individual completion and other times I put the students into small groups so they can get the experience of solving problems within a 'team framework' which they may encounter in the work environment.
Jean,
I am a big user of case studies in my classes for the reasons you are using them. They help to make the content real for the students while challenging them to seek solutions to the problems presented. The big value is that they get to see how the case study was resolved so they gain even more knowledge on how to work through different situations.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I use case studies in my law & ethics classes the most because I have real cases to review that actually happened in a hospital setting that I was involved with in court as the hospital representative- these case give the students an application of theory to real life and they learn the material better.
Michael,
Well said and a primary reason for why I use case studies in my classes as well. They get to meet patients through the case studies and then use their developing problem solving skills to respond to the case.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also like case studies because they allow the student to get to know the subject of their case study better, and to empathize with them. It helps them identify the real reason they are going into the healthcare field.
Laura,
I agree. I use case studies a lot in my discussions, work groups and exams since they let my students apply the content they have learned. This helps to make my course more real to my students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Good point. I believe this is similar to essays. They feel more confident on their answers rather than true/false. Plus it's more applicable in life.
Anthony,
I really like using this instructional format as well. Case studies help students to make application to the content they have just covered as well as exposing them to different situations they will encounter in the workplace. Thank you for these comments about the value of using case studies. I know this information will be helpful to other instructors that are thinking about using this delivery.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
