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• Creating Effective Scenarios, Case Studies and Role Plays

Creating effective scenarios, case studies and role plays

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Scenarios, case studies and role plays are examples of active and collaborative teaching techniques that research confirms are effective for the deep learning needed for students to be able to remember and apply concepts once they have finished your course. See  Research Findings on University Teaching Methods .

Typically you would use case studies, scenarios and role plays for higher-level learning outcomes that require application, synthesis, and evaluation (see  Writing Outcomes or Learning Objectives ; scroll down to the table).

The point is to increase student interest and involvement, and have them practice application by making choices and receive feedback on them, and refine their understanding of concepts and practice in your discipline.

These types of activities provide the following research-based benefits: (Shaw, 3-5)

• They provide concrete examples of abstract concepts, facilitate the development through practice of analytical skills, procedural experience, and decision making skills through application of course concepts in real life situations. This can result in deep learning and the appreciation of differing perspectives.
• They can result in changed perspectives, increased empathy for others, greater insights into challenges faced by others, and increased civic engagement.
• They tend to increase student motivation and interest, as evidenced by increased rates of attendance, completion of assigned readings, and time spent on course work outside of class time.
• Studies show greater/longer retention of learned materials.
• The result is often better teacher/student relations and a more relaxed environment in which the natural exchange of ideas can take place. Students come to see the instructor in a more positive light.
• They often result in better understanding of complexity of situations. They provide a good forum for a large volume of orderly written analysis and discussion.

There are benefits for instructors as well, such as keeping things fresh and interesting in courses they teach repeatedly; providing good feedback on what students are getting and not getting; and helping in standing and promotion in institutions that value teaching and learning.

Outcomes and learning activity alignment

The learning activity should have a clear, specific skills and/or knowledge development purpose that is evident to both instructor and students. Students benefit from knowing the purpose of the exercise, learning outcomes it strives to achieve, and evaluation methods. The example shown in the table below is for a case study, but the focus on demonstration of what students will know and can do, and the alignment with appropriate learning activities to achieve those abilities applies to other learning activities.

(Smith, 18)

What’s the difference?

Scenarios are typically short and used to illustrate or apply one main concept. The point is to reinforce concepts and skills as they are taught by providing opportunity to apply them. Scenarios can also be more elaborate, with decision points and further scenario elaboration (multiple storylines), depending on responses. CETL has experience developing scenarios with multiple decision points and branching storylines with UNB faculty using PowerPoint and online educational software.

Case studies

Case studies are typically used to apply several problem-solving concepts and skills to a detailed situation with lots of supporting documentation and data. A case study is usually more complex and detailed than a scenario. It often involves a real-life, well documented situation and the students’ solutions are compared to what was done in the actual case. It generally includes dialogue, creates identification or empathy with the main characters, depending on the discipline. They are best if the situations are recent, relevant to students, have a problem or dilemma to solve, and involve principles that apply broadly.

Role plays can be short like scenarios or longer and more complex, like case studies, but without a lot of the documentation. The idea is to enable students to experience what it may be like to see a problem or issue from many different perspectives as they assume a role they may not typically take, and see others do the same.

Foundational considerations

Typically, scenarios, case studies and role plays should focus on real problems, appropriate to the discipline and course level.

They can be “well-structured” or “ill-structured”:

• Well-structured  case studies, problems and scenarios can be simple or complex or anything in-between, but they have an optimal solution and only relevant information is given, and it is usually labelled or otherwise easily identified.
• Ill-structured  case studies, problems and scenarios can also be simple or complex, although they tend to be complex. They have relevant and irrelevant information in them, and part of the student’s job is to decide what is relevant, how it is relevant, and to devise an evidence-based solution to the problem that is appropriate to the context and that can be defended by argumentation that draws upon the student’s knowledge of concepts in the discipline.

Well-structured problems would be used to demonstrate understanding and application. Higher learning levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation are better demonstrated by ill-structured problems.

Scenarios, case studies and role plays can be  authentic  or  realistic :

• Authentic  scenarios are actual events that occurred, usually with personal details altered to maintain anonymity. Since the events actually happened, we know that solutions are grounded in reality, not a fictionalized or idealized or simplified situation. This makes them “low transference” in that, since we are dealing with the real world (although in a low-stakes, training situation, often with much more time to resolve the situation than in real life, and just the one thing to work on at a time), not much after-training adjustment to the real world is necessary.
• By contrast,  realistic  scenarios are often hypothetical situations that may combine aspects of several real-world events, but are artificial in that they are fictionalized and often contain ideal or simplified elements that exist differently in the real world, and some complications are missing. This often means they are easier to solve than real-life issues, and thus are “high transference” in that some after-training adjustment is necessary to deal with the vagaries and complexities of the real world.

Scenarios, case studies and role plays can be  high  or  low fidelity :

High vs. low fidelity:  Fidelity has to do with how much a scenario, case study or role play is like its corresponding real world situation. Simplified, well-structured scenarios or problems are most appropriate for beginners. These are low-fidelity, lacking a lot of the detail that must be struggled with in actual practice. As students gain experience and deeper knowledge, the level of complexity and correspondence to real-world situations can be increased until they can solve high fidelity, ill-structured problems and scenarios.

Further details for each

Scenarios can be used in a very wide range of learning and assessment activities. Use in class exercises, seminars, as a content presentation method, exam (e.g., tell students the exam will have four case studies and they have to choose two—this encourages deep studying). Scenarios help instructors reflect on what they are trying to achieve, and modify teaching practice.

For detailed working examples of all types, see pages 7 – 25 of the  Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios (PALS) pdf .

The contents of case studies should: (Norton, 6)

• Connect with students’ prior knowledge and help build on it.
• Be presented in a real world context that could plausibly be something they would do in the discipline as a practitioner (e.g., be “authentic”).
• Provide some structure and direction but not too much, since self-directed learning is the goal. They should contain sufficient detail to make the issues clear, but with enough things left not detailed that students have to make assumptions before proceeding (or explore assumptions to determine which are the best to make). “Be ambiguous enough to force them to provide additional factors that influence their approach” (Norton, 6).
• Should have sufficient cues to encourage students to search for explanations but not so many that a lot of time is spent separating relevant and irrelevant cues. Also, too many storyline changes create unnecessary complexity that makes it unnecessarily difficult to deal with.
• Be interesting and engaging and relevant but focus on the mundane, not the bizarre or exceptional (we want to develop skills that will typically be of use in the discipline, not for exceptional circumstances only). Students will relate to case studies more if the depicted situation connects to personal experiences they’ve had.
• Help students fill in knowledge gaps.

Role plays generally have three types of participants: players, observers, and facilitator(s). They also have three phases, as indicated below:

Briefing phase:  This stage provides the warm-up, explanations, and asks participants for input on role play scenario. The role play should be somewhat flexible and customizable to the audience. Good role descriptions are sufficiently detailed to let the average person assume the role but not so detailed that there are so many things to remember that it becomes cumbersome. After role assignments, let participants chat a bit about the scenarios and their roles and ask questions. In assigning roles, consider avoiding having visible minorities playing “bad guy” roles. Ensure everyone is comfortable in their role; encourage students to play it up and even overact their role in order to make the point.

Play phase:  The facilitator makes seating arrangements (for players and observers), sets up props, arranges any tech support necessary, and does a short introduction. Players play roles, and the facilitator keeps things running smoothly by interjecting directions, descriptions, comments, and encouraging the participation of all roles until players keep things moving without intervention, then withdraws. The facilitator provides a conclusion if one does not arise naturally from the interaction.

Debriefing phase:  Role players talk about their experience to the class, facilitated by the instructor or appointee who draws out the main points. All players should describe how they felt and receive feedback from students and the instructor. If the role play involved heated interaction, the debriefing must reconcile any harsh feelings that may otherwise persist due to the exercise.

Five Cs of role playing  (AOM, 3)

Control:  Role plays often take on a life of their own that moves them in directions other than those intended. Rehearse in your mind a few possible ways this could happen and prepare possible intervention strategies. Perhaps for the first role play you can play a minor role to give you and “in” to exert some control if needed. Once the class has done a few role plays, getting off track becomes less likely. Be sensitive to the possibility that students from different cultures may respond in unforeseen ways to role plays. Perhaps ask students from diverse backgrounds privately in advance for advice on such matters. Perhaps some of these students can assist you as co-moderators or observers.

Controversy:  Explain to students that they need to prepare for situations that may provoke them or upset them, and they need to keep their cool and think. Reiterate the learning goals and explain that using this method is worth using because it draws in students more deeply and helps them to feel, not just think, which makes the learning more memorable and more likely to be accessible later. Set up a “safety code word” that students may use at any time to stop the role play and take a break.

Command of details:  Students who are more deeply involved may have many more detailed and persistent questions which will require that you have a lot of additional detail about the situation and characters. They may also question the value of role plays as a teaching method, so be prepared with pithy explanations.

Can you help?  Students may be concerned about how their acting will affect their grade, and want assistance in determining how to play their assigned character and need time to get into their role. Tell them they will not be marked on their acting. Say there is no single correct way to play a character. Prepare for slow starts, gaps in the action, and awkward moments. If someone really doesn’t want to take a role, let them participate by other means—as a recorder, moderator, technical support, observer, props…

Considered reflection:  Reflection and discussion are the main ways of learning from role plays. Players should reflect on what they felt, perceived, and learned from the session. Review the key events of the role play and consider what people would do differently and why. Include reflections of observers. Facilitate the discussion, but don’t impose your opinions, and play a neutral, background role. Be prepared to start with some of your own feedback if discussion is slow to start.

An engineering role play adaptation

Boundary objects (e.g., storyboards) have been used in engineering and computer science design projects to facilitate collaboration between specialists from different disciplines (Diaz, 6-80). In one instance, role play was used in a collaborative design workshop as a way of making computer scientist or engineering students play project roles they are not accustomed to thinking about, such as project manager, designer, user design specialist, etc. (Diaz 6-81).

References:

Academy of Management. (Undated).  Developing a Role playing Case Study as a Teaching Tool. 

Diaz, L., Reunanen, M., & Salimi, A. (2009, August).  Role Playing and Collaborative Scenario Design Development. Paper presented at the International Conference of Engineering Design, Stanford University, California.

Norton, L. (2004).  Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios (PALS): A practical introduction to problem-based learning using vignettes for psychology lecturers .  Liverpool Hope University College. 

Shaw, C. M. (2010). Designing and Using Simulations and Role-Play Exercises in  The International Studies Encyclopedia,  eISBN: 9781444336597

Smith, A. R. & Evanstone, A. (Undated).  Writing Effective Case Studies in the Sciences: Backward Design and Global Learning Outcomes.  Institute for Biological Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

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• Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on 5 May 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 30 January 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organisation, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating, and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyse the case.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

Unlike quantitative or experimental research, a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

If you find yourself aiming to simultaneously investigate and solve an issue, consider conducting action research . As its name suggests, action research conducts research and takes action at the same time, and is highly iterative and flexible. 

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience, or phenomenon.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews, observations, and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data .

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis, with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results , and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyse its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

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McCombes, S. (2023, January 30). Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods. Scribbr. Retrieved 14 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/case-studies/

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What the Case Study Method Really Teaches

• Nitin Nohria

Seven meta-skills that stick even if the cases fade from memory.

It’s been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students. This article explains the importance of seven such skills: preparation, discernment, bias recognition, judgement, collaboration, curiosity, and self-confidence.

During my decade as dean of Harvard Business School, I spent hundreds of hours talking with our alumni. To enliven these conversations, I relied on a favorite question: “What was the most important thing you learned from your time in our MBA program?”

• Nitin Nohria is the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration, Distinguished University Service Professor, and former dean of Harvard Business School.

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• Keys to Facilitating Successful Student Group Work

by Amanda Reilly

Working in teams is an important part of being an effective learner and employee, yet students from high school through professional schools tend to groan when teachers assign a team project.  How can teachers foster positive attitudes before, during and after group experiences?

“It’s not about loving the group work; it’s about developing the skills,” said Dr. Maryellen Weimer, professor emerita at Penn State Berks and the keynote speaker at the 2015 spring seminar of Simmons College’s Center for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Weimer, a renowned authority on effective college teaching, presented on successful methods for encouraging effective student group work. She said that although professors typically encourage their students to be “self-directed learners” (rather than “groupies,” who depend on others to learn), educators still must cultivate rewarding group experiences so that students can be productive in a variety of educational and professional scenarios.

Dr. Weimer detailed several ways in which teachers can facilitate student group work:

• Focus on the details. Early in their work together, group members must delineate expectations, clarify roles, understand each other’s work styles, and commit to how they will work together. When group members establish their own group norms, they lay a solid foundation for their work, such as a group member “bill of rights” – what the group has a right to expect from each member.
• Maintain an ideal size. What group size is most effective? Dr. Weimer argues that the ideal group is small enough for all members to share their opinions and large enough for diversity of views. A group with three members often does not possess enough diversity of thought and resources; in a group of six or seven members, some members may remain silent during discussions, and work may be divided inequitably. A group of five members is often ideal, eliminating the concerns associated with both smaller and larger groups.
• Thoughtfully construct the group. With diversity in mind, teachers should assemble groups according to a common interest. If you allow students to self-select, it is important to help them build diverse teams. Self-selection, however, can cause introverted students undue stress and social anxiety. Weimer has found that students who don’t know each other before they do group work often create the most outstanding work, whereas students who already know each other tend to socialize more and make less progress during group work, thereby not producing exceptional results.
• Don’t underestimate peer pressure. Students who don’t carry their own weight (e.g., “social loafers,” “freeloaders”) or who dominate and exclude (e.g., “alpha lone wolves”) have to acclimate to the group dynamic. Group conflict can be a valuable opportunity for personal growth. Dr. Weimer asks that groups share techniques for effective communication and team member accountability with the class, ensuring that each student brings something to the experience.
• Discuss and share best practices to help groups process problems. Facilitate group work by empowering groups to solve their own problems. This helps group members understand that they are responsible for their problems and that overcoming obstacles is part of the group work process. Collaboration is a valuable part of learning how to work effectively in groups, so it is essential for teachers to provide vehicles for students to communicate and share, such as online wikis or Google Docs. Urge groups to observe how other groups communicate, or assign groups the task of making study guides for other groups.
• Use peer formative feedback and provide summative feedback. Students are more accountable to each other when they understand that a portion of their grade is based on peer formative feedback. Formative assessment can help students identify not only their strengths but also opportunities for improvement. This type of process feedback can help groups with the parsing of duties, and assessment of their group needs. Also, remember that students place the most value on the teacher’s summative feedback, typically conveyed through a final evaluation of a group’s process and end product.

Group collaboration is an essential skill for students to learn before they enter the professional world, and the collaborative classroom is an ideal place in which students can develop this skill. With a foundation with which to build better groups, students not only learn teamwork accountability and commitment, but also enhance their ability to master course content.

Dr. Maryellen Weimer has a loyal following of educators from law, medicine, and business programs at colleges and universities across the country. More than 15,000 educators subscribe to her newsletter and read her weekly blog, The Teaching Professor Blog. If you are curious about how to incorporate learner-centered policies, practices, techniques, and approaches in your classroom, check out Dr. Weimer’s teaching resources and strategies at www.facultyfocus.com .

Amanda Reilly is the Program Associate for HLS Case Studies.

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Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

Create a Case Method Group Activity to Engage Students in Critical Thinking

Tags: Adult Learning , Assessment , Assignments , Blog , Case method , Cognitive Theory , Collaborative Learning , Community of Inquiry , Critical Thinking , Discussions , Experiential Learning , Google , Learning Activities , LMS , Problem-Based Learning , Scaffolding , Social Media , Video , Wiki

Description

The case method group activity is an instructional design strategy that involves faculty members providing one or more case studies to which groups of students respond. The case(s) could be a real-life case or simulation. It could be description of key concept(s) applied, a story or scenario, an actual case study, a problem or mystery, a performance, a visual, or an example.

The case method in online learning as an intervention presents students with ill-structured, real-world derived problems with multiple solutions (Choi & Lee, 2009). In a group activity this case method has the potential to harnesses the effectiveness of collaborative learning (Kolb, 1984) and group activities provide a space for collaborative problem solving, fostering a constructivist learning environment with potential to build a community of learning (Jonassen, 1997). The teaching facilitator can influence learners’ engagement in and adoption of the activity by communicating the relative advantage of key features of the online environment (Karamanos & Gibbs, 2012), as well as mapping and intervening in the group interactions to keep students focused on the problem (Etmer & Koehler, 2014). This mapping creates a plan for instructors to scaffold (or build in techniques to progressively support students to greater levels of learning independence and effective group interactions). Introduction of scaffolds and learning resources, perhaps additional readings and activities, presented at later stages of problem solving were associated with deep meaningful learning and critical thinking (Choi & Lee, 2009).

Because the case reflects a real-life situation, as the group members interact with each other, they should uncover multiple solutions, perspectives, or methods of analyzing the situation, with no single right answer. This divergence is important to encourage for fostering deeper levels of learning and critical thinking (Choi & Lee, 2009). A guiding question for the lesson can offer some parameters for faculty to map and scaffold activities, guiding students’ interactions as they engage with others in their groups about the case. This guiding question should depend on the purpose of the instruction (University of Illinois, 2015). The process of a faculty member scaffolding activities should result in more than one individual or group deliverable associated with it and a corresponding timeline for each. Consider, too, whether each component will have a group or individual grade (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015).

Link to example artifact(s)

As an example of the case method group activity, a faculty member teaching an industrial/organizational psychology course divided the students into groups based on time zones and created a discussion forum for each group. They completed a learning team charter to establish their group covenant. The parameters for the group activity were well-defined: students completed a group charter to agree on expectations for each member’s contribution to the group, the faculty provided an explanation of the purpose of the group activity for learning the material and succeeding in the course. The faculty explicitly stated how the quality of interactions and ideas derived from the group conversation and supported with evidence could contribute to the success of individual assignments.

The faculty provided the same case scenario across each group discussion forum. The case described in writing a company whose strict hierarchy and “us” (management) versus “them” (workers) mentality had led to a dysfunctional workplace environment with punitive acts from management and passive aggressive behaviors from employees. The faculty prompted students to analyze the situation using management and leadership approaches and theories from the course as a group by midway through the course, brainstorm as a group solutions to remedy the situation by applying key course concepts from middle to the end of the course, and submit an individual solution to the problem the case presented as the final assignment.

The faculty member interacted with each group several times throughout the course in their discussion forums, guiding them to consider important motivational and management theories (like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McGregor’s theory x and y) to analyze the behavioral dynamics of management and the employees in the case. Additionally, a rubric was associated with each component presented prior to the assignment to set expectations and utilized by the faculty member for grading. To assess critical thinking, elements from the AASU Value rubric were incorporated into the individual solution activity rubric (2017). Students were graded individually even though they were interacting as a group for their mid-course analysis of the scenario, as a group on the solution brainstorming activity for a group grade, and individually on their submissions of their individual solution to the case.

Students’ critical thinking improvements and favorable reaction provided good evidence for the success of the case scenario activities in this course. During the discussion, students often related the scenario to their own real-life experiences in workplace settings. As the discussions progressed, students began identifying these experiences with key concepts, referring and citing course content, and this habit transferred to their individual solutions to the case presented in their papers. Some students developed a clear thesis for their perspectives, recounting nuances of the situation in the scenario (such as the organizational structure and emerging management styles) to substantiate their position. Even fewer students gave multiple solutions and explained why one is better than another. Students generally responded positively to the course and case scenario format. They indicated that they appreciated the real-life examples from other students and expressed that the group discussion contributed development of their individual submissions. Satisfaction with the course, as indicated on students’ end-of-course reviews, was high to very high.

Applying this case method group activity strategy to other disciplines should result in similar success, strengthening students’ critical thinking skills. This strategy is definitely generalizable, as the aim is for students’ collaboration for achieving the course or module objective(s) associated with the activity/assignment (University of Illinois, 2015), guiding students to:

• Identify key concepts reflected by a case, • Situate a case within a given system, • Summarize or recapitulate a case, • Generalize patterns or symbolic representations within a case, • Generate plausible causes that result in a case, • Analyze the components of a case, • Assess or judge the appropriate application presented in a case scenario, • Solve a problem that the case presents or that the faculty presents about the case Any discipline where students would benefit cognitively from collaboration to achieve one of the above objectives could apply this strategy: create a case method group activity to engage students in critical thinking.

Individual Paper Case Study Rubric

Case Study Rubric for Group Collaboration Discussion

Instructor: Revathi Viswanathan Course: Biotechnology

Students were asked to discuss case studies relating to their subject, and Edmodo was used as a learning platform for handling them. The purpose of integrating the technological tool was to encourage students to actively participate in the teaching and learning process even beyond their classroom. Besides this, Edmodo, as an application could be accessed both in a computer and a mobile, which in turn helps teachers to post resources, initiate discussions, create small groups, and enroll students to do collaborative tasks.

As part of the classroom based research, the students were put in small groups, and inputs for case study was posted as video files and reading texts to each group in the Edmodo page. Each group was given guidance on holding case study discussions. The preliminary discussion was initiated through brainstorming questions, which encouraged students to get to the important issue or aspect of the case study. For example, the following questions were posted related to the case study on ‘ Regenerative medicine- Current therapies and future directions’:

• What do you know about regenerative medicine?
• How does it help common man?

Similarly, one of the groups discussed ‘Genetic Engineering of Animals: ethical issues, including welfare concerns’ and the following questions were asked:

• Discuss how ‘deletion of genes, or the manipulation of genes already present’ affects the animals.
• What do you think about this as a biotechnology student?

After a few dialogues online, it was felt that most of the students could not identify the main aspect of the case study and the teacher researcher had to intervene by posting guidelines for discussing a case study (Source: https://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD.html#CASEMETHOD ). They were told about the process by which a case study has to be analysed. They were asked to look for issues that are stated in the case study, critically read and see how the issue is handled in depth. Then, they had to look for opening paragraph, background information, specific area of interest covered, specific problem stated, alternatives given and the conclusion drawn from the discussion, in the case study.

Besides posting these tips for handling case studies, the teacher explained the components of a case study (stated above) in the class. It was felt that this online collaborative activity had to be handled by following the online collaborative theory advocated by Harasim (2012). According to her, a teacher plays an important role (in an online collaborative learning scenario) in the process of knowledge construction among students, by providing inputs and integrating the core concept along with the subject domain. In this context, it must be stated that the teacher researcher had already brought in the integration of biotechnology related case studies for discussion. However, considering the extent to which they could use the subject knowledge for discussing the given case study, it was evident that the students expected teacher’s intervention. In other words, the teacher had to draw their attention to the main issue of the case study by posting a few specific (case study related) questions.

For example, the group which was working on the case study, ‘Genetic engineering of animals’, were asked to focus on the specific concepts. The following question was posted in Edmodo group page:

• How does it affect an animal when it is genetically modified or genetically altered or genetically manipulated or transgenic, and biotechnology-derived
• How will the animal cope with when it is modified?

The extent to which the students of respective groups (group A & B) could discuss the case study by using their subject knowledge was evaluated by comparing two groups (both before-the-intervention and after-the-intervention of the teacher) using Causal-Comparative method. The analysis of performance of the group members was done with the help of the rubrics, ‘Undergraduate Case Analysis Rubrics’ (Source https://www.onlineethics.org/File.aspx?id=31203&v=859a7ffb ). The frequency polygon drawn for both groups (Figures 1 and 2) and the ANOVA test scores evaluated showed variation, particularly in group A’s performance (ie before and after teacher’s intervention).

It was evident that students’ application of subject knowledge in their discussion had promoted communicative ability. Further, it proved the application of online collaborative theory in encouraging students to contribute to online discussions.

Link to scholarly references

Association of American Colleges & Universities (2017). Critical thinking VALUE rubric. Retrieved from  https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/critical-thinking

Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center (2015). How can I assess group work? Retrieved from  https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/assess.html

Choi, I., & Lee, K. (2009). Designing and implementing a case-based learning environment for enhancing ill-structured problem solving: Classroom management problems for prospective teachers. Educational Technology Research and Development , 57( 1 ), 99-129.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-008-9089-2

David, H. J. (1997). Instructional design models for well-structured and ill-structured problem-solving learning outcomes. Educational Technology Research and Development , 45( 1 ). Retrieved from  http://www.webkelley.com/HBS/ID%20Models%20for%20Well-Structured.pdf

Ertmer, P. A., & Koehler, A. A. (2014). Online case-based discussions: Examining coverage of the afforded problem space. Educational Technology Research and Development , 62( 5 ), 617-636.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-014-9350-9

Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. M. Reigeluth I nstructional-design theories and models: Volume II (pp. 215-239). Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from  https://www.savoiabenincasa.gov.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1999-Jonassen.pdf

Karamanos, N., & Gibbs, P. (2012). A model for student adoption of online interactivity. Research in Post-Compulsory Education , 17( 3 ), 321-334.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2012.700108

Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from  https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Kolb-Experiential-Learning-Experience-as-the-Source-of-Learning-and-Development-2nd-Edition/PGM183903.html

University of Illinois. (2015). Online teaching activity index: Case study or case based index. Retrieved from  www.ion.uillinois.edu%2Fresources%2Fotai%2Fcasestudies.asp&token=yz%2BG1QALcwhrBLaVIIOV1qkwVJCS27mZAH624RoGdAc%3D

Post Revisions:

• August 7, 2020 @ 20:33:26 [Current Revision]
• August 7, 2020 @ 20:33:26
• October 2, 2019 @ 14:57:03
• September 30, 2019 @ 18:49:58
• September 30, 2019 @ 18:46:31

• Our Mission

Making Learning Relevant With Case Studies

The open-ended problems presented in case studies give students work that feels connected to their lives.

To prepare students for jobs that haven’t been created yet, we need to teach them how to be great problem solvers so that they’ll be ready for anything. One way to do this is by teaching content and skills using real-world case studies, a learning model that’s focused on reflection during the problem-solving process. It’s similar to project-based learning, but PBL is more focused on students creating a product.

Case studies have been used for years by businesses, law and medical schools, physicians on rounds, and artists critiquing work. Like other forms of problem-based learning, case studies can be accessible for every age group, both in one subject and in interdisciplinary work.

You can get started with case studies by tackling relatable questions like these with your students:

• How can we limit food waste in the cafeteria?
• How can we get our school to recycle and compost waste? (Or, if you want to be more complex, how can our school reduce its carbon footprint?)
• How can we improve school attendance?
• How can we reduce the number of people who get sick at school during cold and flu season?

Addressing questions like these leads students to identify topics they need to learn more about. In researching the first question, for example, students may see that they need to research food chains and nutrition. Students often ask, reasonably, why they need to learn something, or when they’ll use their knowledge in the future. Learning is most successful for students when the content and skills they’re studying are relevant, and case studies offer one way to create that sense of relevance.

Teaching With Case Studies

Ultimately, a case study is simply an interesting problem with many correct answers. What does case study work look like in classrooms? Teachers generally start by having students read the case or watch a video that summarizes the case. Students then work in small groups or individually to solve the case study. Teachers set milestones defining what students should accomplish to help them manage their time.

During the case study learning process, student assessment of learning should be focused on reflection. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick’s Learning and Leading With Habits of Mind gives several examples of what this reflection can look like in a classroom: 

Journaling: At the end of each work period, have students write an entry summarizing what they worked on, what worked well, what didn’t, and why. Sentence starters and clear rubrics or guidelines will help students be successful. At the end of a case study project, as Costa and Kallick write, it’s helpful to have students “select significant learnings, envision how they could apply these learnings to future situations, and commit to an action plan to consciously modify their behaviors.”

Interviews: While working on a case study, students can interview each other about their progress and learning. Teachers can interview students individually or in small groups to assess their learning process and their progress.

Student discussion: Discussions can be unstructured—students can talk about what they worked on that day in a think-pair-share or as a full class—or structured, using Socratic seminars or fishbowl discussions. If your class is tackling a case study in small groups, create a second set of small groups with a representative from each of the case study groups so that the groups can share their learning.

4 Tips for Setting Up a Case Study

1. Identify a problem to investigate: This should be something accessible and relevant to students’ lives. The problem should also be challenging and complex enough to yield multiple solutions with many layers.

2. Give context: Think of this step as a movie preview or book summary. Hook the learners to help them understand just enough about the problem to want to learn more.

3. Have a clear rubric: Giving structure to your definition of quality group work and products will lead to stronger end products. You may be able to have your learners help build these definitions.

4. Provide structures for presenting solutions: The amount of scaffolding you build in depends on your students’ skill level and development. A case study product can be something like several pieces of evidence of students collaborating to solve the case study, and ultimately presenting their solution with a detailed slide deck or an essay—you can scaffold this by providing specified headings for the sections of the essay.

Problem-Based Teaching Resources

There are many high-quality, peer-reviewed resources that are open source and easily accessible online.

• The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo built an online collection of more than 800 cases that cover topics ranging from biochemistry to economics. There are resources for middle and high school students.
• Models of Excellence , a project maintained by EL Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has examples of great problem- and project-based tasks—and corresponding exemplary student work—for grades pre-K to 12.
• The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning at Purdue University is an open-source journal that publishes examples of problem-based learning in K–12 and post-secondary classrooms.
• The Tech Edvocate has a list of websites and tools related to problem-based learning.

In their book Problems as Possibilities , Linda Torp and Sara Sage write that at the elementary school level, students particularly appreciate how they feel that they are taken seriously when solving case studies. At the middle school level, “researchers stress the importance of relating middle school curriculum to issues of student concern and interest.” And high schoolers, they write, find the case study method “beneficial in preparing them for their future.”

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Definition and Introduction

Case analysis is a problem-based teaching and learning method that involves critically analyzing complex scenarios within an organizational setting for the purpose of placing the student in a “real world” situation and applying reflection and critical thinking skills to contemplate appropriate solutions, decisions, or recommended courses of action. It is considered a more effective teaching technique than in-class role playing or simulation activities. The analytical process is often guided by questions provided by the instructor that ask students to contemplate relationships between the facts and critical incidents described in the case.

Cases generally include both descriptive and statistical elements and rely on students applying abductive reasoning to develop and argue for preferred or best outcomes [i.e., case scenarios rarely have a single correct or perfect answer based on the evidence provided]. Rather than emphasizing theories or concepts, case analysis assignments emphasize building a bridge of relevancy between abstract thinking and practical application and, by so doing, teaches the value of both within a specific area of professional practice.

Given this, the purpose of a case analysis paper is to present a structured and logically organized format for analyzing the case situation. It can be assigned to students individually or as a small group assignment and it may include an in-class presentation component. Case analysis is predominately taught in economics and business-related courses, but it is also a method of teaching and learning found in other applied social sciences disciplines, such as, social work, public relations, education, journalism, and public administration.

Ellet, William. The Case Study Handbook: A Student's Guide . Revised Edition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2018; Christoph Rasche and Achim Seisreiner. Guidelines for Business Case Analysis . University of Potsdam; Writing a Case Analysis . Writing Center, Baruch College; Volpe, Guglielmo. "Case Teaching in Economics: History, Practice and Evidence." Cogent Economics and Finance 3 (December 2015). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2015.1120977.

How to Approach Writing a Case Analysis Paper

The organization and structure of a case analysis paper can vary depending on the organizational setting, the situation, and how your professor wants you to approach the assignment. Nevertheless, preparing to write a case analysis paper involves several important steps. As Hawes notes, a case analysis assignment “...is useful in developing the ability to get to the heart of a problem, analyze it thoroughly, and to indicate the appropriate solution as well as how it should be implemented” [p.48]. This statement encapsulates how you should approach preparing to write a case analysis paper.

Before you begin to write your paper, consider the following analytical procedures:

• Review the case to get an overview of the situation . A case can be only a few pages in length, however, it is most often very lengthy and contains a significant amount of detailed background information and statistics, with multilayered descriptions of the scenario, the roles and behaviors of various stakeholder groups, and situational events. Therefore, a quick reading of the case will help you gain an overall sense of the situation and illuminate the types of issues and problems that you will need to address in your paper. If your professor has provided questions intended to help frame your analysis, use them to guide your initial reading of the case.
• Read the case thoroughly . After gaining a general overview of the case, carefully read the content again with the purpose of understanding key circumstances, events, and behaviors among stakeholder groups. Look for information or data that appears contradictory, extraneous, or misleading. At this point, you should be taking notes as you read because this will help you develop a general outline of your paper. The aim is to obtain a complete understanding of the situation so that you can begin contemplating tentative answers to any questions your professor has provided or, if they have not provided, developing answers to your own questions about the case scenario and its connection to the course readings,lectures, and class discussions.
• Determine key stakeholder groups, issues, and events and the relationships they all have to each other . As you analyze the content, pay particular attention to identifying individuals, groups, or organizations described in the case and identify evidence of any problems or issues of concern that impact the situation in a negative way. Other things to look for include identifying any assumptions being made by or about each stakeholder, potential biased explanations or actions, explicit demands or ultimatums , and the underlying concerns that motivate these behaviors among stakeholders. The goal at this stage is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situational and behavioral dynamics of the case and the explicit and implicit consequences of each of these actions.
• Identify the core problems . The next step in most case analysis assignments is to discern what the core [i.e., most damaging, detrimental, injurious] problems are within the organizational setting and to determine their implications. The purpose at this stage of preparing to write your analysis paper is to distinguish between the symptoms of core problems and the core problems themselves and to decide which of these must be addressed immediately and which problems do not appear critical but may escalate over time. Identify evidence from the case to support your decisions by determining what information or data is essential to addressing the core problems and what information is not relevant or is misleading.
• Explore alternative solutions . As noted, case analysis scenarios rarely have only one correct answer. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that the process of analyzing the case and diagnosing core problems, while based on evidence, is a subjective process open to various avenues of interpretation. This means that you must consider alternative solutions or courses of action by critically examining strengths and weaknesses, risk factors, and the differences between short and long-term solutions. For each possible solution or course of action, consider the consequences they may have related to their implementation and how these recommendations might lead to new problems. Also, consider thinking about your recommended solutions or courses of action in relation to issues of fairness, equity, and inclusion.
• Decide on a final set of recommendations . The last stage in preparing to write a case analysis paper is to assert an opinion or viewpoint about the recommendations needed to help resolve the core problems as you see them and to make a persuasive argument for supporting this point of view. Prepare a clear rationale for your recommendations based on examining each element of your analysis. Anticipate possible obstacles that could derail their implementation. Consider any counter-arguments that could be made concerning the validity of your recommended actions. Finally, describe a set of criteria and measurable indicators that could be applied to evaluating the effectiveness of your implementation plan.

Use these steps as the framework for writing your paper. Remember that the more detailed you are in taking notes as you critically examine each element of the case, the more information you will have to draw from when you begin to write. This will save you time.

NOTE : If the process of preparing to write a case analysis paper is assigned as a student group project, consider having each member of the group analyze a specific element of the case, including drafting answers to the corresponding questions used by your professor to frame the analysis. This will help make the analytical process more efficient and ensure that the distribution of work is equitable. This can also facilitate who is responsible for drafting each part of the final case analysis paper and, if applicable, the in-class presentation.

Framework for Case Analysis . College of Management. University of Massachusetts; Hawes, Jon M. "Teaching is Not Telling: The Case Method as a Form of Interactive Learning." Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education 5 (Winter 2004): 47-54; Rasche, Christoph and Achim Seisreiner. Guidelines for Business Case Analysis . University of Potsdam; Writing a Case Study Analysis . University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center; Van Ness, Raymond K. A Guide to Case Analysis . School of Business. State University of New York, Albany; Writing a Case Analysis . Business School, University of New South Wales.

Structure and Writing Style

A case analysis paper should be detailed, concise, persuasive, clearly written, and professional in tone and in the use of language . As with other forms of college-level academic writing, declarative statements that convey information, provide a fact, or offer an explanation or any recommended courses of action should be based on evidence. If allowed by your professor, any external sources used to support your analysis, such as course readings, should be properly cited under a list of references. The organization and structure of case analysis papers can vary depending on your professor’s preferred format, but its structure generally follows the steps used for analyzing the case.

Introduction

The introduction should provide a succinct but thorough descriptive overview of the main facts, issues, and core problems of the case . The introduction should also include a brief summary of the most relevant details about the situation and organizational setting. This includes defining the theoretical framework or conceptual model on which any questions were used to frame your analysis.

Following the rules of most college-level research papers, the introduction should then inform the reader how the paper will be organized. This includes describing the major sections of the paper and the order in which they will be presented. Unless you are told to do so by your professor, you do not need to preview your final recommendations in the introduction. U nlike most college-level research papers , the introduction does not include a statement about the significance of your findings because a case analysis assignment does not involve contributing new knowledge about a research problem.

Background Analysis

Background analysis can vary depending on any guiding questions provided by your professor and the underlying concept or theory that the case is based upon. In general, however, this section of your paper should focus on:

• Providing an overarching analysis of problems identified from the case scenario, including identifying events that stakeholders find challenging or troublesome,
• Identifying assumptions made by each stakeholder and any apparent biases they may exhibit,
• Describing any demands or claims made by or forced upon key stakeholders, and
• Highlighting any issues of concern or complaints expressed by stakeholders in response to those demands or claims.

These aspects of the case are often in the form of behavioral responses expressed by individuals or groups within the organizational setting. However, note that problems in a case situation can also be reflected in data [or the lack thereof] and in the decision-making, operational, cultural, or institutional structure of the organization. Additionally, demands or claims can be either internal and external to the organization [e.g., a case analysis involving a president considering arms sales to Saudi Arabia could include managing internal demands from White House advisors as well as demands from members of Congress].

Throughout this section, present all relevant evidence from the case that supports your analysis. Do not simply claim there is a problem, an assumption, a demand, or a concern; tell the reader what part of the case informed how you identified these background elements.

Identification of Problems

In most case analysis assignments, there are problems, and then there are problems . Each problem can reflect a multitude of underlying symptoms that are detrimental to the interests of the organization. The purpose of identifying problems is to teach students how to differentiate between problems that vary in severity, impact, and relative importance. Given this, problems can be described in three general forms: those that must be addressed immediately, those that should be addressed but the impact is not severe, and those that do not require immediate attention and can be set aside for the time being.

All of the problems you identify from the case should be identified in this section of your paper, with a description based on evidence explaining the problem variances. If the assignment asks you to conduct research to further support your assessment of the problems, include this in your explanation. Remember to cite those sources in a list of references. Use specific evidence from the case and apply appropriate concepts, theories, and models discussed in class or in relevant course readings to highlight and explain the key problems [or problem] that you believe must be solved immediately and describe the underlying symptoms and why they are so critical.

Alternative Solutions

This section is where you provide specific, realistic, and evidence-based solutions to the problems you have identified and make recommendations about how to alleviate the underlying symptomatic conditions impacting the organizational setting. For each solution, you must explain why it was chosen and provide clear evidence to support your reasoning. This can include, for example, course readings and class discussions as well as research resources, such as, books, journal articles, research reports, or government documents. In some cases, your professor may encourage you to include personal, anecdotal experiences as evidence to support why you chose a particular solution or set of solutions. Using anecdotal evidence helps promote reflective thinking about the process of determining what qualifies as a core problem and relevant solution .

Throughout this part of the paper, keep in mind the entire array of problems that must be addressed and describe in detail the solutions that might be implemented to resolve these problems.

Recommended Courses of Action

In some case analysis assignments, your professor may ask you to combine the alternative solutions section with your recommended courses of action. However, it is important to know the difference between the two. A solution refers to the answer to a problem. A course of action refers to a procedure or deliberate sequence of activities adopted to proactively confront a situation, often in the context of accomplishing a goal. In this context, proposed courses of action are based on your analysis of alternative solutions. Your description and justification for pursuing each course of action should represent the overall plan for implementing your recommendations.

For each course of action, you need to explain the rationale for your recommendation in a way that confronts challenges, explains risks, and anticipates any counter-arguments from stakeholders. Do this by considering the strengths and weaknesses of each course of action framed in relation to how the action is expected to resolve the core problems presented, the possible ways the action may affect remaining problems, and how the recommended action will be perceived by each stakeholder.

In addition, you should describe the criteria needed to measure how well the implementation of these actions is working and explain which individuals or groups are responsible for ensuring your recommendations are successful. In addition, always consider the law of unintended consequences. Outline difficulties that may arise in implementing each course of action and describe how implementing the proposed courses of action [either individually or collectively] may lead to new problems [both large and small].

Throughout this section, you must consider the costs and benefits of recommending your courses of action in relation to uncertainties or missing information and the negative consequences of success.

The conclusion should be brief and introspective. Unlike a research paper, the conclusion in a case analysis paper does not include a summary of key findings and their significance, a statement about how the study contributed to existing knowledge, or indicate opportunities for future research.

Begin by synthesizing the core problems presented in the case and the relevance of your recommended solutions. This can include an explanation of what you have learned about the case in the context of your answers to the questions provided by your professor. The conclusion is also where you link what you learned from analyzing the case with the course readings or class discussions. This can further demonstrate your understanding of the relationships between the practical case situation and the theoretical and abstract content of assigned readings and other course content.

Problems to Avoid

The literature on case analysis assignments often includes examples of difficulties students have with applying methods of critical analysis and effectively reporting the results of their assessment of the situation. A common reason cited by scholars is that the application of this type of teaching and learning method is limited to applied fields of social and behavioral sciences and, as a result, writing a case analysis paper can be unfamiliar to most students entering college.

After you have drafted your paper, proofread the narrative flow and revise any of these common errors:

• Unnecessary detail in the background section . The background section should highlight the essential elements of the case based on your analysis. Focus on summarizing the facts and highlighting the key factors that become relevant in the other sections of the paper by eliminating any unnecessary information.
• Analysis relies too much on opinion . Your analysis is interpretive, but the narrative must be connected clearly to evidence from the case and any models and theories discussed in class or in course readings. Any positions or arguments you make should be supported by evidence.
• Analysis does not focus on the most important elements of the case . Your paper should provide a thorough overview of the case. However, the analysis should focus on providing evidence about what you identify are the key events, stakeholders, issues, and problems. Emphasize what you identify as the most critical aspects of the case to be developed throughout your analysis. Be thorough but succinct.
• Writing is too descriptive . A paper with too much descriptive information detracts from your analysis of the complexities of the case situation. Questions about what happened, where, when, and by whom should only be included as essential information leading to your examination of questions related to why, how, and for what purpose.
• Inadequate definition of a core problem and associated symptoms . A common error found in case analysis papers is recommending a solution or course of action without adequately defining or demonstrating that you understand the problem. Make sure you have clearly described the problem and its impact and scope within the organizational setting. Ensure that you have adequately described the root causes w hen describing the symptoms of the problem.
• Recommendations lack specificity . Identify any use of vague statements and indeterminate terminology, such as, “A particular experience” or “a large increase to the budget.” These statements cannot be measured and, as a result, there is no way to evaluate their successful implementation. Provide specific data and use direct language in describing recommended actions.
• Unrealistic, exaggerated, or unattainable recommendations . Review your recommendations to ensure that they are based on the situational facts of the case. Your recommended solutions and courses of action must be based on realistic assumptions and fit within the constraints of the situation. Also note that the case scenario has already happened, therefore, any speculation or arguments about what could have occurred if the circumstances were different should be revised or eliminated.

Bee, Lian Song et al. "Business Students' Perspectives on Case Method Coaching for Problem-Based Learning: Impacts on Student Engagement and Learning Performance in Higher Education." Education & Training 64 (2022): 416-432; The Case Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors. Grand Valley State University; Georgallis, Panikos and Kayleigh Bruijn. "Sustainability Teaching using Case-Based Debates." Journal of International Education in Business 15 (2022): 147-163; Hawes, Jon M. "Teaching is Not Telling: The Case Method as a Form of Interactive Learning." Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education 5 (Winter 2004): 47-54; Georgallis, Panikos, and Kayleigh Bruijn. "Sustainability Teaching Using Case-based Debates." Journal of International Education in Business 15 (2022): 147-163; .Dean,  Kathy Lund and Charles J. Fornaciari. "How to Create and Use Experiential Case-Based Exercises in a Management Classroom." Journal of Management Education 26 (October 2002): 586-603; Klebba, Joanne M. and Janet G. Hamilton. "Structured Case Analysis: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in a Marketing Case Course." Journal of Marketing Education 29 (August 2007): 132-137, 139; Klein, Norman. "The Case Discussion Method Revisited: Some Questions about Student Skills." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 30-32; Mukherjee, Arup. "Effective Use of In-Class Mini Case Analysis for Discovery Learning in an Undergraduate MIS Course." The Journal of Computer Information Systems 40 (Spring 2000): 15-23; Pessoa, Silviaet al. "Scaffolding the Case Analysis in an Organizational Behavior Course: Making Analytical Language Explicit." Journal of Management Education 46 (2022): 226-251: Ramsey, V. J. and L. D. Dodge. "Case Analysis: A Structured Approach." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 27-29; Schweitzer, Karen. "How to Write and Format a Business Case Study." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-write-and-format-a-business-case-study-466324 (accessed December 5, 2022); Reddy, C. D. "Teaching Research Methodology: Everything's a Case." Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 18 (December 2020): 178-188; Volpe, Guglielmo. "Case Teaching in Economics: History, Practice and Evidence." Cogent Economics and Finance 3 (December 2015). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2015.1120977.

Writing Tip

Ca se Study and Case Analysis Are Not the Same!

Confusion often exists between what it means to write a paper that uses a case study research design and writing a paper that analyzes a case; they are two different types of approaches to learning in the social and behavioral sciences. Professors as well as educational researchers contribute to this confusion because they often use the term "case study" when describing the subject of analysis for a case analysis paper. But you are not studying a case for the purpose of generating a comprehensive, multi-faceted understanding of a research problem. R ather, you are critically analyzing a specific scenario to argue logically for recommended solutions and courses of action that lead to optimal outcomes applicable to professional practice.

To avoid any confusion, here are twelve characteristics that delineate the differences between writing a paper using the case study research method and writing a case analysis paper:

• Case study is a method of in-depth research and rigorous inquiry ; case analysis is a reliable method of teaching and learning . A case study is a modality of research that investigates a phenomenon for the purpose of creating new knowledge, solving a problem, or testing a hypothesis using empirical evidence derived from the case being studied. Often, the results are used to generalize about a larger population or within a wider context. The writing adheres to the traditional standards of a scholarly research study. A case analysis is a pedagogical tool used to teach students how to reflect and think critically about a practical, real-life problem in an organizational setting.
• The researcher is responsible for identifying the case to study; a case analysis is assigned by your professor . As the researcher, you choose the case study to investigate in support of obtaining new knowledge and understanding about the research problem. The case in a case analysis assignment is almost always provided, and sometimes written, by your professor and either given to every student in class to analyze individually or to a small group of students, or students select a case to analyze from a predetermined list.
• A case study is indeterminate and boundless; a case analysis is predetermined and confined . A case study can be almost anything [see item 9 below] as long as it relates directly to examining the research problem. This relationship is the only limit to what a researcher can choose as the subject of their case study. The content of a case analysis is determined by your professor and its parameters are well-defined and limited to elucidating insights of practical value applied to practice.
• Case study is fact-based and describes actual events or situations; case analysis can be entirely fictional or adapted from an actual situation . The entire content of a case study must be grounded in reality to be a valid subject of investigation in an empirical research study. A case analysis only needs to set the stage for critically examining a situation in practice and, therefore, can be entirely fictional or adapted, all or in-part, from an actual situation.
• Research using a case study method must adhere to principles of intellectual honesty and academic integrity; a case analysis scenario can include misleading or false information . A case study paper must report research objectively and factually to ensure that any findings are understood to be logically correct and trustworthy. A case analysis scenario may include misleading or false information intended to deliberately distract from the central issues of the case. The purpose is to teach students how to sort through conflicting or useless information in order to come up with the preferred solution. Any use of misleading or false information in academic research is considered unethical.
• Case study is linked to a research problem; case analysis is linked to a practical situation or scenario . In the social sciences, the subject of an investigation is most often framed as a problem that must be researched in order to generate new knowledge leading to a solution. Case analysis narratives are grounded in real life scenarios for the purpose of examining the realities of decision-making behavior and processes within organizational settings. A case analysis assignments include a problem or set of problems to be analyzed. However, the goal is centered around the act of identifying and evaluating courses of action leading to best possible outcomes.
• The purpose of a case study is to create new knowledge through research; the purpose of a case analysis is to teach new understanding . Case studies are a choice of methodological design intended to create new knowledge about resolving a research problem. A case analysis is a mode of teaching and learning intended to create new understanding and an awareness of uncertainty applied to practice through acts of critical thinking and reflection.
• A case study seeks to identify the best possible solution to a research problem; case analysis can have an indeterminate set of solutions or outcomes . Your role in studying a case is to discover the most logical, evidence-based ways to address a research problem. A case analysis assignment rarely has a single correct answer because one of the goals is to force students to confront the real life dynamics of uncertainly, ambiguity, and missing or conflicting information within professional practice. Under these conditions, a perfect outcome or solution almost never exists.
• Case study is unbounded and relies on gathering external information; case analysis is a self-contained subject of analysis . The scope of a case study chosen as a method of research is bounded. However, the researcher is free to gather whatever information and data is necessary to investigate its relevance to understanding the research problem. For a case analysis assignment, your professor will often ask you to examine solutions or recommended courses of action based solely on facts and information from the case.
• Case study can be a person, place, object, issue, event, condition, or phenomenon; a case analysis is a carefully constructed synopsis of events, situations, and behaviors . The research problem dictates the type of case being studied and, therefore, the design can encompass almost anything tangible as long as it fulfills the objective of generating new knowledge and understanding. A case analysis is in the form of a narrative containing descriptions of facts, situations, processes, rules, and behaviors within a particular setting and under a specific set of circumstances.
• Case study can represent an open-ended subject of inquiry; a case analysis is a narrative about something that has happened in the past . A case study is not restricted by time and can encompass an event or issue with no temporal limit or end. For example, the current war in Ukraine can be used as a case study of how medical personnel help civilians during a large military conflict, even though circumstances around this event are still evolving. A case analysis can be used to elicit critical thinking about current or future situations in practice, but the case itself is a narrative about something finite and that has taken place in the past.
• Multiple case studies can be used in a research study; case analysis involves examining a single scenario . Case study research can use two or more cases to examine a problem, often for the purpose of conducting a comparative investigation intended to discover hidden relationships, document emerging trends, or determine variations among different examples. A case analysis assignment typically describes a stand-alone, self-contained situation and any comparisons among cases are conducted during in-class discussions and/or student presentations.

The Case Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors. Grand Valley State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Ramsey, V. J. and L. D. Dodge. "Case Analysis: A Structured Approach." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 27-29; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017; Crowe, Sarah et al. “The Case Study Approach.” BMC Medical Research Methodology 11 (2011):  doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-11-100; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing; 1994.

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What Is a Case Study?

Weighing the pros and cons of this method of research

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

Verywell / Colleen Tighe

• Pros and Cons

What Types of Case Studies Are Out There?

Where do you find data for a case study, how do i write a psychology case study.

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

The point of a case study is to learn as much as possible about an individual or group so that the information can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective, and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, we got you—here are some rules of APA format to reference.  

At a Glance

A case study, or an in-depth study of a person, group, or event, can be a useful research tool when used wisely. In many cases, case studies are best used in situations where it would be difficult or impossible for you to conduct an experiment. They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a lot of˜ information about a specific individual or group of people. However, it's important to be cautious of any bias we draw from them as they are highly subjective.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies?

A case study can have its strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are often difficult or impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:

• Allows researchers to capture information on the 'how,' 'what,' and 'why,' of something that's implemented
• Gives researchers the chance to collect information on why one strategy might be chosen over another
• Permits researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the other hand, a case study can have some drawbacks:

• It cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population
• Cannot demonstrate cause and effect
• It may not be scientifically rigorous
• It can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they want to explore a unique or recently discovered phenomenon. Through their insights, researchers develop additional ideas and study questions that might be explored in future studies.

It's important to remember that the insights from case studies cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. However, case studies may be used to develop hypotheses that can then be addressed in experimental research.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of  Freud's work and theories were developed through individual case studies. Some great examples of case studies in psychology include:

• Anna O : Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms. Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental health treatment.
• Phineas Gage : Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain. Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and behavior.
• Genie : Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie allowed researchers to study whether language learning was possible, even after missing critical periods for language development. Her case also served as an example of how scientific research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse denied her the opportunity to learn a language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on Genie allowed researchers to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might use:

• Collective case studies : These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community. For example, psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there.
• Descriptive case studies : These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed, and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
• Explanatory case studies : These   are often used to do causal investigations. In other words, researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have caused certain things to occur.
• Exploratory case studies : These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research questions and hypotheses .
• Instrumental case studies : These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.
• Intrinsic case studies : This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic case study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The three main case study types often used are intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Intrinsic case studies are useful for learning about unique cases. Instrumental case studies help look at an individual to learn more about a broader issue. A collective case study can be useful for looking at several cases simultaneously.

The type of case study that psychology researchers use depends on the unique characteristics of the situation and the case itself.

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

• Archival records : Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival records.
• Direct observation : This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting . While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
• Documents : Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of documents often used as sources.
• Interviews : Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.
• Participant observation : When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.
• Physical artifacts : Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a direct observation of the subject.

If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines you need to follow. If you are writing your case study for a professional publication, check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.

Here is a general outline of what should be included in a case study.

Section 1: A Case History

This section will have the following structure and content:

Background information : The first section of your paper will present your client's background. Include factors such as age, gender, work, health status, family mental health history, family and social relationships, drug and alcohol history, life difficulties, goals, and coping skills and weaknesses.

Description of the presenting problem : In the next section of your case study, you will describe the problem or symptoms that the client presented with.

Describe any physical, emotional, or sensory symptoms reported by the client. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions related to the symptoms should also be noted. Any screening or diagnostic assessments that are used should also be described in detail and all scores reported.

Your diagnosis : Provide your diagnosis and give the appropriate Diagnostic and Statistical Manual code. Explain how you reached your diagnosis, how the client's symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s), or any possible difficulties in reaching a diagnosis.

Section 2: Treatment Plan

This portion of the paper will address the chosen treatment for the condition. This might also include the theoretical basis for the chosen treatment or any other evidence that might exist to support why this approach was chosen.

• Cognitive behavioral approach : Explain how a cognitive behavioral therapist would approach treatment. Offer background information on cognitive behavioral therapy and describe the treatment sessions, client response, and outcome of this type of treatment. Make note of any difficulties or successes encountered by your client during treatment.
• Humanistic approach : Describe a humanistic approach that could be used to treat your client, such as client-centered therapy . Provide information on the type of treatment you chose, the client's reaction to the treatment, and the end result of this approach. Explain why the treatment was successful or unsuccessful.
• Psychoanalytic approach : Describe how a psychoanalytic therapist would view the client's problem. Provide some background on the psychoanalytic approach and cite relevant references. Explain how psychoanalytic therapy would be used to treat the client, how the client would respond to therapy, and the effectiveness of this treatment approach.
• Pharmacological approach : If treatment primarily involves the use of medications, explain which medications were used and why. Provide background on the effectiveness of these medications and how monotherapy may compare with an approach that combines medications with therapy or other treatments.

This section of a case study should also include information about the treatment goals, process, and outcomes.

When you are writing a case study, you should also include a section where you discuss the case study itself, including the strengths and limitiations of the study. You should note how the findings of your case study might support previous research. 

In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?

Need More Tips?

Here are a few additional pointers to keep in mind when formatting your case study:

• Never refer to the subject of your case study as "the client." Instead, use their name or a pseudonym.
• Read examples of case studies to gain an idea about the style and format.
• Remember to use APA format when citing references .

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach .  BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011;11:100.

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach . BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011 Jun 27;11:100. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Gagnon, Yves-Chantal.  The Case Study as Research Method: A Practical Handbook . Canada, Chicago Review Press Incorporated DBA Independent Pub Group, 2010.

Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . United States, SAGE Publications, 2017.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Home » Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Table of Contents

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth examination and analysis of a particular phenomenon or case, such as an individual, organization, community, event, or situation.

It is a qualitative research approach that aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the case being studied. Case studies typically involve multiple sources of data, including interviews, observations, documents, and artifacts, which are analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, and grounded theory. The findings of a case study are often used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Types of Case Study

Types and Methods of Case Study are as follows:

Single-Case Study

A single-case study is an in-depth analysis of a single case. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand a specific phenomenon in detail.

For Example , A researcher might conduct a single-case study on a particular individual to understand their experiences with a particular health condition or a specific organization to explore their management practices. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a single-case study are often used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Multiple-Case Study

A multiple-case study involves the analysis of several cases that are similar in nature. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to identify similarities and differences between the cases.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a multiple-case study on several companies to explore the factors that contribute to their success or failure. The researcher collects data from each case, compares and contrasts the findings, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as comparative analysis or pattern-matching. The findings of a multiple-case study can be used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Exploratory Case Study

An exploratory case study is used to explore a new or understudied phenomenon. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to generate hypotheses or theories about the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an exploratory case study on a new technology to understand its potential impact on society. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as grounded theory or content analysis. The findings of an exploratory case study can be used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Descriptive Case Study

A descriptive case study is used to describe a particular phenomenon in detail. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to provide a comprehensive account of the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a descriptive case study on a particular community to understand its social and economic characteristics. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a descriptive case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Instrumental Case Study

An instrumental case study is used to understand a particular phenomenon that is instrumental in achieving a particular goal. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand the role of the phenomenon in achieving the goal.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an instrumental case study on a particular policy to understand its impact on achieving a particular goal, such as reducing poverty. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of an instrumental case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Case Study Data Collection Methods

Here are some common data collection methods for case studies:

Interviews involve asking questions to individuals who have knowledge or experience relevant to the case study. Interviews can be structured (where the same questions are asked to all participants) or unstructured (where the interviewer follows up on the responses with further questions). Interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing.

Observations

Observations involve watching and recording the behavior and activities of individuals or groups relevant to the case study. Observations can be participant (where the researcher actively participates in the activities) or non-participant (where the researcher observes from a distance). Observations can be recorded using notes, audio or video recordings, or photographs.

Documents can be used as a source of information for case studies. Documents can include reports, memos, emails, letters, and other written materials related to the case study. Documents can be collected from the case study participants or from public sources.

Surveys involve asking a set of questions to a sample of individuals relevant to the case study. Surveys can be administered in person, over the phone, through mail or email, or online. Surveys can be used to gather information on attitudes, opinions, or behaviors related to the case study.

Artifacts are physical objects relevant to the case study. Artifacts can include tools, equipment, products, or other objects that provide insights into the case study phenomenon.

How to conduct Case Study Research

Conducting a case study research involves several steps that need to be followed to ensure the quality and rigor of the study. Here are the steps to conduct case study research:

• Define the research questions: The first step in conducting a case study research is to define the research questions. The research questions should be specific, measurable, and relevant to the case study phenomenon under investigation.
• Select the case: The next step is to select the case or cases to be studied. The case should be relevant to the research questions and should provide rich and diverse data that can be used to answer the research questions.
• Collect data: Data can be collected using various methods, such as interviews, observations, documents, surveys, and artifacts. The data collection method should be selected based on the research questions and the nature of the case study phenomenon.
• Analyze the data: The data collected from the case study should be analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, or grounded theory. The analysis should be guided by the research questions and should aim to provide insights and conclusions relevant to the research questions.
• Draw conclusions: The conclusions drawn from the case study should be based on the data analysis and should be relevant to the research questions. The conclusions should be supported by evidence and should be clearly stated.
• Validate the findings: The findings of the case study should be validated by reviewing the data and the analysis with participants or other experts in the field. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Write the report: The final step is to write the report of the case study research. The report should provide a clear description of the case study phenomenon, the research questions, the data collection methods, the data analysis, the findings, and the conclusions. The report should be written in a clear and concise manner and should follow the guidelines for academic writing.

Examples of Case Study

Here are some examples of case study research:

• The Hawthorne Studies : Conducted between 1924 and 1932, the Hawthorne Studies were a series of case studies conducted by Elton Mayo and his colleagues to examine the impact of work environment on employee productivity. The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne Works plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago and included interviews, observations, and experiments.
• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Conducted in 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment was a case study conducted by Philip Zimbardo to examine the psychological effects of power and authority. The study involved simulating a prison environment and assigning participants to the role of guards or prisoners. The study was controversial due to the ethical issues it raised.
• The Challenger Disaster: The Challenger Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. The study included interviews, observations, and analysis of data to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.
• The Enron Scandal: The Enron Scandal was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Enron Corporation’s bankruptcy in 2001. The study included interviews, analysis of financial data, and review of documents to identify the accounting practices, corporate culture, and ethical issues that led to the company’s downfall.
• The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster : The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the nuclear accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011. The study included interviews, analysis of data, and review of documents to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.

Application of Case Study

Case studies have a wide range of applications across various fields and industries. Here are some examples:

Business and Management

Case studies are widely used in business and management to examine real-life situations and develop problem-solving skills. Case studies can help students and professionals to develop a deep understanding of business concepts, theories, and best practices.

Case studies are used in healthcare to examine patient care, treatment options, and outcomes. Case studies can help healthcare professionals to develop critical thinking skills, diagnose complex medical conditions, and develop effective treatment plans.

Case studies are used in education to examine teaching and learning practices. Case studies can help educators to develop effective teaching strategies, evaluate student progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Social Sciences

Case studies are widely used in social sciences to examine human behavior, social phenomena, and cultural practices. Case studies can help researchers to develop theories, test hypotheses, and gain insights into complex social issues.

Law and Ethics

Case studies are used in law and ethics to examine legal and ethical dilemmas. Case studies can help lawyers, policymakers, and ethical professionals to develop critical thinking skills, analyze complex cases, and make informed decisions.

Purpose of Case Study

The purpose of a case study is to provide a detailed analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. A case study is a qualitative research method that involves the in-depth exploration and analysis of a particular case, which can be an individual, group, organization, event, or community.

The primary purpose of a case study is to generate a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the case, including its history, context, and dynamics. Case studies can help researchers to identify and examine the underlying factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and detailed understanding of the case, which can inform future research, practice, or policy.

Case studies can also serve other purposes, including:

• Illustrating a theory or concept: Case studies can be used to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and frameworks, providing concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Developing hypotheses: Case studies can help to generate hypotheses about the causal relationships between different factors and outcomes, which can be tested through further research.
• Providing insight into complex issues: Case studies can provide insights into complex and multifaceted issues, which may be difficult to understand through other research methods.
• Informing practice or policy: Case studies can be used to inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.

Advantages of Case Study Research

There are several advantages of case study research, including:

• In-depth exploration: Case study research allows for a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. This can provide a comprehensive understanding of the case and its dynamics, which may not be possible through other research methods.
• Rich data: Case study research can generate rich and detailed data, including qualitative data such as interviews, observations, and documents. This can provide a nuanced understanding of the case and its complexity.
• Holistic perspective: Case study research allows for a holistic perspective of the case, taking into account the various factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the case.
• Theory development: Case study research can help to develop and refine theories and concepts by providing empirical evidence and concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Practical application: Case study research can inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.
• Contextualization: Case study research takes into account the specific context in which the case is situated, which can help to understand how the case is influenced by the social, cultural, and historical factors of its environment.

Limitations of Case Study Research

There are several limitations of case study research, including:

• Limited generalizability : Case studies are typically focused on a single case or a small number of cases, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The unique characteristics of the case may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, which may limit the external validity of the research.
• Biased sampling: Case studies may rely on purposive or convenience sampling, which can introduce bias into the sample selection process. This may limit the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the findings.
• Subjectivity: Case studies rely on the interpretation of the researcher, which can introduce subjectivity into the analysis. The researcher’s own biases, assumptions, and perspectives may influence the findings, which may limit the objectivity of the research.
• Limited control: Case studies are typically conducted in naturalistic settings, which limits the control that the researcher has over the environment and the variables being studied. This may limit the ability to establish causal relationships between variables.
• Time-consuming: Case studies can be time-consuming to conduct, as they typically involve a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific case. This may limit the feasibility of conducting multiple case studies or conducting case studies in a timely manner.
• Resource-intensive: Case studies may require significant resources, including time, funding, and expertise. This may limit the ability of researchers to conduct case studies in resource-constrained settings.

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• Open access
• Published: 04 February 2022

A case study of student development across project-based learning units in middle school chemistry

• Yanan Zhao 1 &
• Lei Wang 1 , 2  

Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research volume  4 , Article number:  5 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 03 May 2022

This article has been updated

Numerous theoretical and empirical studies have claimed that project-based learning (PBL) exerts a positive impact on student development. This study explores the development and changes of students across project-based learning units by qualitative research methods. We followed a student group (1 boy and 3 girls) from one class in grade 9 over 3 time points within 1 school year. Classroom observation, focus group student interviews and artifact collection were used to collect data at the end of three units over time.

Qualitative research methods were employed for data analysis to determine what competencies students demonstrate and how these competencies changed during 3 units. The results revealed that this student group demonstrated both cognitive (e.g., understanding of core ideas, use of scientific practices, problem solving and creativity) and non-cognitive competencies (e.g., motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, environmental awareness and perseverance). Three competencies (understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, and collaboration) were shown in all three units, and these three competencies gradually improved as the units progressed. The across project-based learning units showed a promising effect on student development. This study concludes with a discussion of challenges and promises for using across project-based learning units to support student development.

Introduction

Students in the twenty-first century live in an interrelated, diversified and rapidly changing world. Economic, social, cultural, digital, demographic, environmental and epidemiological forces shape young people’s lives, and young people face unprecedented opportunities and challenges (OECD, 2019 ). This generation should be equipped with scientific literacy and some necessary skills to cope with these challenges. To adapt our children to the life of the global community in the twenty-first century, we should substantially alter our way of education for students (Sawyer, 2014 ). Project-based learning cultivates students’ curiosity and builds an understanding of core ideas in science, enabling students to solve problems and become responsible citizens with scientific literacy (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018 ).

Students’ meaningful understanding is built over time, therefore, it will take time to provide many opportunities for students to learn disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices (National Research Council, 2012 ). Researchers suggested that a longer duration of experience in PBL helps foster students’ cognitive competencies (such as knowledge and skill) and non-cognitive competencies (such as motivation and interest of learning science) (Bhuyan et al., 2020 ; Jenkins, 2017 ). Several studies have shown the value of using units that develop across time by building upon previous understanding and experiences (Krajcik et al., 2008 ; Roseman et al., 2008 ). However, just a few studies (Fortus et al., 2015 ; Margel et al., 2008 ; Shin et al., 2019 ) have demonstrated the value of using coherent curriculum materials across grades. Shin et al. ( 2019 ) proved that students who experience a coherent PBL curriculum build a deeper understanding of atomic structure over time, particularly in high- and middle-performing schools. More studies need to be conducted on the long-term impacts on students when they are immersed in the PBL approach (Jenkins, 2017 ).

In China, under the pressures of senior high school entrance examinations and college entrance examinations, very few schools implement multiple PBL units in one semester. In 2018, Beijing Huai Rou Number 1 Middle School and our team set up a “Project-based Learning Program (PBLP)” using project-based learning instead of traditional chemical teaching in 9th grade, which is a milestone for China’s project-based learning. In this program, we continued to focus on the students’ development across project-based learning units.

PBL increases the development of both learners’ knowledge and skills (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018 ; Barak & Raz, 2000 ; Hasni et al., 2016 ). Artifacts show what students have learned (Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2006 ; Krajcik & Shin, 2014 ), and teachers can use artifacts to know how students’ understanding develops across various units in PBL (Krajcik & Shin, 2014 ). However, in most cases, the artifacts were assessed limited to the artifacts themselves, such as product design and product quality (Chua et al., 2014 ; Torres et al., 2019 ), rather than the development of students’ key competencies. It is unclear what competencies students demonstrate as they develop artifacts in a PBL environment. By tracking the learning process of one student group in different units, this study attempted to identify the competencies that students demonstrate across the units as well as the competencies levels in PBL.

Literature review

The impact of pbl on students.

Project-based learning is more effective than traditional learning approaches in science education (Ayaz & Söylemez, 2015 ). Scholars believe that PBL promotes the development of students’ multi-dimensional competencies, including cognitive dimension, emotional attitude dimension and social skills (Barak & Raz, 2000 ; Hasni et al., 2016 ).

PBL promotes the development of students’ cognitive dimension

Scholars are particularly interested in the development of students’ cognitive dimension in PBL. On the one hand, researchers believe that PBL can help students develop a meaningful understanding of disciplinary core ideas and improve their academic performance (Santyasa et al., 2020 ; Harris et al., 2015 ; Rivet & Krajcik, 2004 ; Geier et al., 2008 ; Marx et al., 2004 ; Williams & Linn, 2003 ). Moreover, PBL can promote the development of higher-order competencies related to students’ science learning, such as problem solving (Hong et al., 2012 ; Kokotsaki et al., 2016 ; Mettas & Constantinou, 2008 ), problem raising (Irit et al., 2018 ), argumentation (Hsu et al., 2016 ), critical thinking (Holmes & Hwang, 2016 ; Irit et al., 2018 ), creativity (Hanif et al., 2019 ; Storer, 2018 ), and collaborative problem solving (Lavonen et al., 2002 ).

Disciplinary core ideas

Disciplinary core ideas, also known as big ideas, are essential ideas of a discipline, which can be used to explain many phenomena, and as tools to explore more complex phenomena and solve problems, they are also the cornerstones for in-depth study of a discipline (Stevens et al., 2009 ). Students participated in the project-based science curriculum outperformed those in the comparison curriculum in understanding disciplinary core ideas in science (Harris et al., 2015 ; Hong et al., 2012 ). Students engaged in PBL units understood the concepts deeply, but these results are unlikely to be captured in the standardized tests used to measure science achievement (Prince & Felder, 2006 ). Assessment in a project-based learning classroom is a continuous process that is embedded in instruction (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018 ). Zhao et al. ( 2019 ) developed a framework to evaluate students’ understanding of core ideas in chemistry according to their performance of presentation for artifacts in a project-based class. The study found that, students established understanding of the conception (such as “combustion”) in a unit, but it is difficult to establish understanding of the big idea (such as “chemical change”). Establishing understanding of big ideas may require multiple units.

PBL promotes the development of students’ emotional dimension

For the development of the emotional dimension, researchers have also conducted many empirical studies in PBL. For example, PBL can improve students’ motivation (Filippatou & Kaldi, 2010 ; Holmes & Hwang, 2016 ), interest and engagement in learning (Bencze & Bowen, 2009 ; Hugerat et al., 2004 ; Hung et al., 2012 ; Vaino et al., 2012 ), enhance students’ learning attitude (Kanter & Konstantopoulos, 2010 ; Toolin, 2004 ), improve their self-efficacy (Clark, 2014 ), self-esteem (Cook et al., 2012 ; Kilinc, 2010 ), and develop their attitude and enthusiasm for science (Barak, 2004 ; Tseng et al., 2013 ).

Motivation is an activation and intention that drives and maintains a person’s action, and makes the action achieve a certain goal. People can be motivated by different types of factors (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). Several factors contribute to a learner’s motivation, including self-efficacy, intra-personal attribution, and anxiety (Holmes & Hwang, 2016 ). Improving students’ motivation for scientific learning, stimulating students’ interest, and increasing learning engagement are important aspects of education. In project-based learning, benefit of the high degree of personal participation of children, students will have strong autonomy in exploring issues related to daily life (Baines et al., 2017 ; Condliffe et al., 2017 ). Moreover, engaging in science and engineering are useful for stimulating students’ curiosity, attracting their interest and motivating them to pursue learning (National Research Council, 2012 ).

Carrabba and Farmer ( 2018 ) found significant differences in students’ motivation levels before and after PBL and direct instruction. Increasing student intrinsic motivation and engagement in the classroom is addressed through autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance (Sackstein, 2017 ). Ostroff ( 2016 ) stated that motivation comes from the genuine curiosity that is part of every human’s consciousness. Bi ( 2019 ) developed a inventory of chemistry learning motivation based on self-determination theory, and classified motivation into 6 levels according to the classical taxonomy of educational objectives in the affective domain (Bloom et al., 1964 ). Bi found that (a) PBL can improve students’ motivation to learn chemistry, different types of units have different effects on students’ motivation, and (b) students’ motivation to learn chemistry increased more after teachers’ teaching practice been improved.

PBL promotes the development of students’ social skills

PBL has also been found to develop students’ social skills, strengthen group collaboration and improve students’ interpersonal skills (Williams & Simon, 2017 ; Xu & Liu, 2010 ; Lee et al., 2015 ). When students successfully learn how to better collaborate with one another, their intra-group process and the intra-individual learning process may be more effectively guided in acquiring knowledge (Dawes & Sams, 2004 ; Littleton & Miell, 2004 ).

Collaboration

Collaboration is critical for twenty-first century, and it is increasingly sought after in education (Bentley & Cazaly, 2015 ). Collaboration is a coordinated and synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem (Roschelle & Teasley, 1995 ). In PBL environment, all members of the groups will collaborate with each other. To promote collaboration, teachers will help students develop collaborative ability, supporting students in learning how to discuss ideas with each other, use scientific evidence to defend their ideas and work in small groups. Learners develop their understanding of disciplinary core ideas by sharing and discussing ideas with others (Blumenfeld et al., 1996 ). Studies have shown that students benefit from small-group learning (Slavin, 1996 ; Wenzel, 2000 ; Williamson & Rowe, 2002 ). Students who work in collaborative groups with other students are more motivated and successful than those who do not do this, especially in reasoning and critical thinking skills (Wenzel, 2000 ).

Most previous studies have provided evidence that PBL has positive effects on student development. There are two main data sources for these empirical studies. One is the pre- and post-test data of students, and the other is to use techniques to collect data, such as questionnaires, interviews, classroom observation, and student logs. Most studies are quantitative research on the learning effect of one unit through pre- and post-tests (Carrabba & Farmer, 2018 ; Filippatou & Kaldi, 2010 ; Harris et al., 2015 ; Tseng et al., 2013 ; Xu & Liu, 2010 ). Some researchers have conducted qualitative analysis on students’ performances during a unit (Hong et al., 2012 ; Hanif et al., 2019 ; Williams & Simon, 2017 ), while other studies have used evaluation tools to track students’ performance in a 2 ~ 3 years PBL (Harris et al., 2019 ; Marx et al., 2004 ; Shin et al., 2019 ). Little research has been done on continuous qualitative studies of same students across different units in PBL.

Conceptual framework

Definition and features of PBL

PBL is a form of situated learning that is based on constructivism research (Lave & Wenger, 1991 ). Students use a collaborative approach to design solutions to real and meaningful problems in the real world in order to acquire knowledge and skills (Buck Institute for Education, 2008 ; Gijbels et al., 2005 ; Petrosino, 2004 ). In project-based science learning, students are engaged in real, meaningful problems that are important to them and mirror what scientists do. A project-based science classroom allows students to explore phenomena, investigate questions, discuss their ideas, engage in scientific practices, challenge the ideas of others, try out new ideas, and construct and revise models (Krajcik & Shin, 2014 ).

Project-based learning of PBLP meets the following six key features (Blumenfeld et al., 1991 ; Krajcik et al., 1994 ; Krajcik & Czerniak, 2013 ): (1) They start with a driving question. (2) They focus on learning goals for which students are required to demonstrate mastery on key science standards and assessments. (3) Students explore the driving question by participating in scientific practices. (4) Students, teachers, and community members are engaged in collaborative activities to find solutions to the driving question. (5) When engaged in science practices, students are scaffolded with learning technologies that help them participate in activities normally beyond their ability. (6) Students create a set of tangible products that address the driving question.

Analytical framework of students’ competencies

Understanding of core ideas.

“The properties and transformation of substances” is one of the important concept for students to learn in chemistry, and it is also a core idea of the Compulsory Education Chemistry Course Standard(CECCS) in China (Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, 2012 ). Understanding the idea of “The properties and transformation of substances” specifically refers to knowing the main physical and chemical properties of common substances (e.g., carbon dioxide, common metals, acids and alkalies), using these properties to achieve the separation, purification and transformation of substances.

This research focuses on students’ understanding and development of “the properties and transformation of substances.” We ranked students’ understanding of this core idea into six levels according to the taxonomy in the cognitive domain (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956 ) (See Table A1 in the Additional file 1 ).

Motivation to learn chemistry

Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia’s taxonomy of educational objectives in the affective domain is the classical theory in the field of education (Gable & Wolf, 1993 ; Klopfer, 2010 ; Laforgia, 2010 ). Bi’s motivation inventory has been verified to have good reliability and validity, and this inventory was specially developed for chemistry project-based learning (Bi, 2019 ). Based on Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia’s taxonomy of educational objectives, and Bi’s chemistry motivation inventory, we describe 5 levels of students’ motivation to learn chemistry (See Table A2 in the Additional file 1 ).

Collaboration in PBL is not ordinary cooperation, rather, it is reflected in the process of solving problems. The Assessment and Teaching of twenty-first Century Skills (ATC21S) project (Griffin et al., 2012 ) defined ways of measuring individual person skills in collaborative problem solving (CPS) and has been cited by many studies in the field of education (Camacho-Morles, Slemp, Oades, Morrish, & Scoular, 2019 ; Dieu et al., 2018 ; Pöysä-Tarhonen et al., 2018 ). One of the evaluation dimension of CPS is collaboration, which is consistent with collaboration in PBL. We adopted the description and level division of collaboration in ATC21S’s CPS framework (Hesse et al., 2015 ), which divides collaboration into 6 levels from lower to higher (See Table A3 in the Additional file 1 ).

PBL curriculum in PBLP

At Beijing Huai Rou Number 1 Middle School, the whole year chemistry curriculum in 9th grade was delivered through PBL, with all units following Project-Based Teaching Experiment Textbook: Chemistry (PBTETC) (Wang et al., 2018 ). There are 8 units in the textbook, which were implemented in two semesters. Each unit focuses on learning goals of CECCS. For example, the Low-Carbon Actions unit corresponds to the curriculum standard of “Understanding the carbon cycle in nature, combining examples to illustrate the properties and uses of carbon dioxide, and learning how to make carbon dioxide in the laboratory.”

A good driving question elicits a desire to learn in students (Edelson, 2001 ), and it makes students realize that there is an important problem that genuinely needs to be solved (Reiser, 2004 ). As students pursue solutions to the driving question, they develop integrated understandings of core scientific ideas (NRC, 2012 ). The design of each unit starts with a real driving question. These questions come from real life and can stimulate students’ motivation to learn chemistry. Each unit is broken down into 3 core tasks based on driving question, and each task contains 1 ~ 3 student activities. In each activity, there are different columns to provide students with a wealth of practical activities, such as “Independent learning,” “Investigation,” “Group communication,” “Experimental inquiry,” “Design and make” and “Check progress” to guide students’ learning (a screenshot of the textbook is shown in Fig.  1 ). Students could create a set of artifacts in each unit, for example, in unit 4, each student group developed a poster of the “Low-Carbon Action Convention.”

Screenshots of the PBTETC textbook

In the textbook of PBTETC, three units focus on developing students’ understanding of the same core idea of “the properties and transformation of substances”. These three units set up tasks of different types and situations to realize the progressive development of students’ understanding of ideas, motivation to learn chemistry and collaboration. The theory of “situated learning” holds that, when acquiring information in a meaningful environment and connecting it with previous knowledge and experience, students can develop a connection between new information and previous knowledge, thus forming conceptual understanding (Blumenfeld et al., 1991 ; Krajcik & Czerniak, 2013 ). Students need to transfer the previous knowledge and experience when solving new problem. Through the study of these three units, students can achieve a gradual and in-depth understanding of concepts of substances. The types of project tasks cover designing a solution, analyzing production, designing and conducting investigation. The situation are from familiar and simple to unfamiliar and complex. PBL helps students answer questions about the world around them, thus stimulating their curiosity and sense of engagement in exploring what is happening (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018 ). We used the frameworks in Tables A1 ~ A3 in the Additional file 1 to code “project learning objectives” in the textbook to determine the expected development level in each unit (see Fig.  2 ). When there were different levels of coding for the same ability in the goal, we took the highest level. For example, the objectives for unit 4 “Low Carbon Action” are:

Able to illustrate the main properties and uses of carbon dioxide with examples [UCI: Comprehension (level 2)]. Understand the relationship between the properties and uses of carbon dioxide and understand the transformation of carbon dioxide from the perspective of elements [UCI: Application (level 3)].

Actively participate in chemistry learning, understand the importance of implementing low-carbon actions, and cultivate students’ civic awareness [MLC: Responding (level 2)].

Actively participate in group collaboration, share their views, collaborate to complete the group low-carbon convention [COL: Collaboration consciousness (level 3)], and be able to analyze and explain the content of the convention based on the knowledge of carbon dioxide [UCI: Analysis (level 4)].

(UCI stands for understanding of core ideas; MLC stands for motivation to learn chemistry; COL stands for collaboration.)

In addition to the competencies of understanding core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry and collaboration, these three units let students solve problems through chemical experiments, cultivate students’ scientific practice skills and problem-solving abilities. Based on the existing research on the impact of PBL on students, combined with the characteristics of these three units, in this research, we focused on the following competencies: understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, use of scientific practices, problem solving, and creativity.

Aims of the study

In summary, previous research on PBL has mainly studied the competencies of students in one or more aspects (Tseng et al., 2013 ; Xu & Liu, 2010 ; Williams & Simon, 2017 ), but little research has been done on the comprehensive value of PBL. Some studies have explored the changes in students’ performance over time (Harris et al., 2019 ; Marx et al., 2004 ), but students’ specific performance in PBL is not clear. Existing qualitative analyses, with relatively short time spans, cannot describe students’ development and changes across different units. We focus on determining students’ competencies as they construct artifacts in a PBL environment, tracking the learning development of the same students in different units. The detailed research questions are as follows:

RQ-1: What competencies do students demonstrate and develop as they construct artifacts in a PBL environment?

RQ-2: How do these competencies develop across the units?

As noted by Eisenhardt ( 1989 ) and Yin ( 2014 ), constructing a case study is an appropriate method when there is not much known about a topic. As little research has been done on the development of and changes in the same students across units, it is more appropriate to adopt the method of case study. To conduct this case study, we used several data sources, including classroom observation, student interviews and artifacts.

The presentation of artifacts is an important part of PBL. When students introduce their work, they present all kinds of knowledge, skills and attitudes they have acquired, which provides a good opportunity for evaluation (Krajcik & Czerniak 2018 ). At the end of each unit in PBLP, every student group will display and report their artifacts in class. At this time, experts and researchers go to the class of Huairou No. 1 Middle School for one day of research. In the morning, class observation was conducted, and a video camera was used to record the performance of students in class. In the afternoon, we invited 4 students in the selected group for interviews. After that, we communicated with the teacher of this class.

Participants

The participants in PBLP was a four-person student group (1 boy and 3 girls) from a class (40 students) in Beijing Huai Rou Number 1 Middle School, China, and all of them were local. Students in this class went directly to the school’s high school without taking China’s Senior High School Entrance Examination after graduating from 9th grade. Therefore, they did not have the pressure of the senior high school entrance examination compared with other middle school students, and they could spend more time in project-based learning. Before 9th grade, they had not studied chemistry, and the chemistry course of this class was taught by the same teacher, Ms. Xu, a young female teacher without any experience of project-based teaching.

We selected a four-person student group based on the chemistry scores of the 9th grade entrance examination, there was a significant difference of four students’ score rank in this group. The average score rank of the group was 4/8, mid-level in the class (there were 8 student groups in this class). The information of this student group is provided in Table  1 . The four members of this group were freely chosen by themselves, and they participated in the eight project-based learning units during the academic year.

Summary of chemistry curriculum in PBLP

Project-Based Teaching Experiment Textbook: Chemistry was published in 2018 and has been adopted by more than 10 middle schools in Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and other regions of China, earning extensive acclaims from teachers and students. To explore students’ understanding of “the properties and transformation of substances,” we chose three units (unit 4, unit 5 and unit 7) for research.

Unit 4 Low-Carbon Action

The greenhouse effect has had a negative influence on our lives. In this context, students will raise the driving question: How can carbon dioxide be reduced in the atmosphere to achieve a low-carbon life? In this unit, students will formulate a low-carbon convention to solve this problem. The content is so closely related to real life that it could stimulate students’ interest in learning. To formulate a low-carbon convention, students use the properties of carbon dioxide to convert it into other substances, thereby reducing the content of carbon dioxide. They work together to formulate low-carbon conventions, their sense of collaboration and environmental awareness are cultivated gradually.

Unit 5 reasonable use of metal products

Metal products are commonly used in life, this unit starts with the driving question: What problems will be encountered during the use of metal products? How do we use metal products rationally? This is a real and slightly complicated task because students should use the relevant knowledge of metal properties to analyze real vacuum cups, creatively design an instruction for vacuum cups according to users’ actual needs, and compile the manual of the designed vacuum cups. As a challenging task for individuals, it needs to be completed through group collaboration. Group members should communicate in time during the design of vacuum cups and solve problems together. In the process of completing the task, students realize the application value of the knowledge related to metal properties in life. Thus, their motivation to learn chemistry will be enhanced.

Unit 7 soil improvement

The driving question of this unit are: What are the elements required for plant growth? How do you improve the soil to make plants grow better? In this unit, students need to develop an understanding of the properties of acid, alkali and salt; explain phenomena in daily life with the properties of acid, alkali and salt; use related knowledge to plant a pot of plants they like; understand the relationship between soil acidity, soil fertility and plant growth; and establish a two-way relationship between the properties of acid, alkali and salt in real life. In this unit, students participate in a series of scientific practice, which are so motivational that students’ strong interest could be stimulated. This is an unfamiliar task, so students can better realize the importance of group collaboration to solve problems and actively participate in group collaboration.

Implementation of chemistry PBL

Student learning activities.

In each unit, students went through three types of lessons: Introductory lesson, process lesson and presentation lesson. In the introductory lesson, students understood the project background, appreciated the project value and became interested in project tasks. Teacher and students put forward driving questions together, identified the project objectives, teacher led students to break down and plan the project. During the process lessons, students needed to use the core ideas to solve a series of sub-questions and experienced diversified scientific practice activities, go through many rounds of problem solving process before finally solving the problems. The problem solving process can reflect students’ problem-solving competency, as well as what core chemistry knowledge has been learned and applied in this process. Students needed to collaborate during this process. Sometimes, the teacher asked the students to report this process in presentations. In presentation lesson, student groups introduced their artifacts through PPT, posters, cartoons and sitcoms in class.

For example, in unit 4 Low-carbon Actions, students investigated the effect of greenhouse before class, they felt the urgency of addressing environmental problems, and stimulated the motivation to participate in Low-carbon Actions. In the following process lessons, students determined the source and outlet of carbon dioxide by information searching and group communication, explored the nature of carbon dioxide through experiments, found ways to reduce carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, and developed a low-carbon convention. Finally, the groups’ low-carbon conventions were displayed in the form of posters within the class (Table A4 in the Additional file 1 lists the main activities of three units).

Teacher training

As the chemistry teacher in this class had no previous experience in project-based teaching, a PBL expert group was specially set up to guide the teacher. The expert group consisted of three professors in the field of education from Beijing Normal University, one associate professor from Capital Normal University and four teaching and research staff members from Haidian Teachers’ Training School in Beijing. Before all units started, experts provided the teacher with professional training on PBL theory. During the implementation of each unit, the teachers participated in training twice. The first guidance was before the implementation of unit, the teacher introduced her teaching design, experts helped her revise teaching design. The second training occurred after the teaching of each unit, experts observed presentation class and then conducted interviews with the teacher and students, the teacher reflected on the teaching of the whole unit, and the experts gave advice for improving teaching.

Data collection

This research mainly collected data through classroom observations, student interviews and artifact collection (see Table  2 ). Both classroom observations and student interview data were recorded. The qualitative method was adopted in data analysis, therefore, we needed to transcribe video and audio data into words and then encode them. The main research objects were students, in the transcript, the teacher was anonymized as T, the two researchers were anonymized as R1 and R2, and four students were anonymized as S to protect their privacy. (Statement: All videos and interviews were approved by the students and the teacher.)

Classroom observations

During the presentation of each unit, observers went to the school to observe the performance of the student group in class. Observers include the first author, second author and project training experts of PBLP. The purpose of observation is that we are able to observe first-hand actual information about the students, to facilitate student interviews and to help teacher preferably improve teaching.

Focus group interviews

After student groups’ presentation, four students from the selected group were invited to participate in the interviews. Each interview lasted approximately 20 min, all interviews were conducted at the school. Interviewer and observers were the same individuals. A list of interview questions was developed, and each interview began with the same questions (see Table  3 for sample questions). The interviewee’s responses guided further questions.

With the consent of the students, we collected the students’ final artifacts of each unit and conducted an in-depth analysis of their artifacts to determine their level of understanding of core ideas. Figure  3 shows examples of student artifacts.

Sample screenshots from student artifacts: ( a ) Low Carbon Convention Poster, ( b ) PPT screenshot of 55-degree cup introduction and ( c ) Report of Unit 7

Data analysis

The framework of Strauss and Corbin ( 1998 ) was adopted to analyze data, consisting of three steps: (1) classifying data; (2) creating patterns within each data source; and (3) examining patterns among data sources. In the following, the analysis process of each step will be detailed.

Categorizing data

To respond to the research questions, we coded the students’ performance data to determine the competencies demonstrated and developed in three units. This step was done by three coders (the first author of this paper and two master’s students majoring in chemistry education). Before coding, these three coders were trained to reach a consensus on the understanding of 6 competencies (understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, use of scientific practices, problem solving and creativity), and the transcribed text was then sent to the coders. They marked the text that could reflect the students’ competencies and labeled them. When 3 coders had different opinions, they resolved their differences through discussion. We did not distinguish the performance of the 4 students but evaluated the overall level of the group.

In the first round of coding, we used “interpretive” codes, which require participants’ meanings to be deciphered, and were largely conserved the sake of objectivity (Miles & Huberman, 1994 ). A brief outline of this coding scheme is presented below:

Understanding of core ideas: using core ideas to explain important phenomena in daily life, use evidence to support claims, and design or evaluate scientific problem solutions.

Problem solving: the process of finding solutions to difficult and complex issues.

Use of scientific practices: multiple ways in which students explore and make sense of the natural and design world, such as asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data.

Collaboration: working well as member of a group, being loyal to the group, contributing to the group.

Motivation to learn chemistry: behaving or taking action for intrinsic or extrinsic reasons to learn chemistry.

Creativity: the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, and relationships, etc., and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, and interpretations, etc.

Environmental awareness: understanding how social, economic and environmental systems interact and support life, gradually developing an energy-saving, low-carbon, green travel, and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Perseverance: the disposition required to maintain effort or interest in an activity in the face of difficulties encountered, the length of time or steps involved or when opposed by someone or something.

During the coding process, we found that students also showed environmental awareness and perseverance. Therefore, we added them to the coding scheme.

Creating patterns

According to the results of the first round of coding, we found that the competencies of understanding core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry and collaboration appeared in all three units. In the second step, we focused on coding the levels of these 3 competencies. The frameworks of understanding core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry and collaboration (shown in in Tables A1 ~ A3 in the Additional file 1 ) were used to evaluate students’ competency levels. These three coders participated in the coding. Before coding levels, these three coders carefully read the content of the evaluation framework and tried to evaluate the same short text separately. Then, they discussed the differences of the results, selected another paragraph of text to evaluate separately and discussed again until their independent scoring results were agreed upon. After that, they completed the level evaluation of all text independently. We used SPSS 20.0 to check Kappa consistency, the consistency coefficient among these three coders was 0.929, indicating that the coding of the 3 coders was highly consistent.

Here, we show some coding fragments of unit 7 to make the coding process clearer. In this unit, students planted a pot of their favorite plants in the soil, explored the relationship between soil acidity, alkalinity, soil fertility and plant growth, wrote a complete experimental report, and reporting the research result to the class. During the project presentation, the students described the following:

“When we were determining the research topic, our members proposed to study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on plant growth. To verify the rationality of this topic, we conducted copious literature research. We consulted the literature about the impact of soil pH on plants and understood the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on plant growth. Finally, we agreed to take “the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the same plant” as the main research topic [collaboration level 3].

After determining the topic, we discussed which plant to choose [collaboration-level 3] . Through discussion, we found that two members planted green cirrus, so we chose this plant. We looked up the internet about the growth conditions of the green cirrus, especially the pH value [understanding of core ideas in chemistry-level 3] of the soil in which this plant lives.”

“The biggest difficulty we had was that the pH value of the soil samples in the park was not suitable for the growth of the green cirrus. We tried to add a large amount of water to the soil but could still not obtain the right soil pH value. This problem puzzled us for a long time. Finally, we thought of using an acid-base neutralization reaction to adjust the pH value of the soil , and we made it [understanding of core ideas at chemistry level 5] .”

In the after-class interview, the students said, “ In this unit, with the teacher’s help, we did many experiments after class, we also searched much data according to the teacher’s tips and finally completed this experiment. We come to know that we can solve problems by experiments. We realize that chemistry is very useful for life and study, and we are full of expectations for future study in chemistry [motivation to learn chemistry-level 4]. “.

Keywords are in bold font to judge the competencies and level of the student group, and the content in “[]” is encoded by researchers. We found that, in the same unit, the same competency was coded many times, we chose the highest level as the final competency level of the student group

Examining patterns among data sources

After coding analyses, we discussed the rationality of the above competencies and development levels with all researchers of three units, and analyzed the reasons for the development and changes of students’ competencies according to the project tasks and the teacher’s instructional design.

The competencies students demonstrate and develop as they constructed artifacts in a PBL environment

In this study, we encoded the performance of one student group in three units to determine the competencies students demonstrate in PBL. We obtained the results summarized in Table  4 . When the student group develop artifacts in a PBL environment, they demonstrated the competencies of understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, use of scientific practices, problem solving, creativity, environmental awareness and perseverance.

Among these competencies, these three competencies of “understanding of core idea”, “motivation to learn chemistry” and “collaboration” were demonstrated in three units (see Table  5 ).

The development of the competencies of “understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, and collaboration”

After the learning of three units, this student group’s understanding of “the properties and transformation of substances”, motivation to learn chemistry, and collaboration improved. The student group’s understanding of the “the properties and transformation of substances” was developed from level 3 to level 5 (see Fig.  4 ), their motivation to learn chemistry developed from level 2 to level 4 (see Fig.  5 ), and their collaboration developed from level 3 to level 5 (see Fig.  6 ). Next, we used students’ specific performance to describe their development.

The change trend of “understanding of core ideas”

The change trend of “motivation to learn chemistry”

The change trend of “collaboration”

Understanding of “the properties and transformation of substances”

Students’ understanding of “the properties and transformation of substances” was gradually improved on the basis of the previous unit. In unit 4, students said “we can use the production and conversion of carbon dioxide to achieve low carbon” and they applied conservation of elements to interpret why air-conditioning temperature can reduce carbon dioxide production. However, students could only formulate a low-carbon convention from the aspect of reducing carbon dioxide production, without considering the aspect of carbon dioxide absorption. From these expressions of students, we can judge that the students’ understanding of “the properties and transformation of substances” in unit 4 reached level 3 “Application” (see Table  6 ).

In unit 4, students learned to use the properties of carbonaceous substances to realize the transformation of carbonaceous substances. The context of Low-Carbon Actions was very familiar for students, and developing a low-carbon convention is a simple application-oriented task for them. In unit 5, students were not so familiar to metal products, they used vacuum flasks every day but hardly read the instruction for vacuum flasks carefully. Besides, it is not easy for students to understand the principle of the vacuum flask. Based on the study of unit 4, students could associate the properties of the substance with the characteristics of the vacuum flask in unit 5. As shown in Table 6 , students said “The innermost layer is made of stainless steel, which was chosen because of its strong thermal conductivity, high temperature resistance, and corrosion resistance.” From these words, we can see that, students knew the structure of vacuum flask and used the properties of metals and alloys to interpret the structure of each part of the vacuum flask. However, the students in this group analyzed each part in isolation and did not analyze the relationship between different parts. Therefore, they only reached level 4 of understanding of core ideas.

For students, unit 7 was the most difficult and unfamiliar one of these three units. Most students in PBLP came from urban area and had few opportunities to get in touch with traditional agriculture. This unit required students to design a complete experimental plan to solve a problem, which is extremely challenging. As shown in Table 6 , students said “Our experimental process was divided into five steps , ” and the description of each step in the table indicated that they had formed a coherent research plan to solve the problem, this is the performance of level 5 “Synthesis.”

With the progress of the units, students’ motivation to learn chemistry had undergone the following changes (see Table  7 for details). In unit 4, students’ interest in learning chemistry was mainly due to their curiosity about chemistry experiments, they did not truly realize the value of chemistry learning (Level 2: responding). In unit 5, they felt “ chemistry is very useful for life and study”, which indicated that they recognized the value of learning chemistry (Level 3: valuing). In unit 7, the students did experiments in class, they “ did many experiments after class ”, and they had a strong desire to learn chemistry (Level 4: organization). Teacher Xu also mentioned in her interview that “ Students’ enthusiasm for learning chemistry is getting higher and higher. After the school opening the chemistry laboratory to them, many students soaked in the laboratory whenever they were free. My office is always crowded with students asking questions. There was no such scene before PBL. ” However, students’ interest in chemistry had not become a part of students’ character, they had not yet reached level 5 (characterization by value or value complex) of motivation to learn chemistry.

Through Table  8 , we can sort out the changes in student collaboration. According to the student interview of unit 4, students said that, before this unit, all the work was just done by one person. In unit 4, “ Other members also do work. Slowly, everyone wants to do something for group. ” This indicated that the students gradually developed a sense of collaboration and reached level 3 (collaboration consciousness). In Unit 5, when one person encountered difficulties, students used network software to collaborate online on weekends, just as they said “ We used QQ telephone to discuss together, and sent the PPT to the QQ group after it was completed, so that we could revise PPT together. ” In this group, everyone made a certain contribution to the group, indicating that they reached level 4 (mutual contribution). In unit 7, students adopted the learning method of group collaboration throughout the project process. During the experiment, their group also encountered difficulties, but they encouraged each other to overcome difficulties, just as the student said “The four of us encouraged each other”, “We should learn from each other”. They reflected and evaluated their own and others’ performances. In this unit, students’ collaboration competence reached level 5 (valuable collaborative relationship). Teacher Xu talked about the changes of students’ collaboration: “ When I first assigned the tasks in class, the students all did their own work. Now they can quickly put into communication, and this way of learning has been adopted by other subjects. ”

Students’ competencies demonstrated in PBL

In this study, students demonstrated their competencies in the cognitive dimension, emotional and attitude dimension, and social skills in project-based learning, which is similar to the findings of existing research (Guo et al., 2020 ; Hasni et al., 2016 ). For specific competencies, consistent with existing research, we found that students demonstrated understanding of core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, use of scientific practices, problem solving and creativity in PBL (Hong et al., 2012 ; Mettas & Constantinou, 2008 ; Kokotsaki et al., 2016 ; Hanif et al., 2019 ; Holmes & Hwang, 2016 ; Filippatou & Kaldi, 2010 ; Williams & Simon, 2017 ), but environmental awareness and perseverance seldom appeared in existing project-based learning research. These two competencies also play an important role in the future development of students and should arouse the attention of researchers.

We found that not every competency was reflected in all three units. The following three reasons may have led to this result:

Perhaps some units have unique value for the development of students. For example, Low-Carbon Actions unit is closely related to environmental issues and can cultivate students’ environmental awareness. Therefore, we suggest that teachers could pay more attention to the key competencies emphasized in the existing literature as well as fully make sense of the unique value of units.

The fidelity of teaching implementation is very important for students’ development (Shin et al., 2019 ). In the instructional design, the teacher only paid attention to some competencies which may cause other competencies to be ignored. According to teaching design, students’ creativity and problem-solving competencies could be cultivated cross units, but these competencies were only shown in unit 5 and unit 7.

Some competencies of students could be more fully reflected in the project process, but we only collected data from students’ artifacts and interview, procedural data were missing.

The development of students’ competencies across PBL units

It is important for learners experiencing coherent curriculum to develop depth of understanding so they can effectively use their knowledge in new situations (Fortus & Krajcik, 2012 ; Roseman et al., 2008 ; Schmidt et al., 2005 ; Shwartz et al., 2008 ). PBL materials and coherent courses can promote student development (Harris et al., 2015 ; Shin et al., 2019 ). Project-Based Teaching Experiment Textbook: Chemistry was designed based on the curriculum standards of China. The difficulty of different units is progressive, which can reflect the continuity of the curriculum materials. And courses were carried out in the order of the teaching materials. The research results indicate that the teaching materials is effective for promoting students’ development.

Similar to the study of Shin et al. ( 2019 ), we found that students’ understanding of the core ideas of chemistry gradually deepened over time. Shin et al. ( 2019 ) were concerned about the impact of same chemical ideas on students of different grades, we explored the development of same students in a smaller time span, it is more instructive for the teachers to design the semester- or school-year curriculum. According to the learning goals in the textbook, we presupposed that students’ understanding of core ideas ranged from level 4 to level 5 and then to level 6. However, the actual development level of students ranged from level 3 to level 4 and then to level 5. The gap between preset and actual may be caused by the teacher’s teaching practice. For example, in the PBTETC textbook, we require students in a group to formulate a low-carbon convention with multiple items. However, in actual teaching practice, the teacher required each group to show only one clause in low-carbon convention so that students’ ideas could not be shown out completely.

The quality of experiences is essential for interest development, and students’ levels of interest were higher when hands-on activities were perceived more positively (Holstermann et al., 2010 ). These three units in this research had tasks of different difficulties to continuously stimulate students’ interest and motivation. This research shows that students’ motivation to learn chemistry can also be gradually enhanced over time, which has important implications for studying the progression of students’ motivation to learn chemistry in project-based learning. We suggest that, when designing multiple units in PBL, teachers should pay attention to the consistency within the unit and set project tasks of different difficulties to bring students a better learning experience. Driving questions are very important for stimulating students’ motivation. Students choose research questions on their own can stimulate interest more than teachers give questions to them. Therefore, teachers should master relevant teaching strategies and provide necessary guidance to students during the teaching process.

Student collaboration development requires tutoring by teachers (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018 ). In the course of the PBL, teachers provide special training on collaboration, which helps to improve this skill.

The development of students’ competencies requires a certain process. Similar to the research by Bhuyan et al. ( 2020 ), we also find that a longer duration of experience fosters students’ knowledge and skill development as well as increased interest in PBL. This result may encourage teachers to carry out multiple units in project-based teaching. This research portrays more specific and vivid performances of students in different competencies. This study proposes three frameworks to evaluate students’ competencies, which can be used to help teachers evaluate students’ performance, as well as promote evaluation research on PBL.

It should be reminded that the participants in this study were not under the pressure of the Chinese high school entrance examination, therefore, the teacher have the courage to completely replace traditional chemistry learning with project-based learning. When other teachers are ready to implement across units in class, we suggest teachers to consider the actual situation of the school and students. Other units (except units 4, 5, and 7) may also have impact on students’ motivation and collaboration, we did not consider this impact and it can be explored in the future.

Conclusions

In this study, one student group was tracked over three units, and their learning materials were collected. Through qualitative analysis, it was found that, when student groups constructed artifacts in a PBL environment, they demonstrated the competencies of understanding core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry, collaboration, use of scientific practices, problem solving, creativity, environmental awareness and perseverance. The levels and changes of the competencies of understanding core ideas, motivation to learn chemistry and collaboration in these three units were analyzed. After the learning of three units, students’ levels of these three competencies improved, and a progressive development trend emerged. The research results have important implications for the curriculum design, implementation and evaluation of PBL.

Due to the limitations of personnel and time, only one group was selected for tracking and observing in this study. When multiple groups are selected, students’ development is more complicated. For the study of students’ general development, sample size should be expanded, and the integrity of the data should be enhanced in future research.

Availability of data and materials

The materials used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Change history

03 may 2022.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-022-00059-w

Abbreviations

Compulsory Education Chemistry Course Standard

• Project-based learning

Project-based Learning Program

Project-Based Teaching Experiment Textbook: Chemistry

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This work was supported through funding by the International Joint Research Project of Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University.

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YNZ collected and analyzed data regarding the performance of students in PBL, and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. LW guided the teacher’s PBL teaching, interviewed students, designed and further revised the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Zhao, Y., Wang, L. A case study of student development across project-based learning units in middle school chemistry. Discip Interdscip Sci Educ Res 4 , 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-021-00045-8

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Student Case Study

Delving into student case studies offers invaluable insights into educational methodologies and student behaviors. This guide, complete with detailed case study examples , is designed to help educators, researchers, and students understand the nuances of creating and analyzing case studies in an educational context. By exploring various case study examples, you will gain the tools and knowledge necessary to effectively interpret and apply these studies, enhancing both teaching and learning experiences in diverse academic settings.

What is a Student Case Study? – Meaning A student case study is an in-depth analysis of a student or a group of students to understand various educational, psychological, or social aspects. It involves collecting detailed information through observations, interviews, and reviewing records, to form a comprehensive picture. The goal of a case study analysis is to unravel the complexities of real-life situations that students encounter, making it a valuable tool in educational research. In a case study summary, key findings are presented, often leading to actionable insights. Educators and researchers use these studies to develop strategies for improving learning environments. Additionally, a case study essay allows students to demonstrate their understanding by discussing the analysis and implications of the case study, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills.

Download Student Case Study Bundle

Schools especially those that offers degree in medicine, law, public policy and public health teaches students to learn how to conduct a case study. Some students say they love case studies . For what reason? Case studies offer real world challenges. They help in preparing the students how to deal with their future careers. They are considered to be the vehicle for theories and concepts that enables you to be good at giving detailed discussions and even debates. Case studies are useful not just in the field of education, but also in adhering to the arising issues in business, politics and other organizations.

Student Case Study Format

Case Study Title : Clear and descriptive title reflecting the focus of the case study. Student’s Name : Name of the student the case study is about. Prepared by : Name of the person or group preparing the case study. School Name : Name of the school or educational institution. Date : Date of completion or submission.

Introduction

Background Information : Briefly describe the student’s background, including age, grade level, and relevant personal or academic history. Purpose of the Case Study : State the reason for conducting this case study, such as understanding a particular behavior, learning difficulty, or achievement.

Case Description

Situation or Challenge : Detail the specific situation, challenge, or condition that the student is facing. Observations and Evidence : Include observations from teachers, parents, or the students themselves, along with any relevant academic or behavioral records.

Problem Analysis : Analyze the situation or challenge, identifying potential causes or contributing factors. Impact on Learning : Discuss how the situation affects the student’s learning or behavior in school.

Intervention Strategies

Action Taken : Describe any interventions or strategies implemented to address the situation. This could include educational plans, counseling, or specific teaching strategies. Results of Intervention : Detail the outcome of these interventions, including any changes in the student’s behavior or academic performance.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary of Findings : Summarize the key insights gained from the case study. Recommendations : Offer suggestions for future actions or strategies to further support the student. This might include recommendations for teachers, parents, or the student themselves.

Best Example of Student Case Study

Overcoming Reading Challenges: A Case Study of Emily Clark, Grade 3 Prepared by: Laura Simmons, Special Education Teacher Sunset Elementary School Date: May 12, 2024   Emily Clark, an 8-year-old student in the third grade at Sunset Elementary School, has been facing significant challenges with reading and comprehension since the first grade. Known for her enthusiasm and creativity, Emily’s struggles with reading tasks have been persistent and noticeable. The primary purpose of this case study is to analyze Emily’s reading difficulties, implement targeted interventions, and assess their effectiveness.   Emily exhibits difficulty in decoding words, reading fluently, and understanding text, as observed by her teachers since first grade. Her reluctance to read aloud and frustration with reading tasks have been consistently noted. Assessments indicate that her reading level is significantly below the expected standard for her grade. Parental feedback has also highlighted Emily’s struggles with reading-related homework.   Analysis of Emily’s situation suggests a potential learning disability in reading, possibly dyslexia. This is evidenced by her consistent difficulty with word recognition and comprehension. These challenges have impacted not only her reading skills but also her confidence and participation in class activities, especially those involving reading.   To address these challenges, an individualized education plan (IEP) was developed. This included specialized reading instruction focusing on phonemic awareness and decoding skills, multisensory learning approaches, and regular sessions with a reading specialist. Over a period of six months, Emily demonstrated significant improvements. She engaged more confidently in reading activities, and her reading assessment scores showed notable progress.   In conclusion, the intervention strategies implemented for Emily have been effective. Her case highlights the importance of early identification and the implementation of tailored educational strategies for students with similar challenges. It is recommended that Emily continues to receive specialized instruction and regular monitoring. Adjustments to her IEP should be made as necessary to ensure ongoing progress. Additionally, fostering a positive reading environment at home is also recommended.

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Case Study Definition

A case study is defined as a research methodology that allows you to conduct an intensive study about a particular person, group of people, community, or some unit in which the researcher could provide an in-depth data in relation to the variables. Case studies can examine a phenomena in the natural setting. This increases your ability to understand why the subjects act such. You may be able to describe how this method allows every researcher to take a specific topic to narrow it down making it into a manageable research question. The researcher gain an in-depth understanding about the subject matter through collecting qualitative research and quantitative research datasets about the phenomenon.

Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies

If a researcher is interested to study about a phenomenon, he or she will be assigned to a single-case study that will allow him or her to gain an understanding about the phenomenon. Multiple-case study would allow a researcher to understand the case as a group through comparing them based on the embedded similarities and differences. However, the volume of data in case studies will be difficult to organize and the process of analysis and strategies needs to be carefully decided upon. Reporting of findings could also be challenging at times especially when you are ought to follow for word limits.

Example of Case Study

Nurses’ pediatric pain management practices.

One of the authors of this paper (AT) has used a case study approach to explore nurses’ pediatric pain management practices. This involved collecting several datasets:

Observational data to gain a picture about actual pain management practices.

Questionnaire data about nurses’ knowledge about pediatric pain management practices and how well they felt they managed pain in children.

Questionnaire data about how critical nurses perceived pain management tasks to be.

These datasets were analyzed separately and then compared and demonstrated that nurses’ level of theoretical did not impact on the quality of their pain management practices. Nor did individual nurse’s perceptions of how critical a task was effect the likelihood of them carrying out this task in practice. There was also a difference in self-reported and observed practices; actual (observed) practices did not confirm to best practice guidelines, whereas self-reported practices tended to.

How do you Write a Case Study for Students?

1. choose an interesting and relevant topic:.

Select a topic that is relevant to your course and interesting to your audience. It should be specific and focused, allowing for in-depth analysis.

2. Conduct Thorough Research :

Gather information from reputable sources such as books, scholarly articles, interviews, and reliable websites. Ensure you have a good understanding of the topic before proceeding.

3. Identify the Problem or Research Question:

Clearly define the problem or research question your case study aims to address. Be specific about the issues you want to explore and analyze.

4. Introduce the Case:

Provide background information about the subject, including relevant historical, social, or organizational context. Explain why the case is important and what makes it unique.

5. Describe the Methods Used:

Explain the methods you used to collect data. This could include interviews, surveys, observations, or analysis of existing documents. Justify your choice of methods.

6. Present the Findings:

Present the data and findings in a clear and organized manner. Use charts, graphs, and tables if applicable. Include direct quotes from interviews or other sources to support your points.

7. Analytical Interpretation:

Analyze the data and discuss the patterns, trends, or relationships you observed. Relate your findings back to the research question. Use relevant theories or concepts to support your analysis.

8. Discuss Limitations:

Acknowledge any limitations in your study, such as constraints in data collection or research methods. Addressing limitations shows a critical awareness of your study’s scope.

9. Propose Solutions or Recommendations:

If your case study revolves around a problem, propose practical solutions or recommendations based on your analysis. Support your suggestions with evidence from your findings.

10. Write a Conclusion:

Summarize the key points of your case study. Restate the importance of the topic and your findings. Discuss the implications of your study for the broader field.

What are the objectives of a Student Case Study?

1. learning and understanding:.

• To deepen students’ understanding of a particular concept, theory, or topic within their field of study.
• To provide real-world context and practical applications for theoretical knowledge.

2. Problem-Solving Skills:

• To enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities by analyzing complex issues or scenarios.
• To encourage students to apply their knowledge to real-life situations and develop solutions.

3. Research and Analysis:

• To develop research skills, including data collection, data analysis , and the ability to draw meaningful conclusions from information.
• To improve analytical skills in interpreting data and making evidence-based decisions.

4. Communication Skills:

• To improve written and oral communication skills by requiring students to present their findings in a clear, organized, and coherent manner.
• To enhance the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively to both academic and non-academic audiences.

5. Ethical Considerations:

To promote awareness of ethical issues related to research and decision-making, such as participant rights, privacy, and responsible conduct.

6. Interdisciplinary Learning:

To encourage cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary thinking, allowing students to apply knowledge from multiple areas to address a problem or issue.

7. Professional Development:

• To prepare students for future careers by exposing them to real-world situations and challenges they may encounter in their chosen profession.
• To develop professional skills, such as teamwork, time management, and project management.

8. Reflection and Self-Assessment:

• To prompt students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in research and analysis.
• To foster self-assessment and a commitment to ongoing improvement.

9. Promoting Innovation:

• To inspire creativity and innovation in finding solutions to complex problems or challenges.
• To encourage students to think outside the box and explore new approaches.

10. Building a Portfolio:

To provide students with tangible evidence of their academic and problem-solving abilities that can be included in their academic or professional portfolios.

What are the Elements of a Case Study?

A case study typically includes an introduction, background information, presentation of the main issue or problem, analysis, solutions or interventions, and a conclusion. It often incorporates supporting data and references.

How Long is a Case Study?

The length of a case study can vary, but it generally ranges from 500 to 1500 words. This length allows for a detailed examination of the subject while maintaining conciseness and focus.

How Big Should a Case Study Be?

The size of a case study should be sufficient to comprehensively cover the topic, typically around 2 to 5 pages. This size allows for depth in analysis while remaining concise and readable.

What Makes a Good Case Study?

A good case study is clear, concise, and well-structured, focusing on a relevant and interesting issue. It should offer insightful analysis, practical solutions, and demonstrate real-world applications or implications.

Case studies bring people into the real world to allow themselves engage in different fields such as in business examples, politics, health related aspect where each individuals could find an avenue to make difficult decisions. It serves to provide framework for analysis and evaluation of the different societal issues. This is one of the best way to focus on what really matters, to discuss about issues and to know what can we do about it.

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Study shows students in ‘active learning’ classrooms learn more than they think

For decades, there has been evidence that classroom techniques designed to get students to participate in the learning process produces better educational outcomes at virtually all levels.

And a new Harvard study suggests it may be important to let students know it.

The study , published Sept. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that, though students felt as if they learned more through traditional lectures, they actually learned more when taking part in classrooms that employed so-called active-learning strategies.

Lead author Louis Deslauriers , the director of science teaching and learning and senior physics preceptor, knew that students would learn more from active learning. He published a key study in Science in 2011 that showed just that. But many students and faculty remained hesitant to switch to it.

“Often, students seemed genuinely to prefer smooth-as-silk traditional lectures,” Deslauriers said. “We wanted to take them at their word. Perhaps they actually felt like they learned more from lectures than they did from active learning.”

In addition to Deslauriers, the study is authored by director of sciences education and physics lecturer Logan McCarty , senior preceptor in applied physics Kelly Miller, preceptor in physics Greg Kestin , and Kristina Callaghan, now a physics lecturer at the University of California, Merced.

The question of whether students’ perceptions of their learning matches with how well they’re actually learning is particularly important, Deslauriers said, because while students eventually see the value of active learning, initially it can feel frustrating.

“Deep learning is hard work. The effort involved in active learning can be misinterpreted as a sign of poor learning,” he said. “On the other hand, a superstar lecturer can explain things in such a way as to make students feel like they are learning more than they actually are.”

To understand that dichotomy, Deslauriers and his co-authors designed an experiment that would expose students in an introductory physics class to both traditional lectures and active learning.

For the first 11 weeks of the 15-week class, students were taught using standard methods by an experienced instructor. In the 12th week, half the class was randomly assigned to a classroom that used active learning, while the other half attended highly polished lectures. In a subsequent class, the two groups were reversed. Notably, both groups used identical class content and only active engagement with the material was toggled on and off.

Following each class, students were surveyed on how much they agreed or disagreed with statements such as “I feel like I learned a lot from this lecture” and “I wish all my physics courses were taught this way.” Students were also tested on how much they learned in the class with 12 multiple-choice questions.

When the results were tallied, the authors found that students felt as if they learned more from the lectures, but in fact scored higher on tests following the active learning sessions. “Actual learning and feeling of learning were strongly anticorrelated,” Deslauriers said, “as shown through the robust statistical analysis by co-author Kelly Miller, who is an expert in educational statistics and active learning.”

Those results, the study authors are quick to point out, shouldn’t be interpreted as suggesting students dislike active learning. In fact, many studies have shown students quickly warm to the idea, once they begin to see the results. “In all the courses at Harvard that we’ve transformed to active learning,” Deslauriers said, “the overall course evaluations went up.”

Co-author Kestin, who in addition to being a physicist is a video producer with PBS’ NOVA, said, “It can be tempting to engage the class simply by folding lectures into a compelling ‘story,’ especially when that’s what students seem to like. I show my students the data from this study on the first day of class to help them appreciate the importance of their own involvement in active learning.”

McCarty, who oversees curricular efforts across the sciences, hopes this study will encourage more of his colleagues to embrace active learning.

“We want to make sure that other instructors are thinking hard about the way they’re teaching,” he said. “In our classes, we start each topic by asking students to gather in small groups to solve some problems. While they work, we walk around the room to observe them and answer questions. Then we come together and give a short lecture targeted specifically at the misconceptions and struggles we saw during the problem-solving activity. So far we’ve transformed over a dozen classes to use this kind of active-learning approach. It’s extremely efficient — we can cover just as much material as we would using lectures.”

A pioneer in work on active learning, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics Eric Mazur hailed the study as debunking long-held beliefs about how students learn.

“This work unambiguously debunks the illusion of learning from lectures,” he said. “It also explains why instructors and students cling to the belief that listening to lectures constitutes learning. I recommend every lecturer reads this article.”

Dean of Science Christopher Stubbs , Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy, was an early convert. “When I first switched to teaching using active learning, some students resisted that change. This research confirms that faculty should persist and encourage active learning. Active engagement in every classroom, led by our incredible science faculty, should be the hallmark of residential undergraduate education at Harvard.”

Ultimately, Deslauriers said, the study shows that it’s important to ensure that neither instructors nor students are fooled into thinking that lectures are the best learning option. “Students might give fabulous evaluations to an amazing lecturer based on this feeling of learning, even though their actual learning isn’t optimal,” he said. “This could help to explain why study after study shows that student evaluations seem to be completely uncorrelated with actual learning.”

This research was supported with funding from the Harvard FAS Division of Science.

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• Case Study: Student Perceptions of Groups & Teams in Leadership Education

 Natalie Coers, Marianne Lorensen, M.Ed., James C. Anderson II, Ph.D. 10.12806/V8/I1/RF1

Introduction

This qualitative study emerged out of a desire to improve the course, Leadership in Groups and Teams, by gaining a better understanding of student perceptions of group and team experiences in classroom settings. In particular, this course centered on learning about group and team processes from a research-based text, hypothetical case studies, and practical application on the part of the students via a semester-long group/team project. The use of interviews as a qualitative methodology allowed the researchers to gain narrative responses from students regarding these perceptions and experiences. Interviewing students regarding group or team projects within a course can provide valuable insight to structural and contextual information needed for successful integration of group or team projects in that particular course.

The students enrolled in the class were divided into groups of four to six members based on expressed interest in specific areas of service (i.e., environmental issues, education, agriculture, etc.) and finalized by the instructors within the first two weeks of class. In this way, both students and instructors had some input into the creation of the groups. This provided some structure for the students and also allowed them some degree of choice. Students remained in their groups for the duration of the term. Although the central focus was their semester project, they also worked with their groups on class activities, presentations, quizzes, and case studies. In this way, they were fully immersed in the group/team experience. Two textbooks were used to provide a contextual and practical base of knowledge in groups and teams: Daniel Levi’s (2007) Group Dynamics for Teams, 2nd edition , and Patrick Lencioni’s (2002) The Five Dysfunctions of a Team . Students were challenged to connect course concepts to their group/team project via three individual reflection papers and three group/team project reports, in addition to the final group/team project portfolio and presentation. The data gained from this particular study was intended to help improve the course, and it also has broader implications for utilizing groups and teams within leadership education.

The Learning Environment

The learning environment of a traditional lecture-based class model utilized at universities across the country is not, in and of itself, sufficient to encompass the active learning styles of today’s students. Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, and Mayo (2000) explained, “While it is noted that lectures have a place in the learning environment, it is clear that lectures alone are not the most effective pedagogy for universities” (p. 15). Although most scholars support the efficacy of group and team-based learning in the classroom, the actual practice of the pedagogy is limited at institutions of higher education (Rassuli & Manzer, 2005; Bobbitt et al., 2000). Bobbitt, et al. further noted that, “The structural shift toward teams that is occurring in many businesses should be reflected in today’s classroom training” (p. 16). Holter (1994) noted that the opportunity exists for group and team work to be used in a complementary way with lecture-based courses as an effective means of learning and applying higher order thinking skills. Rassuli and Manzer (2005) asserted that team learning modules can take on various forms depending upon the educational discipline, the objective for the instructor’s use of groups and teams in a course, and the instructor’s creativity. Although challenging, Smith and MacGregor (1992) emphasized the flexibility and adaptability of cooperative learning to any academic discipline. As the educational paradigm shifts to a focus on student development (Rassuli and Manzer, 2005), it is the responsibility of educators to provide those experiences that will enable students to become leaders in our changing society (Ricketts, Bruce & Ewing, 2008). The responsibility, however, is two-fold. The educator must provide the opportunities for students to gain knowledge and experience while the student must take the initiative to learn and apply the knowledge gained. Bobbitt, et al. (2000) emphasized, “Too often, students receive instruction on the important concepts and theories in one course, only to move on to the concepts and theories of another course without even considering the integration of material learned previously” (p. 16). Group work is designed to allow students to learn from one another and be actively engaged in one another’s learning process (Rassuli & Manzer, 2005). Ricketts, et al. (2008) discovered that students are not making connections between group work in the classroom and the rising use of teamwork in the “real world” – a necessary connection considering the trend for leadership through collaboration and cooperation. Astin and Astin (2000) noted that “our rapidly changing society desperately needs skilled leaders who are able to address complex issues, build bridges, and heal divisions” (p. 31). Students need to take responsibility for their learning in order to effectively lead our diverse generation of scholars and workers.

Student and Instructor Roles

For effective team-based learning to occur, instructors and students alike must change their teaching and learning methods. According to Barbour (2006), “To educate future leaders in a post-modern era, instructors must attempt nontraditional teaching methods that combine theories and practices of team leadership” (p. 28). Simply, students actively involved in the learning process via sharing and helping others will have a deeper knowledge of that subject matter (Knabb, 2000). Smith and MacGregor (1992) identified collaborative learning as an effective means for instructors and students to create an intellectual synergy while addressing and clarifying challenging issues and topics – achieving higher learning in the process. Higher levels of learning are important considerations from the instructional standpoint, but there are other benefits that come to the student through groups and teams. “A benefit accrued through cooperative learning and not individual assignments is the enhancement of students’ interpersonal skills through learning to work with students of various backgrounds, work ethic, and problem-solving styles” (Bobbitt, et al., 2000, p. 16). Barbour (2006) also mentioned that students are provided the opportunity to take on various group roles in order that they may gain a full perspective on the process of team building.

From the instructional standpoint, Attle and Baker (2007) emphasized the required commitment and detail in developing a fitting cooperative learning experience. For success with groups and teams in the classroom, Barbour (2006) suggested that “an instructor must be able to understand, model, and lead group processes, which includes the roles all team members will play and the dynamic of team members within those roles” (pp. 32-33). At the same time, students must hold one another accountable and be actively engaged in their learning (Haberyan, 2007). Michaelsen (2004) noted that “students should stay in the same group for the entirety of the semester. Although even a single well-designed group assignment usually produces a variety of positive outcomes, it is only when students work together over time that they become cohesive enough to evolve into self-managed and truly effective learning teams” (p. 30). Barbour (2006) also noted that leader follow-through and active participation from all group members lead to the greatest team success. Michaelsen (2004) stressed that groups must be properly formed and managed, students must be made accountable (for both individual and group work), assignments must promote both learning and team development, and students must receive frequent and immediate feedback on their progress.

Impacts on Student Perception

Outside events that go beyond the confines of a classroom make a strong impact on student teams (Weeks & Kelsey, 2007). Kreie, Headrick, and Steiner (2007) noted this via the end of course evaluation forms. “Many students indicated that they liked working in teams, but – not surprisingly – a few expressed frustration with teammates who did not show up for team activities or did not actively participate” (p. 55). Pauli, Mohiyeddini, Bray, Michie, and Street (2008) discussed several issues that may be faced in group and team settings, including motivation, logistics, and other personal or process issues. “Insofar as students are concerned, attitudes in the classroom are an important consideration in shaping the perceptions of the effectiveness of the team-learning method” (Rassuili & Manzer, 2005, p. 26). Group time and commitment are also issues potentially impacting student perceptions (Tan, Ivy, Sharan, & Lee, 2007). Su’s (2007) work explored the preferences students have for team learning in the classroom based upon individual abilities. A significant difference was found between the three identified levels of ability in the expressed preference for team-based learning.

Lower ability correlated with the highest preference, medium ability noted a lower preference, and high ability expressed the lowest preference for team-based learning. These influences on student perception hold valuable information to understanding the student perspective on group and team work in the classroom, and to improving this pedagogy used in leadership education.

Continued Evaluation

Many researchers call for more qualitative, longitudinal studies to explore the impact of leadership education (DiPaolo, 2008). Lamont and Friedman (1997) asserted the need for regular curriculum review to ensure the needs of students are being met and faculty talents and interests are being utilized. Student feedback is a natural and necessary tool for improving the effectiveness of curriculum (Duke & Reese, 1995). Given the present American colleges and universities, Blackwell, Cummins, Townsend, and Cummings (2007) emphasized that qualitative research is needed in order to effectively utilize the “opportunity to coalesce theory and experience in a learning environment” (p. 40). Such research would enrich the understanding of student perceptions and ultimately strengthen leadership education programs and the use of groups and teams in the educational setting.

After concluding that individual ability impacted student perception of team- based learning, Su (2007) emphasized the need for deeper study of student perceptions of team-based learning using both quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand impacting factors and create a better educational experience for students.

In an effort to enhance the understanding of student perceptions among educators that are currently using or considering the use of groups and teams as a classroom component, the researchers embarked on a qualitative case study. The objectives of this study are as follows: (a) to determine what kinds of perceptions exist among students regarding the use of groups and teams in the classroom setting and (b) to determine if participation in the particular course, Leadership in Groups and Teams, has an impact on students’ perceptions of groups and teams in an educational setting.

Methods and Data Collection

Participants in this case study were undergraduate students enrolled in Leadership in Groups and Teams for the spring 2008 semester. The course had 20 students enrolled, 15 female and 5 male; of those enrolled, 10 females and 4 males volunteered to participate in the study. Participants were aware that they could opt out of the study at any point throughout the semester without negative consequence to their success in the course. Participants each signed an informed consent and were also given the option to provide written reflection pieces as part of data collection for the research. Although some written reflections were collected, inconsistency in submissions resulted in the decision not to use them as formal data in the study.

A series of three interviews was conducted and audio recorded throughout the semester with each participant. The first round of interviews was conducted early in the semester, followed by the second shortly after spring break, and the final interview occurred at the conclusion of the semester. The timing of the interviews allowed researchers to examine whether participation in the course was impacting the participants’ perceptions of working in groups and teams as the course and group projects evolved. Round 1 interviews provided the researchers with foundational data from each participant with regard to perceptions based on previous experiences with groups and teams in the educational setting, as each answered the following questions:

• Tell me about your experiences with groups and teams in the classroom setting.
• Have you had group/team experiences that are positive/negative? (Based on the response from question one above.)
• When you enter a new class and discover that group or team work is a part of the course expectations, what is your reaction? Why?
• When was the first time you recall working in a group/team for a class?
• How often have you had to work in a group or team for a class?
• What is the number of college courses you have taken that utilized group/team work for class?
• Do you like working in a group or team for class? Why or why not?
• What role do you typically take when working in a group or team? Why?
• What do you expect of others in a group or team?
• Why did you enroll in this course, Leadership in Groups and Teams?
• What do you hope to learn or gain in this course?

The second round of interviews served as a check point slightly after mid- semester to determine whether previous perceptions and tendencies were present or had changed, as well as how and whether the participants demonstrated retention and application of course content. The following questions were posed during the second round of interviews:

• What information learned from the course readings is most helpful to you in groups and teams?
• What stage do you think your group in currently in?
• What leadership styles/strategies do you observe in your group?
• What perspective do you view your group in (group or project based)?
• What concerns do you have with the groups and teams project for this course?
• How/Do you plan to address these issues?
• Is social loafing present in your group or team? Why or why not?
• Who are the other high contributors in your group?
• What role are you taking in the group project? Is this consistent with your typical role?
• How cohesive is your group? Why?
• Reflect on your experience with your group/team in this course. In what ways was it similar to experiences you have had with other class related groups/team?
• In what ways was it different?
• What are the most important things you have learned from your group/team experience in this course?
• How might what you have learned be useful to you in future group/team experiences?
• Do you think that reading the texts for the course had an impact on the way you engaged with your group/team (as opposed to the manner in which you have engaged with other class-related groups and teams)?
• If so, how?
• If not, why not?
• Consider your group/team at the end of the semester. In what stage of group and or project development do you think your group ended the course?
• Why do you think so?
• Is this a logical progression, in light of what you know about group and or project development from your course readings?
• Why or why not?
• What material from the texts was most useful to you in your group/team?
• What material from the texts was most useful to you in other groups and team experiences (now and or in the future)?
• What did you like most about the way this course was structured?
• What would you change about the way this course was structured?
• Do you think that participating in this course has changed your perceptions of working in groups or teams?
• If so, how has it changed your perceptions?
• Has participating in this course reinforced any of your previously held perceptions of working in groups or teams?
• If so, what perceptions has it reinforced?
• Do you have any additional thoughts or comments you would like to share?

The questions posed in each interview provided a framework for students to express their thoughts about current and past group or team experiences. Participants were not limited on time for any response, which allowed for as little or as much information to be disclosed by the participant. If needed, participants could ask for clarification of any question. Following the interviews, the researchers reviewed the recordings to compile data based on the responses, coded responses, and transcribed components of the interviews for analysis.

Round 1 Interviews

From the original 14 participants that began this study, 11 completed the series of three interviews. Participants in the Round 1interviews provided insight regarding a positive or negative perception held, like or dislike of working in groups/teams, and made reference to themselves as a hard worker and concerns of social loafing among others. Seven participants involved in the Round 1 interviews indicated a positive perception of groups and teams, where four perceived them as negative. Also, one participant qualified both a positive and negative perception and one participant listed positive perceptions, but said groups and teams “can be difficult.” It is also noteworthy that one participant mentioned never having had a negative groups and teams experience.

When recalling the first time participating in a group or team, four participants identified kindergarten or elementary school as the time when that occurred; three identified middle school or junior high; one identified high school; and four experienced their first class-related group/team in college. One individual that identified college, also recalled high school experiences in groups/teams, but could not provide an example of a specific experience. Participants then estimated the number of college courses taken where groups and teams were utilized. The responses ranged from two to 15 courses with an average of seven. One participant did not provide an estimated number of courses, but answered that “most courses” the student had taken in college required group/team work.

Participants also discussed whether they liked working in groups and teams for class. Nine participants said they liked working in groups and teams, while two said they did not. Within the nine positive responses, three participants conditioned their responses to be dependent upon the task assigned (group paper versus activity) or the academic level of the course (general curriculum versus major concentration area). The researchers noted that the participants who disliked groups and teams in the educational setting also discussed having had mostly negative experiences or rationalized their dislike of groups and teams. Participants also identified self-perceived roles within groups and teams. Three participants identified themselves as a “leader”; three as “organizers” or “facilitators”; one as “in charge”; and, four as other roles (such as “scribe” or “pleaser”).

Although a question was not directly posed to the participants relating to self- perception as a hard worker or issues dealing with social loafing (an individual putting forth less effort in the group setting than if the task were only to be completed individually), the researchers observed the emergence of these issues throughout the interviews (Barr, Dixon, & Gassenheimer, 2005). During five interviews social loafing was implicitly mentioned as a main concern in groups and teams. Also, in four instances, responses to the questions in this round of interviews lent themselves to support self perception as a strong contributor in groups and teams (i.e., mention of personal high standards or high expectations). To avoid issues of social loafing or one individual carrying a significant portion of the work, emphasis should be placed on all group participants doing their part, regardless of assigned or attributive role within the group (Payne, Monk-Turner, Smith, & Sumter, 2006).

In looking at reasons for course enrollment, the participants tended to merge the final two questions of the interview (reason for enrollment and what participant hopes to gain from the course); therefore, the emergent themes were taken from the combined final two questions. Students enrolled in Leadership in Groups and Teams for four main reasons: (a) general interest in the topic (6), (b) self- awareness (7), (c) skill development (8), and (d) a positive impression of the course or instructor (based on word of mouth and/or prior experience in a course taught by the same instructor) (7).

Round 2 Interviews

Participants were interviewed a second time approximately one-half way through the semester so that researchers could gain insight on group developmental progress and the impact of course content. Students identified their personal roles taken on in the course project. Four recognized themselves as a facilitator or organizer and seven identified with other roles which were primarily task related, such as writing reports or securing event locations. However, no participants identified themselves as the group leader and no participants claimed to be in charge. These role identifications differed from the previous interviews presumably as a result of the projects being underway and group dynamics at work. These factors would potentially result in a difference between what an individual expressed in the first round of interviews when compared the actions now being taken, especially when consideration is given to other team member roles. At this interview time, only three participants (two having previously expressed this concern in the first interview) mentioned social loafing as an issue or continued concern. This may mean that some of the student’s previously held concerns in this regard did not continue in this team project.

Other concerns regarding the group project were also expressed, including the main concerns mentioned by nine of the participants were task-related, such as securing a location or ensuring promotional materials were completed and dispersed. Further concerns identified were accountability/trust, commitment, and communication. Some of these other concerns may arise from the variable group dynamics and level of cohesion among the members. Six participants said group cohesion was moderate and four participants experienced high group cohesion. However, increased instructor facilitation and structure of a group project could minimize communication and task-related issues within a group (Barbour, 2006; Payne, et al., 2006).

Participants were also asked whether their groups were more demonstrative of group development models (such as Tuckman and Jensen) or project development models (such as McGrath or Ancona and Caldwell) as discussed within the course content. Participants were also asked, depending on the model they selected, to note the stage in which their group was currently functioning. Five students identified with the group development model and utilized the respective stages of development in their stage description. However, the remaining seven students identified their groups with the project development model and then subsequently utilized the group development model for describing the current stage of development (forming, performing, creation, resolution). To the researchers, this demonstrated that participants may not have retained course content focused on project development models.

Even though some course content such as that pertaining to group and task development models may not have been fully retained (Kemp & Seagraves, 1995), participants did identify course content topics that were helpful to them in the class and with groups outside of the class. Participants noted helpful aspects including (a) three participants mentioned that information about group conflict was helpful, (b) three found content on group communication most valuable, (c) one participant identified cooperation and competition content as useful, (d) three found most benefit to be sections of the course focused on decision making and problem solving, and (e) three identified team building or group development content as helpful to their work in groups and teams.

One participant expressed realization of the impact of the course content, stating “I think learning about the stages of development and seeing that anything else can be applied to that for the most part, like conflict and working as a team as a whole, you can understand what stage you’re in and when you’re adjusting … and understanding that it’s okay to have conflict in a group and that it can promote creativity in a team.”

Another participant emphasized the importance of understanding the role of conflict: “I think the material that’s been most salient or important has to do with group conflict. Initially, that was a topic that really didn’t concern me, but having six members and six different types of personalities and different ways of thinking certainly creates conflict. Because we’re so diverse, (learning about conflict and how to deal with it) has really helped us out.”

It was evident that the particular topics covered in this course, such as conflict, communication, cooperation and competition, decision making or problem solving, and team building or group development, heightened the students’ awareness of what is expected in a group or team setting.

Round 3 Interviews

The final round of interviews was conducted at the end of the semester, with all group projects completed. Participants were asked to compare and contrast their course project with previous class-related groups and teams experiences. Students primarily noted the differences of their Leadership in Groups and Teams course project: four mentioned the length of the project assignment, noting the semester- long project as different than past experiences of shorter time frames to work on a group project; seven emphasized the social aspect of this project that built trust in the group; and three mentioned the real-life application of the information gained and experience of carrying out a project from inception to implementation.

One of the participants responded, saying, “This was a little different in that we had a specific set goal. There are always going to be—maybe slackers isn’t the right word– but people who aren’t as committed and dedicated as the rest of the team members. That definitely stood out the entire semester … It was different to be studying leadership and trying to apply or pick out things as we went through the process as we were studying it and then applying it (in our group). It helped us change along the way. Change for the better.”

Over the course of this semester project the participants identified with the various stages of group or team development. In the concluding interview, students noted the ending stage of their group or team. Six participants said their group or team reached the final stage of the group development process identified by Tuckman and Jensen (1977) (i.e., adjourning) while three students said their group or team was in the performing stage. One participant believed the group to be in the norming stage and another participant identified the forming stage of development due to various issues within that particular group including members withdrawing from the course approximately one-half way through the project. At the conclusion of the course students related strongly to the Tuckman and Jensen (1977) model of group development.

In the final interview as participants reflected on the group or team experience for the course, they noted (a) a need for improved socialization within their group(s) (5), (b) social loafing as a problem (4), (c) a need for improved communication (3), (d) role confusion (4), and (e) schedule coordination (7).

In the final interview all 11 participants expressed that one or both of the course texts had an impact on the manner in which they interacted within the groups or teams. Also, 10 participants noted that the course experience changed their perception of groups and teams in the classroom setting and this change was expressed as a positive one.

One student expressed a changed perception for the better, noting that this experience proved that there can be effective groups or teams in class. This participant noted that “I know that there can be really effective teams now. I think before that I was always really frustrated with class teams. Not only can there be effective teams, but it’s built. It doesn’t just happen. It’s a process. I guess I thought before that you get a group of people together that work really well together and everything goes well. But now I know that that’s not necessarily true. Effective teams have steps to become that, and sometimes things fall into place; but a lot of times it’s working toward it. I think that’s going to be my biggest take-away, because I know that whatever group I get in to isn’t static and can change. It can be shaped to be more effective, and I can probably help in that process.”

“Time to go through a group process” and an “acceptance of conflict as a normal part of that process” were expressed by the participants as helpful components of this change in perception. Another student also noted the improved perception that came from an understanding of what a team or group should look like and go through based on the knowledge gained from the course material. One participant expressed the impact in this way: “The class was not only about reading and class discussion. We actually went out there and tried to apply. It happens so often that theoretical tools are given to you and you’re told that you can apply them in this and that way, but this was one of the rare occasions where you actually get the tools and the books and discussion and then go out there and see (for yourself).” Another stated, “My idea of leadership has changed. The leader is not the person who tells others what to do. In some cases, yes, but my idea of what a leader has to do has changed. My previous idea that you can just work on a task without knowing others has changed too. So much of what goes on in someone’s personal life will affect the way they function. Their background, culture, everything.” Yet, another indicated that “This course has been different, because I’m not walking away with memorized facts and concepts. I’m walking away with the overall team experience, and that’s definitely something I can apply in grad school or future employment, in the community or at church. Wherever teams are involved.” The researchers greatly benefitted from this insight gained for the course, as well as in general, regarding the perception students held of groups and teams in the classroom.

Conclusions

As a result of this project, the researchers were able to develop some conclusions connected to their original objectives, which are discussed here. Additionally, the researchers came away with some valuable feedback which could be used to modify their course and could also be helpful when devising instructional strategies for other leadership classes.

Objective 1

In exploring the existing student perceptions of group or team work in an educational setting, the researchers discovered a generally positive perception of group work prior to the course. However, the existing perception was dependent upon each student’s prior experiences with group or team work in the classroom. Frequency of group or team experiences in the past, or concurrently during the semester, may also be connected to an individual’s perception. Some students experience burnout or overload of group work that can detract from the value of such an experience with peers in the educational setting. This burnout could mean that group or team work is currently being overused in the educational setting, a stark contrast to research that highlights the limited use of groups and teams or collaborative learning in the classroom (Bobbitt, et al., 2000; Rassuli & Manzer, 2005).

These findings could also imply that the use of groups and teams in the classroom lacks a foundational basis of the group development process needed for students to fully understand and appreciate the benefits of group or team work. Barbour (2006) identified the need for groups and teams in the classroom to be combined with knowledge of the group development process. Further research is needed to establish the relationship between student perceptions and the frequency of group or team work experiences by students in the classroom setting. Additional research is also necessary to determine the degree to which introducing students to the process of group or team project development impacts student perception of group or team work use in the educational setting.

Objective 2

It was evident to the researchers through this case study that an increased awareness of the group or team development processes had a positive impact on the individual’s perception of group or team work. All four participants that perceived group or team work in the classroom negatively at the beginning of the semester indicated a change in perception to a positive outlook by the end of the semester. Additionally, other participants who indicated a positive perception at the beginning of the semester attributed the course material to a better understanding of past group experiences, a better appreciation of their fellow group members, and an understanding of the importance of the social or relational aspect of group work. Thus, participation in the course Leadership in Groups and Teams was an effective method of impacting students’ attitudes or perceptions of group or team work in the educational setting. In this case, student participants were able to reflect on having a personal experience through the semester project complemented with the knowledge of how a team should work in the educational setting.

Instructional Strategy

In addition to the findings for each of the objectives, the researchers were also able to make some cursory observations about instructional strategies that helped to make the course useful and successful. The course, Leadership in Groups and Teams, was one that fully immersed students in a group or team experience while they were learning about group and team issues and processes. It was also a course that facilitated the social side of group and team development, in addition to providing a task. The students had some ownership in determining their task and choosing a project that was meaningful to them. Since the class was reading from relevant literature, they were also very conscious of how what they were learning from their textbooks would play out in their actual experience. The researchers also noticed the contrast between group performance, in that one group embraced “team” learning and implemented a strong, cohesive project whereas another group took the “divide and conquer” approach resulting in several small tasks for the project implemented by the individuals of the group, but not as a whole.

Further research is needed in courses that do not have a direct focus on groups and teams within the curriculum, as well as in specific leadership courses focused on groups and teams, to determine the level of immersion needed for students to fully grasp the process and application of group and team development.

Limitations

This case study was relatively small. It focused on one class during the course of one semester. Continuing to explore student perceptions in this and other similar classes throughout future semesters would likely yield even more useful findings. Furthermore, because the researchers were also instructors in the course, it is

possible that some participants censored their responses even though they knew their participation was not connected to their grade in the course. If this study were to be continued or replicated in the future, it would be helpful to have interviewers who were not connected to the course and make the information available to instructors only after grades have been posted for the term.

Implications

Although focused on only one course, these findings provide further support for the continuous evaluation of curriculum and use of student feedback to make instructional improvements (Lamont & Friedman, 1997; Duke & Reese, 1995). Educators utilizing groups and teams in the classroom should continue using qualitative research methods to explore the impact of course content on student perceptions as well as gaining feedback from students regarding the importance of project structure in a successful group/team experience. Consequently, instructors would have a better understanding of student needs and could incorporate information on the group development process into the classroom prior to utilizing group work. Also, leadership educators and other educators utilizing group and team work in the classroom should be intentional about ensuring students connect leadership content to real life applications. Inclusion of group and team development processes should also be incorporated into instruction (Barr, et al., 2005). Astin and Astin (2000) noted that leadership education is an emerging component of undergraduate education. Programs and degree pathways focused on leadership continue to expand at a rapid pace today. Leadership education, both formal and informal, plays an important role in developing the necessary leadership skills desired by employers and needed by our society today (Payne, et al., 2006; Blackwell, et al., 2007). Groups and teams are an integral part of our society; students and instructors alike must realize and take on the responsibilities and experiences needed for preparation and practice of leadership today and into the future.

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Cognitive group therapy for depressive students: The case study

Juhani tiuraniemi.

University of Turku, Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland

Jarno Korhola

The aims of this study were to assess whether a course of cognitive group therapy could help depressed students and to assess whether assimilation analysis offers a useful way of analysing students' progress through therapy. “Johanna” was a patient in a group that was designed for depressive students who had difficulties with their studies. The assimilation of Johanna's problematic experience progressed as the meetings continued from level one (unpleasant thoughts) to level six (solving the problem). Johanna's problematic experience manifested itself as severe and excessive criticism towards herself and her study performance. As the group meetings progressed, Johanna found a new kind of tolerance that increased her determination and assertiveness regarding the studies. The dialogical structure of Johanna's problematic experience changed: she found hope and she was more assertive after the process. The results indicated that this kind of psycho-educational group therapy was an effective method for treating depression. The assimilation analysis offered a useful way of analysing the therapy process.

Introduction

Clinical depression is one of the most common mental disorders (Kessler, Berglund, Demler et al., 2003 ). Approximately 5–6% of Finns suffer from depression (Isometsä, 2001 ; Isometsä, Aro & Aro, 1997). Students suffering from depression often have difficulties in coping with their studies (Brackney & Karabenick, 1995 ; Kessler & Walters, 1998 ; Lyubomirsky, Kasri & Zehm, 2003 ), and a strong association has been found between depressive symptoms and stress (Mikolajczyk, Maxwell, Naydenova, Meier & Ansari, 2008 ). According to their own estimation, 53% of American college students had suffered from depression during their studies (Furr, Westefeld, McConnell & Jenkins, 2001 ). Over half of those who had experienced depression stated that problems related to studying were the most important depression-inducing factor. Therefore, there is a close connection between depression and studying difficulties.

According to Isometsä et al. ( 1997 ), of those who suffer from depression, 50% feel they need mental health services. Of depressed students, 17% seek help for their problems (Furr et al., 2001 ). Depression diminishes a person's ability to act through various mechanisms. Being depressed has a lowering effect on a student's sense of self-efficacy (Beck, 1976 ) and it lowers the expectations of doing well with one's studies (Brackney & Karabenick, 1995 ). A depressed student may feel that he/she will not complete his/her studies like everyone else. The fatigue, the powerlessness and the lack of concentration that accompany depression also reduce the student's ability to function.

Depression affects academic performance and ability to act through the students' motivation and their use of studying strategies (Brackney & Karabenick, 1995 ; Lyubomirsky et al., 2008). Often, depressed students are not able to plan their studies efficiently or observe their own work. They may have difficulties in sufficiently regulating their time-use, their study environment or the amount of work they pour into their tasks. Cognitive-behavioural therapy resulted in a significant improvement in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, reduced use of avoidance coping strategies, and more use of approach coping strategies among university students (Hamdan-Mansour, Puskar & Bandak, 2009 ).

Persons with depressive symptoms often seek validation for their own needs and actions from other people (Clark & Beck, 1999 ). In this manner, they strive to prove their worth, their competence or their likeableness. Those suffering from depression often have limited social skills (Segrin, 2000 ). This leaves a student in an adverse position, because there is an inseparable social side to student life.

Sometimes a depressive person is troubled by the aspiration to be extremely competent and efficient. Perfectionist tendencies involve high expectations of oneself, and an individual's self-respect is based on the perception of one's own efficiency and competence (Chang & Sanna, 2001 ; Cox & Enns, 2003 ). Perfectionists have difficulty working with others and find asking for help very difficult (Brackney & Karabenick, 1995 ). In a student, high expectations of competence may be manifested as, for example, a great amount of work done, good marks and dissatisfaction with a performance that did not reach the desired level and is not consistent with one's self-image.

There has been quite a lot of research on the effects of cognitive-behavioural group therapy as a treatment for depression. According to the extensive mapping by DeRubeis and Crits-Christoph ( 1998 ), treating depression with cognitive-behavioural group therapy is efficient and useful. Kush and Fleming ( 2000 ) have had similar results. In their therapy, they tried to teach the patients skills that diminish depression and anxiety. For example, they tried to develop the patients' problem-solving skills. Treating depression with cognitive-behavioural group therapy has proven efficient and useful (Bright, Baker & Neimeyer, 1999 ; DeRubeis & Crits-Christoph, 1998 ; Kush & Fleming, 2000 ; Kwon & Oei, 2003 ). Cognitive behavioural group therapy has led to reduction in the levels of depression, negative automatic thoughts, and students' dysfunctional attitudes (Hamamci, 2006 ). It has been proven that the symptoms of depression lessen during therapy.

Brackney and Karabenick ( 1995 ) stated that psychotherapy aimed at students suffering from depression should contain instruction on structuring one's studies and on life-control skills . The patients should also be taught means of mood-control to improve their concentration and they should be encouraged not to ruminate and wallow in their depression (Lam, Smith, Checkley, Rijsdijk & Sham, 2003 ). Certain group-members' individual factors can predict their benefit from group therapy: mild depression in the beginning of the group work, a feeling of being in control of the situation, the group's cohesiveness and the ability to function as a group (Hoberman, Lewinsohn & Tilson, 1988 ). According to Pace and Dixon ( 1993 ), short-lived cognitive therapy lessens the depressive symptoms and also helps the schemata related to a more positive self-image.

Greenberg ( 2002 ) has stated that the change happens by activating an unadaptive schema to which an adaptive feeling is then attached. For instance, an unadaptive schema created by loss can be changed by grieving, that is, by adding the feeling of grief to the schema. According to Guidano ( 1991 ), the superficial and deep level change-processes do not exclude each other; in fact, superficial changes may promote deep level changes. In the assimilation model (for example Stiles, 2002 ; Stiles et al., 1990 ; Stiles et al., 1991 ), the change occurs by the assimilation of problematic experiences into a particular schema or schema chart. This can be described in eight different stages.

The change has been described in stage theories. The transtheoretical model posits that health behaviour change involves progression through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination (Prochaska & Velicer, 1997 ). Precontemplation is the stage wherein individuals are not aware of their problems, and they are resistant to change. In the contemplation stage, they are aware of their troubled behaviour but they are not committed to action. In the action stage, they change their behaviour and in the maintenance stage they try to prevent relapse. The assimilation model is more detailed and the description of cognitions and emotions is more specific. With the aid of the assimilation analysis, it is possible to delve into the cognitive and emotional changes that occur in the patient's problematic experiences and to evaluate the change process. The analysis is not just about the final result of the therapy: the problematic experience and the stages of changes the individual goes through are observed and assessed at different phases of therapy (Stiles et al., 1990 , 1991 ; Stiles & Osatuke, 2000 ).

A series of case studies has been executed using assimilation analysis (e.g. Brinegar, Salvi, Stiles, & Greenberg, 2006 ; Leiman & Stiles, 2001 ; Stiles et al., 2006 ). Assimilation analysis allows for focus on the focal points of the process. Using a case study has some advantages, e.g. the possibility to describe detailed process in psychotherapy, but there are some limitations. Behaviour can be described, not explained, and a case study cannot be representative of the general group or population. However, there is a need for process descriptions when we want to find a means to help depressive students who have problems in their studies. The evaluation of the case can also be susceptible to mistakes. For example, the researcher can see the change more positively or in the perception that other psychological phenomena can happen. In the evaluation, one must indeed be conscious of this , and be able to change a perspective for a subject so that mistakes in the evaluation do not take place (Montgomery & Willen, 1999 ).

This study depicts the change process of a student's psyche. The aims were to assess whether a course of cognitive group therapy could help depressed students with their problems affecting their studies and to assess whether assimilation analysis offers a useful way of analysing students' progress through therapy. This study was carried out using assimilation analysis to try to interpret and understand the contents of the subject's problematic experiences and the change she underwent through the sessions.

Research methods

The basic materials of this study are Johanna's (the name has been changed) discussion contributions that were singled out from taped group sessions. Johanna is a university student suffering from depression.

The group consisted of six students suffering from depression and studying difficulties. Altogether, the group met 16 times and the sessions lasted two hours each. In its final form, the group was composed of five women and one man. One student stopped attending the course after four times. The members' ages varied from just over 20 to a little over 40 years of age. Five of the members were at the final stages of their studies, and one was at the beginning of them. Some students were receiving treatment elsewhere, but we had no exact information about other care or treatment. Those who were at the final stages of their studies had particular difficulties with their theses and their studies had been delayed. The research subjects were referred to take part in the course and in this research by the Turku branch of Finnish Students Health Service (FSHS).

In the beginning of the course, the goal was to activate the participants. At a later stage, more attention was paid to the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness and how these feelings affected the participants' studying performance. The contents of the group sessions and the themes covered in each of them are depicted in Table I . In the beginning of the course, students made exercises in problem-solving methods. The basic elements in cognitive therapy are behaviour techniques, methods for studying beliefs and thoughts and techniques for managing emotions and feelings. The students analysed the things that hinder their studies and goals. After that, they analysed their daily activities and planned new strategies for their actions and studies. They analysed the effect of thought and worked with their beliefs and thoughts. They made assertiveness exercises and learned new strategies for managing their emotions. At the end of the course, they evaluated what they had learned and what they have to do in the future.

Cognitive group therapy for depressive students: Course program and contents.

The criteria for participating in the course were: (1) depression (at least 13 points on the BDI-scale); and (2) constant absences from lectures or delay of studies. It was stipulated that suicide risk, bidirectional affective syndrome and acute crisis would prevent participation in the course. In addition, it was expected of the attendees that they possess enough concentration to carry out the assignments required by the course programme.

The preliminary interviews were conducted to assess who could benefit from this short-term, psycho-educative course. To have successful group therapy, preliminary interviews and the composition of the group have to be carried out with utmost care (Bernard et al., 2008 ). The group meetings were referred to as a course instead of group therapy, because its purpose was to be as non-labelling and as easily approachable as possible. The interviews and the composing of the group were conducted by the group leader.

The course consisted mainly of different assignments that the participants completed on their own time. At the sessions, the group leader led discussion about the assignments. The participants were given assignments such as mapping out their social network and thinking about problems that complicated their studies. The assignments were based on a book of exercises called Depressiokoulu (Depression School) by Koffert and Kuusi ( 2003 ). The depression school introduced in the book consists of ten lessons that were used in the course when planning the 16-session programme. The group leader's role was active and encouraging.

The therapist had six years of therapy education in cognitive therapy, and six years of education in family therapy. Furthermore, he had experience from working with the groups. The supervisor had qualifications of the trainer psychotherapist (cognitive therapy) and the work supervision was carried out during the group process.

The case discussed in this study was chosen on the criteria of informativeness and representativeness compared to other group members. Johanna (the name has been changed) was a university student suffering from depression. At the beginning of the course, Johanna was just under 30 years of age and living with her significant other. She was a student of natural sciences and her studies were at the stage where she was to write her thesis.

Johanna's studies had been stuck for 18 months. Carrying out the studies seemed utterly overpowering to her. She had found other things to do instead of studying, such as household chores. Johanna felt that she no longer had any ambition to study and in addition, her motivation to study her chosen field was running low. This was, at least in part, due to the lack of jobs in the field.

Johanna felt that she had fallen hopelessly behind from her fellow students. She avoided meeting her course mates and spoke to virtually no one about her studying difficulties. She said that she lacked concentration. Johanna felt she was lazy and inefficient. She described herself as bad and a failure, both as a student and as a person. She had worked during the summers and the work had gone well.

Depression represents a mode that has been named loss or deprivation mode (Clark & Beck, 1999 ). There were indications of each of the schemata included in the mode in Johanna. In Johanna's case, feelings of hopelessness and the loss of pleasurable feelings (motivational scheme) were particularly noticeable, in addition to passiveness and withdrawal (behavioural scheme). Johanna felt dispirited (affective scheme) and she had difficulty in coping with her studies (physiological scheme). The threat of loss (cognitive-conceptual scheme) was only suggestive, which in Johanna's case would have meant possibly giving up her studies entirely.

The subject's depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory self-assessment form that had been translated into Finnish (Beck et al., 1961 ) that comprised of 21 items. In each item, there are 4–7 alternative statements that have been awarded points from 0 to 3. The items depict attitudes and symptoms related to depression and the severity of the depression from neutral to severe (0 = neutral, 1 = mild, 2 = relatively severe, 3 = severe). The full score of the BDI is 63. The clinical norms of the Inventory are: neutral or not depressed (0–9 points), mildly depressed (10–18), relatively severely depressed (19—29) and severely depressed (30 to 63) (Beck, Steer & Garbin, 1998). The form is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the severity of depression (Beck et al, 1988 ; Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock & Erbaugh, 1961). The indicator also gives information on changes in the severity of depression, so it is also a reliable aid when examining the effects of therapy (Beck et al., 1961 ).

The BDI-form was used to gather information in the middle of the course, both midways through it and at the end of it. The subjects were also given a form to fill out approximately two months after the group sessions had ended. In the initial measuring, Johanna's BDI score was 25. According to the BDI-indicator, her depression was relatively severe.

Assimilation analysis is a research methodological trend used for measuring the effects of psychotherapy. According to Stiles et al. ( 1990 , 1991 ), the client's troubling experiences assimilate into already existing knowledge structures in successful psychotherapy. In the course of the therapy, the client aims to give his/her experience new meanings and the experience integrates into a part of the client's schema structures. The assimilation model takes into account both emotional and cognitive change processes. To analyse the stages of assimilation, we can use the APES (Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale) developed by Stiles et al. ( 1990 , 1991 ). The stages of assimilation are demonstrated in Table II .

Summary of the stages of assimilation of problematic experiences scale (APES).

Assimilation can be examined as a continuum in which the assimilation of the problematic experience progresses with the progression of therapy. Assimilation progresses in stages and it is notable that the patient's assimilation process can be at any stage when the therapy begins (Stiles et al., 1990 , 1991 ). Assimilation does not progress rigidly and systematically; there can be regressions.

The closer the client is to understanding the problem, the more focal the problematic experience becomes in his/her consciousness (APES 4, Table I ). From this stage onward, the amount of conscious effort aimed at the problematic experience begins to decline. The neutral state of mind in the beginning of the assimilation process reflects a successful denial of the problem. As the client becomes increasingly aware of the problematic experience, the tone of the emotions becomes more negative. As the assimilation progresses, the anxiety will gradually lessen and the mood becomes more positive: the problem is understood and solved. When the problem is under control, emotions regarding it become neutral.

Data collection

The assimilation analysis can be carried out in many different ways (Stiles & Angus, 1999 ; Stiles & Osatuke, 2000 ). However, it is possible to separate four steps that one can follow to ease the process.

I Getting to know the data and listing

In this study, the basic data consisted of videotapes, consisting of approximately 30 h of footage. The analysis was begun by watching all the tapes through carefully (carried out by JK, the other author of this article). He noted the topics the subject addressed in the order they were discussed. The topics noted were attitudes or actions directed at a specific object. The topic could be, for instance, hopelessness in regards to writing the thesis and studying. The main purpose of this work stage is that the researcher acquaints himself with the data as much as possible.

II Recognizing and choosing the themes

The theme that will be examined can be a repeatedly expressed attitude or object (Stiles et al., 1991 ; Stiles & Osatuke, 2000 ). The research problem directs the choice of theme. The researcher can choose a theme that is (a) focal or important in the therapy, regarding which; (b) there has been remarkable progress, regarding which; (c) there has been little or no progress; or (d) some other interesting theme. It is best to describe the chosen theme's contents as clearly as possible, for example, by using certain key words.

In this study, the themes were chosen on the grounds that these topics seemed to emerge as focal and important for the subject. In this subject's case, her relationship with herself as a student was most prominent, because the subject brought this topic up constantly when she spoke up. The course dealt with many factors related to studying difficulties. Mainly because of that, the central themes, such as problematic experiences of the subject, were related to studying and difficulties therein.

III Separating parts related to the theme

At this stage, the parts of the material that deal with a certain theme or problematic experience are collected from the material (Stiles & Angus, 1999 ; Stiles & Osatuke, 2000 ). In practice, at this stage the footage was viewed again. By now, the material had already been quite well outlined since the subject's topics had been listed. At this stage, the subject's addresses were actually transcribed word for word.

IV Description of the assimilation process

At the final stage of the analysis, the assimilation is examined from a theoretical point of view. The examination is based on what happened to the problematic experience during therapy. In this study, the examination was performed by classifying the parts that dealt with the themes according to the theoretic stages of assimilation (APES).

Ethical considerations

Names and identification data were changed so that the person is not recognizable. The students were told that the sessions were videotaped for the purpose of the study and the data would be published in a scientific forum. After that, all information would be destroyed. The information was also given in the paper, and they signed on the dotted line.

We named Johanna's problematic experience as a difficult relationship with herself. In the beginning, this was unclear. Johanna's APES was 1/7: she preferred not to think about her problematic situation and her feelings were anxiety and anger. The connection between Johanna's feelings and the problematic experience was unclear. In the fourth session, the problematic experience was identified for the first time. In the seventh and eighth sessions, her understanding of her problematic experience increased. Her understanding fluctuated back and forth. At the end of the course, her attitude gradually became assimilated into her schemas: she found new perspectives on her academic problems. The connection between intervention and its results can be found by describing the therapy process and reporting the relevant utterances (McLeod, 2001 ). In the next section, we describe the process by showing some of Johanna's comments during different sessions (APES number shows the stage in assimilation model, Figure 1 ).

The results of APES analysis over the course of the 16 group sessions. The Y axis shows the stages in the assimilation model. The X axis shows the number of the sessions.

In the first session, Johanna expressed her hopelessness regarding her thesis. In her speech, there was also an emphasis on her sensitivity to criticism and to other people's advice. The connection between Johanna's feelings and the problematic experience was unclear (APES 1: unwanted thoughts):

Johanna: …I've been studying seven years or started these studies seven years ago. And the thesis I've been doing for a bit over a year [is] going nowhere. It's like that no one can say anything about it. I can't listen to any advice on it and the like. And no one close to me can say anything like now I'll get so down if I can't get it done. And then I really can't get it done.

In the second session, Johanna expressed that she was very critical of herself and of her progress in her studies (APES 1.5: unwanted thoughts and vague awareness):

Johanna: …Now I've totally been lazin' and stuff. Like I left my job last year so that I could work on that thesis. I haven't been working on it. I haven't been able. Then it becomes like kinda …that you can't like …like, you can't allow anything nice to yourself, you know. It's like I should be doin' it now that I got the time. Therapist: Let me clarify, you mean that when you feel you haven't done enough, then you can't like enjoy yourself or just do nothing.

During the third session, the group discussed the fact that it would be good to commend oneself every day for the things one has done. Johanna found it quite hard to give herself credit (APES 1.5: unwanted thoughts and vague awareness).

Therapist: How can you give credit? What could you tell yourself, for example, Johanna? Johanna: I dunno. Therapist: Try it. …Or think about it. Johanna: Well maybe like that you've been doin' stuff all day. That you haven't like ran outta steam in the middle. Therapist: Yeah. So you could say daily that you've done well.

In the fourth session, Johanna disclosed that she felt she lacked the self-discipline required to write the thesis. The problematic experience began to take shape (APES 2: vague awareness/emergence):

Therapist: Johanna, would you like to say something to this? Johanna: I dunno, I got like …that thesis; it's like mainly the self-discipline. …That I'd like have enough discipline to, like, take a hold of it. Cos sure I'd rather be somewhere else doin' somethin' fun.

The difficulty that Johanna experienced in giving herself credit came up again during the fourth session. She expressed the existence of a problematic experience quite directly (APES 3: problem statement/clarification):

Therapist: And Johanna, have you remembered (to give yourself credit)? Johanna: [Shakes her head] No. Therapist: You haven't? Johanna: It's somehow not. …It goes against my nature. I don't know how. …I can't. Therapist: That, that when you try, then you've done so much everyday stuff. Then you do a huge amount. It's like an employer not paying salary. So then … You get through so many, many difficult things.

In the seventh session, Johanna told the group that undone work dampened her spirits and paralyzed her from acting. Her understanding of the problematic experience was improved (APES 4: Understanding/insight):

Johanna: My last week was like, that I was sick on the weekend and early in the week … Therapist: When you got better, what was the biggest obstacle that you didn't touch those papers? Johanna: I dunno. Maybe it was a kinda feeling of incapability that just like took me with it. Therapist: Did you then have this feeling like everything's gone to waste or? Johanna: Yeah. Not when I was sick, then I just didn't have the energy. So that, I just let slide. But um then that … Then after it I'd just lost that whole week. It's like, it's gotta start with Monday or it won't start at all. I just got that feeling. Therapist: It's funny, that it's kinda like a sort of programming. But d'you think that this thought of everything going to waste paralyzed you? Johanna: Yeah, probably.

In the eighth session, Johanna groped for words as she tried to describe her new views on studying and writing her thesis that she had learned from the course. Here, Johanna's newly-found tolerance toward herself and her behaviour was apparent. Writing her thesis no longer seemed completely mandatory; instead, Johanna felt that she could do other things, even if she was not working on her thesis. She worked on her problematic experience further (APES 5: application/working through):

Johanna: …I got a lot of new views from others and stuff to think about. Therapist: Which new views did you get? Johanna: Well … The one about that um … you do little by little and then you can like rest. And like that when you don't give yourself permission to do. That it would be like important just so that you can stay in shape and then work again. Therapist: Wait, did I get this right, that when you something, you'd do it. But then on the other hand you'd give yourself permission to do other stuff and enjoy that too. Was that what you meant? Johanna: Wait a sec …I meant that like, if you're not doing the thesis, it's still okay to do something else.

In the ninth session, Johanna felt that giving herself positive feedback was quite difficult. She was, however, able to give herself some positive feedback, but negative thoughts and criticism took over her mind very easily. This depicted Johanna's severity on herself (APES 4.5: understanding and working through).

When the group had met ten times, Johanna had been able to become more active with her thesis. She still felt, however, that the more she focused on studying, the lower and the more desperate she felt. Criticism and severity could be heard in Johanna's speech (APES 3.5: problem statement and understanding).

In the eleventh session, Johanna said that she needed instruction on her thesis, but she was afraid of going to meet her instructor. Here, Johanna's feelings of hopelessness with her studies and her thesis became apparent. Alternatively, it seemed that she was ashamed that she had not achieved what she thought was enough (APES 4: understanding/insight):

Johanna: I'd really probably need like my own field's point of view at this stage and …I just somehow don't dare to go to the department. …I just don't dare go there. Therapist: What scares you? Johanna: I dunno. It just makes me feel like that, I'm a loser and I'm so totally lousy, and now it's been so long, and more time just keeps passing. It's like this endless circle … or kinda like, it's too late now.

Later in the same session, Johanna said that she felt she got support from the group. She worked on her experiences some more. The emotional tone was positive and optimistic (APES 5: application/working through):

Therapist: What do you hope from us (the group)? Johanna: Well, I hear all kinds of … well I hear stories here, survival stories. [Laughs.] Therapist: [Laughs.] This is a survivors' club. Johanna: Maybe that kinda gives hope, that maybe I'll be brave enough to go there [to the instructor], because now I've got it figured out what my next step is, that I should take to get forward.

In the twelfth session, Johanna reflected upon her determination to work on her thesis (APES 5: application/working through):

Therapist: …Now that you've been more active, what's helped you? Johanna: Well just that like you've decided once and for all that now you gotta do it. That I … well first of all, I went to see the professor right then, that week [Therapist: Yeah.] when we talked here. Therapist: Good, great. Yeah. And you didn't get eaten there. Johanna: Right. And now I have this like …or that kinda feeling that it's now or never. That otherwise it will just stay here, and I can't leave it now. It'd be even harder to start. Therapist: So does that mean that you've made yourself an action plan? Johanna: Well, a bit like that, yeah. That I don't have to have like a schedule [Therapist: On how you'll go on.] but just so that …. Johanna: Every day I should get something done. –

In the thirteenth session, Johanna brought up the fact that she could get studying done little by little. She had learned to have mercy on herself (APES 5.5: application/working through and problem solution):

Therapist: How about your studies this week? Johanna: Well. I studied stuff on Tuesday and Wednesday. Therapist: Great. Johanna: But then I've had these gap days. Therapist: Have you given yourself credit? Johanna: Well, I have tried or at least be happy even if I don't do a lot. Cos I get something …like reading stuff. Therapist: This sounds great. So what's your recipe now? Johanna: Like one day at a time. If it feels bad, then you can like …give it a rest, you know, and do something else.

In the fourteenth session, Johanna listed her short-term priorities. Her short-term aims reached the time-line of approximately six months. In addition to working on her thesis, Johanna mentioned recovering even further from her depression as a goal. In addition, the fact that Johanna was happier with herself was clear; this had increased during the group sessions (APES 5.5: application/working through and problem solution):

Therapist: How about Johanna? Johanna: Well I pretty much have the same things [as the others] that I've put down. I wanna have the thesis like up and running, so that it kinda takes care of itself or that like …I could see the end of it already. And that I'd move past the depression, that I'd be like rid of it already. I dunno. That I'd be happy with myself. Therapist: You have that too, to be happy with yourself. Johanna: Yeah. Or like, yeah. Therapist: Yeah. Do you feel that it's increased during this group, that being happier with yourself? Johanna: Yeah, probably.

The fifteenth and the sixteenth meetings of the course were held together as a single four-hour session. During this session, it came up that Johanna was less critical of herself. She said she could write her thesis gradually (APES 6: problem solution):

Therapist: What have you done lately when you said ‘I've done’? Johanna: And that um …I've been reading. Reading some of the stuff I got, some materials. And then I've just written straight to the computer. And that text doesn't matter at this stage that it's just like some text. Therapist: Yeah. Johanna: That I can like mould it later into what I want. That's just it, cos it's that starting up that's hard for me, that writing is kinda hard. I could really think about one sentence for half an hour. Then it's just gonna go nowhere. So I'll just write then, even if it's not perfect language yet. Therapist: It's probably good that you do it like that. Johanna: It's like I get something done. I get that kinda … Therapist: So is this a new method that you've developed, that you just write ahead? Johanna: Well, yeah. I think it kinda is. The whole time it just kinda gets more fluent and like um …the text [Therapist: Yeah.] and the like, the way it comes out. [Therapist: Yeah.] And It's probably the reading too that does it, the more familiar the thing is the easier it gets, of course and the easier it maybe is to write.

Johanna felt that her beliefs regarding her own actions had changed. She had found new perspective and relief for her problems from the group (APES 6: problem solution):

Therapist: But Johanna, is it kinda like, you've seen that these kinda things don't have to knock you down, that you've then changed your beliefs on your own actions? Johanna: Yeah. Or like. … That this [problems with the thesis and depression] isn't such a big monster anymore. Then when here you've had to and it's been okay to talk about it, then it's not. … It's like easier to take that thing. It's not so big anymore. That you can talk about it. You gotta bring it up once a week anyway, it gets smaller. I don't really know.

As the course went on Johanna was increasingly vocal about having mercy on herself and being happy with herself. She spoke about having received support from the group and was learning to commend herself. Little by little, she became less critical toward herself. She had more room in her inner world. Her tolerance toward herself had a positive impact on Johanna's ability as an actor. She began to work on her studies gradually and it also became easier for her to do other things besides studying.

Finding the ability to be merciful led, in Johanna's case, to increased determination and assertiveness regarding her studies. She wanted to finish her thesis and felt that the thesis was no longer “some monster.” In other words, Johanna got more motivation to continue her studies and to finish them. These new views formed another self-state in Johanna. Johanna's symptoms of depression eased and her ability to act improved.

In the initial measuring, Johanna's BDI score was 25. According to the BDI-indicator, her depression was relatively severe. Four months later, the score was 23 and two months after that, it was 19. At this point the course was finished. A follow-up measuring three months later showed the score was 12, which meant that Johanna was, according to the BDI-indicator, only mildly depressed. Johanna's BDI-score kept decreasing throughout the course, and also after it. She felt that her depression eased during the group meetings.

Johanna's problematic experience (APES) progressed as the meetings continued from level 1 (unpleasant thoughts) to level 6 (solving the problem) ( Figure 1 ). In the beginning, Johanna's problematic experience manifested itself as severe and excessive criticism toward herself and her study performance. The assimilation of Johanna's problematic experience was facilitated by learning different methods of depression control in the group.

Discussion and conclusions

During the course, Johanna directed her energy toward surviving depression, finishing the course and carrying out the assignments given in the group. If working helped in recovering from depression, we can assume that after the course, Johanna had even more resources to direct her actions at, for instance, her studies and particularly on writing her thesis.

Johanna expressed plenty of severe and excessive criticism aimed at herself during the course. According to Guidano's (1991) theory, “I” represents the experiencing and reacting side of the human mind and “self” represents the evaluating and observing side. In Johanna's case, “me” was very rigid and severe, even merciless. This side of her mind attributed that the lack of progress in her studies and other negative experiences were her own fault. Depressive, negative attribution style is a central method of self-regulation in depression (Beck, 1976 ; Beck, Rush, Shaw & Emery, 1979 ). In Johanna's case, the rigid and severe “me” produced negative, permanent inner attributes. These assessments were the source of the severity and harsh critique she directed at herself. By examining this according to Guidano's (1991) theory, Johanna became more lenient in the assessments “me” made of the actions of “I”. This was seen in Johanna's case as the depressive, negative attributions becoming less prevalent.

Of the schemata belonging to the loss or deprivation mode, the behavioural scheme, in particular, changed in Johanna's case during the course. Passiveness and withdrawal made way for her new determination and assertiveness toward her studies. The feelings of hopelessness seemed to go away, so the motivational scheme can also be said to have changed for the better. Alternatively, Johanna reported that her role as an actor regarding her studies remained rather passive throughout the course. The contents of the affective and physiological schemata also underwent a positive change. Johanna's melancholia eased and she gained strength to continue her studies.

The assimilation of Johanna's problematic experience was facilitated by her learning different methods of depression control in the group. Treatment aimed at depressed students would do well to teach structuring one's studies and methods of mood-control and life-control skills (Brackney & Karabenick, 1995 ; Lam et al., 2003 ). The approach of this course was specifically psycho-educative. Johanna felt that she had also received peer support from the group: she had heard how the other group members had managed to get their studies started.

One of the focal questions in this study was whether or not finishing the course helped in combating depression and studying difficulties. The results indicate that the subject's depressive symptoms eased and her role as a student became more active. In the group, mood-improving techniques were also taught. The depression-control skills taught were important.

When examining the change process, we can distinguish two kinds of change processes: superficial and deep changes (Guidano, 1991 ). The group members' troubling feelings were not discussed at great length in the group. This can be a sign that the achieved changes happened mainly on the superficial level of the psyche. Deep level change cannot take place without active work on the emotions related to the problematic experience (Greenberg, 2002 ; Greenberg & Paivio, 1997 ; Guidano, 1991 ). Thus, the achieved changes are not necessarily very permanent. In the follow-up meeting, the subject's BDI-score had continued to decline, although she was still, according to the BDI, mildly depressed.

In Johanna's case, the single most important factor that promoted change was sharing and examining the contents of the problematic experience with the therapist and the group. The group members took turns in examining their problematic experiences in the group and in this way, they supported each other. All members felt that peer support was important. The group leader taught mood-control skills that each group member exercised independently outside the group. Johanna reported that she had found learning how to schedule her time particularly useful.

Johanna's problematic experience became less restrictive through the course. This led to more lenience toward herself and more determination and assertiveness toward her studies.

The downside of working in a group was the fact that the attention of the therapist and of the whole group was divided among six people. At times, it seemed that none of the group members had the opportunity to express and work on their issues adequately in the session time frame. The therapist took an encouraging and supportive approach: he actively strove to pay attention to each group member and to include them all in the discussions. On several occasions, however, it seemed that the two-hour session was far too short a time for this group.

Some of the group members were receiving treatment elsewhere while they attended the course. Consequently, in this study we could not control, for instance, the effects of medication on the lessening of a person's depressive symptoms. In addition, some group members had a discussion contact with a mental health professional outside the group.

In assimilation analysis, determining the subject's APES stages was sometimes rather difficult. At this point, the summary of the stages of assimilation ( Table II ) was quite helpful. It was often so that a seemingly essential utterance by the subject was found, but determining the APES stage was difficult nonetheless. Eventually, seemingly correct stages were found for all excerpts. Finding the correct APES stages was aided by repeatedly reading the subject's utterance and assessing the excerpt according to the amount of cognitive processing and in light of the emotional content. However, the final text probably contains utterances that could have been rated otherwise. Thinking critically, the data achieved by assimilation analysis could be said to be, in all its detail, merely approximate and dependent on the researcher's interests. Alternatively, we should, of course, bear in mind that the APES stage given to a single utterance is not very significant in the scale of the entire change process.

In Johanna's case, the conceptualized problematic experience could have been, for instance, hopelessness regarding studying, and the effect of negative thoughts on studying or getting support from other people. In this case, the research problem directed the choice of themes. Furthermore, the problematic experiences had to be such that they could be conceptualized into suitable units.

The fact that the analysed data is mainly linguistic can be seen as a weakness of the assimilation analysis. This deficiency is a drawback with most qualitative research methods. The verbal descriptions of the subjects do not always accurately convey the relevant contents of the meanings or the emotions related to them. However, if the analysis is to be successful, it has to recognize the subtle nuances and feelings from the material. That is why we used videotapes: the chance to check the process in video deepens the researchers' understanding.

The very concept of a problematic experience can easily be challenged. In this study, the subject's problematic experiences were the themes that were discussed often and at length. However, other criteria could have been used to choose the problematic experience. The themes conceptualized as problematic experiences could also have been, for example, themes for which there was great progress or for which there was little or no progress at all. Alternatively, another interesting theme could have been chosen.

From an economical point of view, it must be mentioned that with a course such as this, a large number of people can be treated relatively quickly. Nowadays, there is pressure to treat depression as cost-effectively as possible (Bright at al., 1999). Group treatment is substantially less costly than individual treatment. The studied group had 16 gatherings, and sessions were two hours each. The group had six members from beginning to end. If they had each had an individual appointment 16 times, there would have been 96 meetings altogether.

One viewpoint is that coping with depression can be taught. One outlook could be introducing depression school as a part of general, basic health care, for instance at schools. The aim could be to teach mood-control skills to persons predisposed to depression, before they become ill. It would be reasonable for the sake of these people themselves, because it would save them from a great deal of human suffering. In addition, this practice would be sensible for society as well, because economically, it would be much less costly than long-term treatments and sick leaves. However, more research is needed to determine this.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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Successful Student Team Projects

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Team project assignments are a mainstay in the teaching of many disciplines but can be uneven experiences if not structured, sequenced, and supported well. Commonly reported problems include unfair distribution of work, poor planning, communication issues, lack of engagement, relationship conflicts. Other common problems include “social loafing” and “free riding” when an individual does little work themselves but benefits from the team’s overall efforts (Iacob & Faily 2019; Opatrny-Yazell & Houseworth, 2018).

There are some specific strategies, however, for preventing and responding to these issues to make team projects highly successful. The concepts underpinning these strategies are (1) mental model convergence, and (2) task work vs. team work.

We all create mental models of the world and teams perform better when their members share similar mental models about the team and its task (Stout, Cannon-Bowers, Salas, & Milanovich, 2009). Mental model convergence is the process through which we align our understandings of both our work and one-another, and we begin shifting from an individual perspective to that of a team member (McMahon, 2007). Therefore, the more often that teams can practice the iterative process of converging their mental models around any task, the more cohesive and productive those teams can become.

We create mental models not only about concepts and tasks–we also create them about team mates and relationships. An important distinction made in team literature is task work vs. team work (e.g., Guchait, Lei, & Tews, 2016). Task work consists of the functional activities of the team and team work describes the set of skills required to productively work with other people toward a common goal. These two skill sets are equally important, and a well-organized team project assignment can help your students learn both.

Organizing Successful Teams

Size: Teams should be no larger than necessary to succeed at the work of a team project. Motivation decreases and complications increase with larger teams (Gibbs, 2009). As team size increases, so does the work required to align mental models and the possibility that team work needs could overshadow task work. Teams of four or five students are commonly considered “right-sized.”

Composition: Avoid allowing students to choose their own teams. Students tend to choose those similar to themselves, which can lead to homogenous and underperforming teams, and pre-existing relationships can create cliques within teams (Sibley & Ostafichuk, 2014). Instead, strategically populate your teams by determining what characteristics would make it easier or more difficult for students to do the expected work, and distribute those characteristics as evenly as possible across teams (Sweet & Michaelsen, 2012). It is also important to ensure that students with marginalized identities are not the only one with that identity on their team (Macke, Canfield, Tapp & Hunn, 2019).

Duration: Early stages of team relationships are marked by social anxiety as members learn about each other and find their place in the team (e.g., Levi & Askay, 2020; Poole, 1983; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). These concerns diminish and productivity increases as shared experiences accumulate. Across time, relationships deepen and students move toward converging mental models of both the task at hand and the team itself (McComb, 2007). Therefore, project teams should be as permanent as you can make them.

Rotating Project Manager Role: Producing complex products in teams is so difficult that an entire workplace profession has arisen to support it: the profession of project management–which has a great deal to offer student project assignments (Hussein, 2021). A rotating project manager role in each team can provide the coordination and information that teams need to make progress toward the next deliverable. In addition to providing essential support for both task work and team work, a student’s time as project manager can be a rich experiential learning activity for them.

Launching Successful Teams

Orienting Students to Successful Teamwork: Giving students an orientation to successful team work can foster mental model convergence and team work skill development. What does good team work look like in your discipline? Drawing from your own experience as a team member, you can highlight the importance of things like attendance, responsibility, and commitment, along with suggesting processes for decision-making, conflict management, and meeting management, for example (Tombaugh & Mayfield, 2014). Drawing also on students’ own past team project experiences, concerns, anticipated challenges, and recommended strategies can make for a very relatable conversation for all (O’Connor & Yballe, 2007).

Practice Activity: Small scale practice or “launcher” activities provide students with a low stakes opportunity to collaborate before the project begins and begin the process of mental-model convergence without the pressure of grades or the complexity of the project (Holbrook & Kolodner, 2000). Engaging students in such activities can help teams get to know each other, establish norms, and try out their decision-making and collaboration skills. Practice activities are most effective when they conclude with prompts for students to reflect on their own contributions and those of others, what worked well, and what didn’t.

Templates for Organizing: Providing project documentation can scaffold students’ planning process, support mental model convergence, and serve as helpful tools for keeping the project on track (Hunsaker, Pavett, & Hunsaker, 2011). A Team Charter template, for example, provides space for students to document their ground rules and team processes (Hunsaker, Pavett, & Hunsaker, 2011). Team Charters are important: they are a place where the team can move toward mental model convergence around what they think good team work looks like for them. A Project Plan template can help students break the work down into smaller tasks, assign those tasks to individuals, and identify deadlines–helping to align mental models around task work.

Assessments Can Foster Mental Model Convergence

Two-Stage Quizzes can be powerful for learning course content and team building (Sibley & Ostafichuk, 2014; Zipp, 2007). These activities begin with students first taking a quiz or test over course content and turning it in. They then take the exact same quiz as a team, coming to consensus on their team answers and getting immediate feedback on their team performance. This second stage of discussion and immediate feedback is often extremely motivating and rewarding as students clarify their understandings and explain things to each other in their own words. This practice of mental model convergence builds cohesion within a team that can support teammate relationships across their other project work.

Team Work Peer Assessments not only ensure individual accountability but also provide students with critical information about what their teammates value from their contributions and how they might grow their teamwork skills. These assessments should occur at least once during the project work–not just at the end of the term–and often include prompts about what teammates “Appreciate” about and “Request” from each other (Sweet & Michaelsen, 2012). Free software platforms like TEAMMATES can make the process very efficient ( teammatesv4.appspot.com ).

Structuring the Project Assignment

Project Size and Complexity: One factor in team dynamics is the size and complexity of the project (Aggarwal & O’Brien, 2008). The scope and complexity of the project should be appropriate for the number of students on the team as well as their developmental level and project experience. Projects that are too easy or narrow could result in social loafing, while projects that are too difficult or broad can be overwhelming and frustrating.

Iterative Assignments and Feedback: Too often, students do not receive feedback or guidance until they have completed an assignment. Assignments like drafts or other forms of iteration—and feedback given between versions—enable students to learn from their mistakes and apply what they have learned to get back on track. This approach is associated with gains in student performance in multiple disciplines (Hattie, 2009). For maximum impact, feedback should serve as an interim step that guides students toward successfully completing and achieving the goals of the assignment (Ambrose, et. al., 2010). Feedback from multiple sources, including peers, instructors, and any external stakeholders is most valuable.

Both Individual and Team Grades: What you choose to grade sets students’ expectations, signals to them what is important, and thereby drives behaviors. While solely individual grades for team work may lead to accountability and perceptions of fairness, they may fail to promote collaboration (Opatrny-Yazell & Houseworth, 2018). Alternatively, team grades alone may provide cover for social loafers and lay the groundwork for conflict. Therefore, the ideal is to assess performance at both the team and individual levels. In addition to instructor-assigned grades, periodic self- and peer assessments should be included to focus attention on team processes as well as one’s own learning and contributions.

How These Practices Can Come Together

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A group of students of class X visited India Gate on an education trip. The teacher and students had interest in history as well. The teacher narrated that India Gate, official name Delhi Memorial, originally called All-India War Memorial, monumental sandstone arch in New Delhi, dedicated to the troops of British India who died in wars fought between 1914 and 1919. The teacher also said that India Gate, which is located at the eastern end of the Rajpath (formerly called the Kingsway), is about 138 feet (42 metres) in height. What is the angle of elevation if they are standing at a distance of 42m away from the monument? They want to see the tower at an angle of 60 . So, they want to know the distance where they should stand and hence find the distance. If the altitude of the Sun is at 60 , then the height of the vertical tower that will cast a shadow of length 20 m is The ratio of the length of a rod and its shadow is 1:1 .The angle of elevation of the Sun is

To find the angle of elevation, tan θ = h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r d i s tan c e f r o m t h e t o w e r = 42 42 = 1 √ 3 = 42 d i s tan c e d i s tan c e = 42 √ 3 d i s tan c e = 24 . 64 m θ = tan − 1 ( 1 ) = 45 ° to find the distance, tan 60 ° = h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r d i s tan c e = 42 d i s tan c e √ 3 = 42 d i s tan c e d i s tan c e = 42 √ 3 d i s tan c e = 24 . 64 m to find the height of the verticle tower, tan 60 ° = h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r d i s tan c e √ 3 = h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r 20 h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r = 20 √ 3 to find the angle of elevation of the sun, tan θ = h e i g h t o f t h e t o w e r d i s tan c e f r o m t h e t o w e r = 1 1 ( sin c e t h e r a t i o s a r e i n 1 : 1 ) θ = tan − 1 ( 1 ) = 45 °.

Two persons are standing on the opposite sides of a tower. They observe the angles of elevation of the top of the tower to be 30 ∘ and 38 ∘ respectively. Find the distance between them, if the height of the tower is 50 m. [ tan 38 ∘ = 0.7813 ] [2 MARKS]

A Robot-assisted real case-handling approach to improving students’ learning performances in vocational training

• Published: 14 May 2024

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• Chun-Chun Chang 1 &
• Gwo-Jen Hwang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5155-276X 2 , 3  

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In vocational education, cultivating students’ ability to deal with real cases is a crucial training objective. The BSFE (i.e., Brainstorming, Screening, Formation, Examination) model is a commonly adopted training procedure. Each stage is designed for guiding students to analyze and find solutions to handle real cases. However, as one teacher is generally responsible for several dozen students, it becomes challenging for the teacher to adequately address each student’s questions and individual needs. Therefore, this study proposed the robot teaching assistant-supported learning (RTAL) mode following the BSFE model to cope with this problem. This investigation assessed its efficacy through an experiment within an Acute Asthma Attack curriculum. The research involved 103 nursing students in their third year from two distinct classes at a vocational university. Fifty-three students from a class constituted the experimental group that implemented the RTAL approach, whereas the other class, comprising 50 students, was the control group utilizing the standard technology-supported learning (CTL) approach. Findings indicated that the experimental group surpassed the control group in various aspects, including learning outcomes, learning attitudes, problem-solving tedencies, critical thinking awareness, acceptance of technology, and satisfaction with the learning experience. The interview findings also revealed that the RTAL mode could cater to individualized learning needs, facilitate interaction, and serve as an auxiliary instructional tool.

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This study is supported in part by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan under contract numbers NSTC 112-2410-H-011-012-MY3 and MOST 111-2410-H-011 -007 -MY3. The study is also supported by the “Empower Vocational Education Research Center” of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) from the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

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Chang, CC., Hwang, GJ. A Robot-assisted real case-handling approach to improving students’ learning performances in vocational training. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12778-w

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Generation Z – also known as Gen Z, iGen or postmillennial – are a highly collaborative cohort that cares deeply about others and have a pragmatic attitude about how to address a set of inherited issues like climate change, according to research by Roberta Katz, a senior research scholar at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) .

Roberta Katz (Image credit: Charles Katz)

Since 2017, Katz, along with her co-authors, Sarah Ogilvie, a linguist at the University of Oxford and formerly at Stanford; Jane Shaw, a historian who is the principal of Harris Manchester College at Oxford and was previously dean for Religious Life at Stanford; and Linda Woodhead, a sociologist at King’s College London, collaborated as part of a multi-year CASBS research project to better understand a generation who, born between the mid-1990s to around 2010, grew up with digital tools always at their fingertips.

Their findings are based on some 120 interviews gathered on three college campuses – Stanford University; Foothill College, a community college in Los Altos Hills, California; and Lancaster University, a research university in Lancaster, England. A set of focus groups and two surveys in the U.S. and the U.K. were administered to a representative sample of over 2,000 adults aged between 18 and 25 years old.

Contributing further to the scholar’s understanding of Gen Z was the creation of the “ iGen corpus ,” a 70 million item digital repository of spoken and written language of people aged 16 to 25 years that included transcripts from the researchers’ interviews and focus groups, as well as public data from the social media platforms Twitter, Reddit, Twitch, 4chan and YouTube, as well as memes and copypastas from Facebook and Instagram. Ogilvie, the principal investigator on the corpus research team, along with a team of Stanford student research assistants, applied machine learning algorithms to discover the many ways in which young people today express themselves.

Taken together, the scholars’ research offers a snapshot of who Gen Zers really are, what matters to them and why. Findings from Katz’s and her co-authors’ research are detailed in a new book, Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age (University of Chicago Press, 2021).

Here, Katz discusses some of what she and her colleagues learned from their extensive research into how Gen Zers, the most diverse generation yet , experience and understand the world.

Based on your research, can you briefly describe the typical Gen Zer?

In summary, a typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and non-hierarchical leadership, and, while dismayed about inherited issues like climate change, has a pragmatic attitude about the work that has to be done to address those issues.

How has growing up in an internet-connected society shaped how Gen Zers see and experience the world and everyday life?

Internet-related technologies have dramatically changed the speed, scale and scope of human communications, resulting in significant changes in how people work, play, shop, find friends and learn about other people. For Gen Zers living in the United States and Britain (the two places we studied), the “norm” they experienced as children was a world that operated at speed, scale and scope. They developed an early facility with powerful digital tools that allowed them to be self-reliant as well as collaborative. Similarly, because they could learn about people and cultures around the globe from an early age, they developed a greater appreciation for diversity and the importance of finding their own unique identities.

What do people most misunderstand or get wrong about Gen Zers?

For quite a while, people were critical of what they saw as a generation that was too coddled and “soft.” Gen Zers were called “snowflakes” and “unwilling to grow up.” But much of that negative judgment came from a misunderstanding of what it is like to grow up in today’s world when compared with how their elders grew up. As an example, Gen Zers have been criticized as lazy because they don’t have after-school or summer jobs. But many Gen Zers have been earning significant dollars online through a variety of activities, even including product placements on fashion-advice sites. Another example concerns drivers’ licenses: older people, for whom getting a driver’s license was a rite of passage toward adulthood, have criticized Gen Zers who do not rush to take their driver’s tests when they turn 16, but this criticism fails to consider that Gen Zers have no need to drive when they have ready access to ride services like Uber and Lyft.

Do you think Gen Zers get an undeserved bad rap?

Yes, but that is changing. Of late, many people are beginning to appreciate the strength and pragmatism of Gen Zers.

What were you most surprised to learn about Gen Zers?

Our biggest surprise came in response to this interview question: “What type of communication do you like best?” We expected the interviewees to respond with their favorite type of digital communication – e.g., text, email, chat group, DM, FaceTime, Skype, etc. – but instead nearly every single person said their favorite form of communication was “in person.”

As Gen Zers enter the workforce, what would be helpful for other generations to know about their post-millennial colleagues?

For those who are now experiencing Gen Zers in the workplace, my advice is to recognize that these new colleagues are used to working collaboratively and flexibly, with an eye to being efficient in getting the job done. They are pragmatic and value direct communication, authenticity and relevance. They also value self-care. They may be more likely than older people were when they were the age of the Gen Zers to question rules and authority because they are so used to finding what they need on their own. They are not always right; often they don’t know what they need, especially in a new setting, and this is where inter-generational dialogue can be so helpful. Both the older and the younger colleagues can learn from the other, in each case by listening with more respect, appreciation and trust. The older colleague can learn some helpful new ways of getting a job done, while the younger colleague may learn good reasons for why things have long been done in a certain way. Without that dialogue, we’ll have a wasteful tug of war between the past and the future. The goal is for older and younger generations to work together, with openness and trust, to ensure that the wisdom – but not what has become the excess baggage – of the past is not lost to the future.

How has studying Gen Zers changed your own interactions with this generation?

I came to understand that Gen Zers are, on the whole, much better adapted to life in a digital age than those of us who are older and that they can be very frustrated by what appear to them to be outdated and often irrelevant ways of doing things. As one simple example that we cite in the book, an older person would likely assume that any organization needs a set of officers, for that has been the norm in their experience, but a Gen Zer would say, from their lived experience, that there is no need to elect officers (or other leaders) if the group can accomplish its mission through online collaborations that take advantage of the participants’ diverse skills.

In my own interactions with Gen Zers, I am much more likely than I used to be to listen closely to what they say, and to refrain from making a judgment about their ideas, values and behaviors based on an assumption that they are wrong and I am right. They often do things differently, have some different values and have some different ideas about the future than I do, and I have come to appreciate and trust that they often have a new and better approach. Many of us who are older have a different understanding of how the world works, which is rooted in our own early experiences, so it’s easy for us to assume that the world will continue to operate in much the same way going forward and that the young people need to adapt to that older way of living. But the younger people are necessarily future-oriented, and as we all are increasingly coming to appreciate, the digital-age future is quite different from the industrial-age past.

For 13 years, Katz served under Stanford University Presidents John Hennessy and Marc Tessier-Lavigne as the associate vice president for strategic planning. She also served as President Tessier-Lavigne’s interim chief of staff until early 2017. Katz has been deeply involved in the facilitation of a variety of interdisciplinary research initiatives at Stanford, and she is a current member of the CASBS board of directors.

This research was funded by the Knight Foundation.

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Virtual coaching, self-directed learning, and the implementation of evidence-based practices: a single qualitative case study.

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Christine Saba

virtual coaching, self-directed learning, evidence-based practices, self-determination theory, sustained implementation

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Myers, Elisabeth, "Virtual Coaching, Self-Directed Learning, and the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices: A Single Qualitative Case Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5543. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5543

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to understand how a virtual coaching program provides opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices for adults at Navigator Coaching. The theory guiding this study was Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory as conceptualizations of self-directed learning described in the literature mirror descriptions of self-determination. The central research question was: How does a virtual coaching program provide opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices? As a single instrumental case, the setting for this study was one virtual life-coaching program in North America. The sample of participants included 12 adults who were currently enrolled in the program for a minimum of 6 months and participated in weekly program activities. Multiple data collection methods were employed to describe and understand the case: observations, audiovisual materials, and individual interviews. Interpretational analysis and a multistep data analysis process including direct interpretation, categorical aggregation, correspondence tables, and interpretive commentaries were utilized to develop the themes and overall synthesis of the case. Opportunities for self-directed learning were provided in weekly live sessions, modules in the program library, and in the Facebook group. Program members utilized instructional opportunities to satisfy their need for autonomy, thus becoming students of self. Participation in a purposeful community that was focused on solutions provided opportunities for program members to satisfy competence and relatedness needs. Program members implemented evidence-based practices and developed skills to create weekly learning plans, which assisted them in becoming agents of their highest selves.

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Developing a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): a mixed method modified e-Delphi study

• Jocelyn Schroeder 1 ,
• Barbara Pesut 1 , 2 ,
• Lise Olsen 2 ,
• Nelly D. Oelke 2 &
• Helen Sharp 2  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  326 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016. Canada’s legislation is the first to permit Nurse Practitioners (NP) to serve as independent MAiD assessors and providers. Registered Nurses’ (RN) also have important roles in MAiD that include MAiD care coordination; client and family teaching and support, MAiD procedural quality; healthcare provider and public education; and bereavement care for family. Nurses have a right under the law to conscientious objection to participating in MAiD. Therefore, it is essential to prepare nurses in their entry-level education for the practice implications and moral complexities inherent in this practice. Knowing what nursing students think about MAiD is a critical first step. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in MAiD in the Canadian context.

The design was a mixed-method, modified e-Delphi method that entailed item generation from the literature, item refinement through a 2 round survey of an expert faculty panel, and item validation through a cognitive focus group interview with nursing students. The settings were a University located in an urban area and a College located in a rural area in Western Canada.

During phase 1, a 56-item survey was developed from existing literature that included demographic items and items designed to measure experience with death and dying (including MAiD), education and preparation, attitudes and beliefs, influences on those beliefs, and anticipated future involvement. During phase 2, an expert faculty panel reviewed, modified, and prioritized the items yielding 51 items. During phase 3, a sample of nursing students further evaluated and modified the language in the survey to aid readability and comprehension. The final survey consists of 45 items including 4 case studies.

Systematic evaluation of knowledge-to-date coupled with stakeholder perspectives supports robust survey design. This study yielded a survey to assess nursing students’ attitudes toward MAiD in a Canadian context.

The survey is appropriate for use in education and research to measure knowledge and attitudes about MAiD among nurse trainees and can be a helpful step in preparing nursing students for entry-level practice.

Peer Review reports

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is permitted under an amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code which was passed in 2016 [ 1 ]. MAiD is defined in the legislation as both self-administered and clinician-administered medication for the purpose of causing death. In the 2016 Bill C-14 legislation one of the eligibility criteria was that an applicant for MAiD must have a reasonably foreseeable natural death although this term was not defined. It was left to the clinical judgement of MAiD assessors and providers to determine the time frame that constitutes reasonably foreseeable [ 2 ]. However, in 2021 under Bill C-7, the eligibility criteria for MAiD were changed to allow individuals with irreversible medical conditions, declining health, and suffering, but whose natural death was not reasonably foreseeable, to receive MAiD [ 3 ]. This population of MAiD applicants are referred to as Track 2 MAiD (those whose natural death is foreseeable are referred to as Track 1). Track 2 applicants are subject to additional safeguards under the 2021 C-7 legislation.

Three additional proposed changes to the legislation have been extensively studied by Canadian Expert Panels (Council of Canadian Academics [CCA]) [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] First, under the legislation that defines Track 2, individuals with mental disease as their sole underlying medical condition may apply for MAiD, but implementation of this practice is embargoed until March 2027 [ 4 ]. Second, there is consideration of allowing MAiD to be implemented through advanced consent. This would make it possible for persons living with dementia to receive MAID after they have lost the capacity to consent to the procedure [ 5 ]. Third, there is consideration of extending MAiD to mature minors. A mature minor is defined as “a person under the age of majority…and who has the capacity to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision” ([ 6 ] p. 5). In summary, since the legalization of MAiD in 2016 the eligibility criteria and safeguards have evolved significantly with consequent implications for nurses and nursing care. Further, the number of Canadians who access MAiD shows steady increases since 2016 [ 7 ] and it is expected that these increases will continue in the foreseeable future.

Nurses have been integral to MAiD care in the Canadian context. While other countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands also permit euthanasia, Canada is the first country to allow Nurse Practitioners (Registered Nurses with additional preparation typically achieved at the graduate level) to act independently as assessors and providers of MAiD [ 1 ]. Although the role of Registered Nurses (RNs) in MAiD is not defined in federal legislation, it has been addressed at the provincial/territorial-level with variability in scope of practice by region [ 8 , 9 ]. For example, there are differences with respect to the obligation of the nurse to provide information to patients about MAiD, and to the degree that nurses are expected to ensure that patient eligibility criteria and safeguards are met prior to their participation [ 10 ]. Studies conducted in the Canadian context indicate that RNs perform essential roles in MAiD care coordination; client and family teaching and support; MAiD procedural quality; healthcare provider and public education; and bereavement care for family [ 9 , 11 ]. Nurse practitioners and RNs are integral to a robust MAiD care system in Canada and hence need to be well-prepared for their role [ 12 ].

Previous studies have found that end of life care, and MAiD specifically, raise complex moral and ethical issues for nurses [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of nurses are important across practice settings because nurses have consistent, ongoing, and direct contact with patients who experience chronic or life-limiting health conditions. Canadian studies exploring nurses’ moral and ethical decision-making in relation to MAiD reveal that although some nurses are clear in their support for, or opposition to, MAiD, others are unclear on what they believe to be good and right [ 14 ]. Empirical findings suggest that nurses go through a period of moral sense-making that is often informed by their family, peers, and initial experiences with MAID [ 17 , 18 ]. Canadian legislation and policy specifies that nurses are not required to participate in MAiD and may recuse themselves as conscientious objectors with appropriate steps to ensure ongoing and safe care of patients [ 1 , 19 ]. However, with so many nurses having to reflect on and make sense of their moral position, it is essential that they are given adequate time and preparation to make an informed and thoughtful decision before they participate in a MAID death [ 20 , 21 ].

It is well established that nursing students receive inconsistent exposure to end of life care issues [ 22 ] and little or no training related to MAiD [ 23 ]. Without such education and reflection time in pre-entry nursing preparation, nurses are at significant risk for moral harm. An important first step in providing this preparation is to be able to assess the knowledge, values, and beliefs of nursing students regarding MAID and end of life care. As demand for MAiD increases along with the complexities of MAiD, it is critical to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and likelihood of engagement with MAiD among nursing students as a baseline upon which to build curriculum and as a means to track these variables over time.

Aim, design, and setting

The aim of this study was to develop a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in MAiD in the Canadian context. We sought to explore both their willingness to be involved in the registered nursing role and in the nurse practitioner role should they chose to prepare themselves to that level of education. The design was a mixed-method, modified e-Delphi method that entailed item generation, item refinement through an expert faculty panel [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], and initial item validation through a cognitive focus group interview with nursing students [ 27 ]. The settings were a University located in an urban area and a College located in a rural area in Western Canada.

Participants

A panel of 10 faculty from the two nursing education programs were recruited for Phase 2 of the e-Delphi. To be included, faculty were required to have a minimum of three years of experience in nurse education, be employed as nursing faculty, and self-identify as having experience with MAiD. A convenience sample of 5 fourth-year nursing students were recruited to participate in Phase 3. Students had to be in good standing in the nursing program and be willing to share their experiences of the survey in an online group interview format.

The modified e-Delphi was conducted in 3 phases: Phase 1 entailed item generation through literature and existing survey review. Phase 2 entailed item refinement through a faculty expert panel review with focus on content validity, prioritization, and revision of item wording [ 25 ]. Phase 3 entailed an assessment of face validity through focus group-based cognitive interview with nursing students.

Phase I. Item generation through literature review

The goal of phase 1 was to develop a bank of survey items that would represent the variables of interest and which could be provided to expert faculty in Phase 2. Initial survey items were generated through a literature review of similar surveys designed to assess knowledge and attitudes toward MAiD/euthanasia in healthcare providers; Canadian empirical studies on nurses’ roles and/or experiences with MAiD; and legislative and expert panel documents that outlined proposed changes to the legislative eligibility criteria and safeguards. The literature review was conducted in three online databases: CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Medline. Key words for the search included nurses , nursing students , medical students , NPs, MAiD , euthanasia , assisted death , and end-of-life care . Only articles written in English were reviewed. The legalization and legislation of MAiD is new in many countries; therefore, studies that were greater than twenty years old were excluded, no further exclusion criteria set for country.

Items from surveys designed to measure similar variables in other health care providers and geographic contexts were placed in a table and similar items were collated and revised into a single item. Then key variables were identified from the empirical literature on nurses and MAiD in Canada and checked against the items derived from the surveys to ensure that each of the key variables were represented. For example, conscientious objection has figured prominently in the Canadian literature, but there were few items that assessed knowledge of conscientious objection in other surveys and so items were added [ 15 , 21 , 28 , 29 ]. Finally, four case studies were added to the survey to address the anticipated changes to the Canadian legislation. The case studies were based upon the inclusion of mature minors, advanced consent, and mental disorder as the sole underlying medical condition. The intention was to assess nurses’ beliefs and comfort with these potential legislative changes.

Phase 2. Item refinement through expert panel review

The goal of phase 2 was to refine and prioritize the proposed survey items identified in phase 1 using a modified e-Delphi approach to achieve consensus among an expert panel [ 26 ]. Items from phase 1 were presented to an expert faculty panel using a Qualtrics (Provo, UT) online survey. Panel members were asked to review each item to determine if it should be: included, excluded or adapted for the survey. When adapted was selected faculty experts were asked to provide rationale and suggestions for adaptation through the use of an open text box. Items that reached a level of 75% consensus for either inclusion or adaptation were retained [ 25 , 26 ]. New items were categorized and added, and a revised survey was presented to the panel of experts in round 2. Panel members were again asked to review items, including new items, to determine if it should be: included, excluded, or adapted for the survey. Round 2 of the modified e-Delphi approach also included an item prioritization activity, where participants were then asked to rate the importance of each item, based on a 5-point Likert scale (low to high importance), which De Vaus [ 30 ] states is helpful for increasing the reliability of responses. Items that reached a 75% consensus on inclusion were then considered in relation to the importance it was given by the expert panel. Quantitative data were managed using SPSS (IBM Corp).

Phase 3. Face validity through cognitive interviews with nursing students

The goal of phase 3 was to obtain initial face validity of the proposed survey using a sample of nursing student informants. More specifically, student participants were asked to discuss how items were interpreted, to identify confusing wording or other problematic construction of items, and to provide feedback about the survey as a whole including readability and organization [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. The focus group was held online and audio recorded. A semi-structured interview guide was developed for this study that focused on clarity, meaning, order and wording of questions; emotions evoked by the questions; and overall survey cohesion and length was used to obtain data (see Supplementary Material 2  for the interview guide). A prompt to “think aloud” was used to limit interviewer-imposed bias and encourage participants to describe their thoughts and response to a given item as they reviewed survey items [ 27 ]. Where needed, verbal probes such as “could you expand on that” were used to encourage participants to expand on their responses [ 27 ]. Student participants’ feedback was collated verbatim and presented to the research team where potential survey modifications were negotiated and finalized among team members. Conventional content analysis [ 34 ] of focus group data was conducted to identify key themes that emerged through discussion with students. Themes were derived from the data by grouping common responses and then using those common responses to modify survey items.

Ten nursing faculty participated in the expert panel. Eight of the 10 faculty self-identified as female. No faculty panel members reported conscientious objector status and ninety percent reported general agreement with MAiD with one respondent who indicated their view as “unsure.” Six of the 10 faculty experts had 16 years of experience or more working as a nurse educator.

Five nursing students participated in the cognitive interview focus group. The duration of the focus group was 2.5 h. All participants identified that they were born in Canada, self-identified as female (one preferred not to say) and reported having received some instruction about MAiD as part of their nursing curriculum. See Tables  1 and 2 for the demographic descriptors of the study sample. Study results will be reported in accordance with the study phases. See Fig.  1 for an overview of the results from each phase.

Fig. 1  Overview of survey development findings

Phase 1: survey item generation

Review of the literature identified that no existing survey was available for use with nursing students in the Canadian context. However, an analysis of themes across qualitative and quantitative studies of physicians, medical students, nurses, and nursing students provided sufficient data to develop a preliminary set of items suitable for adaptation to a population of nursing students.

Four major themes and factors that influence knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about MAiD were evident from the literature: (i) endogenous or individual factors such as age, gender, personally held values, religion, religiosity, and/or spirituality [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], (ii) experience with death and dying in personal and/or professional life [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], (iii) training including curricular instruction about clinical role, scope of practice, or the law [ 23 , 36 , 39 ], and (iv) exogenous or social factors such as the influence of key leaders, colleagues, friends and/or family, professional and licensure organizations, support within professional settings, and/or engagement in MAiD in an interdisciplinary team context [ 9 , 35 , 46 ].

Studies of nursing students also suggest overlap across these categories. For example, value for patient autonomy [ 23 ] and the moral complexity of decision-making [ 37 ] are important factors that contribute to attitudes about MAiD and may stem from a blend of personally held values coupled with curricular content, professional training and norms, and clinical exposure. For example, students report that participation in end of life care allows for personal growth, shifts in perception, and opportunities to build therapeutic relationships with their clients [ 44 , 47 , 48 ].

Preliminary items generated from the literature resulted in 56 questions from 11 published sources (See Table  3 ). These items were constructed across four main categories: (i) socio-demographic questions; (ii) end of life care questions; (iii) knowledge about MAiD; or (iv) comfort and willingness to participate in MAiD. Knowledge questions were refined to reflect current MAiD legislation, policies, and regulatory frameworks. Falconer [ 39 ] and Freeman [ 45 ] studies were foundational sources for item selection. Additionally, four case studies were written to reflect the most recent anticipated changes to MAiD legislation and all used the same open-ended core questions to address respondents’ perspectives about the patient’s right to make the decision, comfort in assisting a physician or NP to administer MAiD in that scenario, and hypothesized comfort about serving as a primary provider if qualified as an NP in future. Response options for the survey were also constructed during this stage and included: open text, categorical, yes/no , and Likert scales.

Phase 2: faculty expert panel review

Of the 56 items presented to the faculty panel, 54 questions reached 75% consensus. However, based upon the qualitative responses 9 items were removed largely because they were felt to be repetitive. Items that generated the most controversy were related to measuring religion and spirituality in the Canadian context, defining end of life care when there is no agreed upon time frames (e.g., last days, months, or years), and predicting willingness to be involved in a future events – thus predicting their future selves. Phase 2, round 1 resulted in an initial set of 47 items which were then presented back to the faculty panel in round 2.

Of the 47 initial questions presented to the panel in round 2, 45 reached a level of consensus of 75% or greater, and 34 of these questions reached a level of 100% consensus [ 27 ] of which all participants chose to include without any adaptations) For each question, level of importance was determined based on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very unimportant, 2 = somewhat unimportant, 3 = neutral, 4 = somewhat important, and 5 = very important). Figure  2 provides an overview of the level of importance assigned to each item.

Ranking level of importance for survey items

After round 2, a careful analysis of participant comments and level of importance was completed by the research team. While the main method of survey item development came from participants’ response to the first round of Delphi consensus ratings, level of importance was used to assist in the decision of whether to keep or modify questions that created controversy, or that rated lower in the include/exclude/adapt portion of the Delphi. Survey items that rated low in level of importance included questions about future roles, sex and gender, and religion/spirituality. After deliberation by the research committee, these questions were retained in the survey based upon the importance of these variables in the scientific literature.

Of the 47 questions remaining from Phase 2, round 2, four were revised. In addition, the two questions that did not meet the 75% cut off level for consensus were reviewed by the research team. The first question reviewed was What is your comfort level with providing a MAiD death in the future if you were a qualified NP ? Based on a review of participant comments, it was decided to retain this question for the cognitive interviews with students in the final phase of testing. The second question asked about impacts on respondents’ views of MAiD and was changed from one item with 4 subcategories into 4 separate items, resulting in a final total of 51 items for phase 3. The revised survey was then brought forward to the cognitive interviews with student participants in Phase 3. (see Supplementary Material 1 for a complete description of item modification during round 2).

Phase 3. Outcomes of cognitive interview focus group

Of the 51 items reviewed by student participants, 29 were identified as clear with little or no discussion. Participant comments for the remaining 22 questions were noted and verified against the audio recording. Following content analysis of the comments, four key themes emerged through the student discussion: unclear or ambiguous wording; difficult to answer questions; need for additional response options; and emotional response evoked by questions. An example of unclear or ambiguous wording was a request for clarity in the use of the word “sufficient” in the context of assessing an item that read “My nursing education has provided sufficient content about the nursing role in MAiD.” “Sufficient” was viewed as subjective and “laden with…complexity that distracted me from the question.” The group recommended rewording the item to read “My nursing education has provided enough content for me to care for a patient considering or requesting MAiD.”

An example of having difficulty answering questions related to limited knowledge related to terms used in the legislation such as such as safeguards , mature minor , eligibility criteria , and conscientious objection. Students were unclear about what these words meant relative to the legislation and indicated that this lack of clarity would hamper appropriate responses to the survey. To ensure that respondents are able to answer relevant questions, student participants recommended that the final survey include explanation of key terms such as mature minor and conscientious objection and an overview of current legislation.

Response options were also a point of discussion. Participants noted a lack of distinction between response options of unsure and unable to say . Additionally, scaling of attitudes was noted as important since perspectives about MAiD are dynamic and not dichotomous “agree or disagree” responses. Although the faculty expert panel recommended the integration of the demographic variables of religious and/or spiritual remain as a single item, the student group stated a preference to have religion and spirituality appear as separate items. The student focus group also took issue with separate items for the variables of sex and gender, specifically that non-binary respondents might feel othered or “outed” particularly when asked to identify their sex. These variables had been created based upon best practices in health research but students did not feel they were appropriate in this context [ 49 ]. Finally, students agreed with the faculty expert panel in terms of the complexity of projecting their future involvement as a Nurse Practitioner. One participant stated: “I certainly had to like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Now let me finish this degree first, please.” Another stated, “I'm still imagining myself, my future career as an RN.”

Finally, student participants acknowledged the array of emotions that some of the items produced for them. For example, one student described positive feelings when interacting with the survey. “Brought me a little bit of feeling of joy. Like it reminded me that this is the last piece of independence that people grab on to.” Another participant, described the freedom that the idea of an advance request gave her. “The advance request gives the most comfort for me, just with early onset Alzheimer’s and knowing what it can do.” But other participants described less positive feelings. For example, the mature minor case study yielded a comment: “This whole scenario just made my heart hurt with the idea of a child requesting that.”

Based on the data gathered from the cognitive interview focus group of nursing students, revisions were made to 11 closed-ended questions (see Table  4 ) and 3 items were excluded. In the four case studies, the open-ended question related to a respondents’ hypothesized actions in a future role as NP were removed. The final survey consists of 45 items including 4 case studies (see Supplementary Material 3 ).

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a survey that can be used to track the growth of knowledge about MAiD among nursing students over time, inform training programs about curricular needs, and evaluate attitudes and willingness to participate in MAiD at time-points during training or across nursing programs over time.

The faculty expert panel and student participants in the cognitive interview focus group identified a need to establish core knowledge of the terminology and legislative rules related to MAiD. For example, within the cognitive interview group of student participants, several acknowledged lack of clear understanding of specific terms such as “conscientious objector” and “safeguards.” Participants acknowledged discomfort with the uncertainty of not knowing and their inclination to look up these terms to assist with answering the questions. This survey can be administered to nursing or pre-nursing students at any phase of their training within a program or across training programs. However, in doing so it is important to acknowledge that their baseline knowledge of MAiD will vary. A response option of “not sure” is important and provides a means for respondents to convey uncertainty. If this survey is used to inform curricular needs, respondents should be given explicit instructions not to conduct online searches to inform their responses, but rather to provide an honest appraisal of their current knowledge and these instructions are included in the survey (see Supplementary Material 3 ).

Some provincial regulatory bodies have established core competencies for entry-level nurses that include MAiD. For example, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) requires “knowledge about ethical, legal, and regulatory implications of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) when providing nursing care.” (10 p. 6) However, across Canada curricular content and coverage related to end of life care and MAiD is variable [ 23 ]. Given the dynamic nature of the legislation that includes portions of the law that are embargoed until 2024, it is important to ensure that respondents are guided by current and accurate information. As the law changes, nursing curricula, and public attitudes continue to evolve, inclusion of core knowledge and content is essential and relevant for investigators to be able to interpret the portions of the survey focused on attitudes and beliefs about MAiD. Content knowledge portions of the survey may need to be modified over time as legislation and training change and to meet the specific purposes of the investigator.

Given the sensitive nature of the topic, it is strongly recommended that surveys be conducted anonymously and that students be provided with an opportunity to discuss their responses to the survey. A majority of feedback from both the expert panel of faculty and from student participants related to the wording and inclusion of demographic variables, in particular religion, religiosity, gender identity, and sex assigned at birth. These and other demographic variables have the potential to be highly identifying in small samples. In any instance in which the survey could be expected to yield demographic group sizes less than 5, users should eliminate the demographic variables from the survey. For example, the profession of nursing is highly dominated by females with over 90% of nurses who identify as female [ 50 ]. Thus, a survey within a single class of students or even across classes in a single institution is likely to yield a small number of male respondents and/or respondents who report a difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity. When variables that serve to identify respondents are included, respondents are less likely to complete or submit the survey, to obscure their responses so as not to be identifiable, or to be influenced by social desirability bias in their responses rather than to convey their attitudes accurately [ 51 ]. Further, small samples do not allow for conclusive analyses or interpretation of apparent group differences. Although these variables are often included in surveys, such demographics should be included only when anonymity can be sustained. In small and/or known samples, highly identifying variables should be omitted.

There are several limitations associated with the development of this survey. The expert panel was comprised of faculty who teach nursing students and are knowledgeable about MAiD and curricular content, however none identified as a conscientious objector to MAiD. Ideally, our expert panel would have included one or more conscientious objectors to MAiD to provide a broader perspective. Review by practitioners who participate in MAiD, those who are neutral or undecided, and practitioners who are conscientious objectors would ensure broad applicability of the survey. This study included one student cognitive interview focus group with 5 self-selected participants. All student participants had held discussions about end of life care with at least one patient, 4 of 5 participants had worked with a patient who requested MAiD, and one had been present for a MAiD death. It is not clear that these participants are representative of nursing students demographically or by experience with end of life care. It is possible that the students who elected to participate hold perspectives and reflections on patient care and MAiD that differ from students with little or no exposure to end of life care and/or MAiD. However, previous studies find that most nursing students have been involved with end of life care including meaningful discussions about patients’ preferences and care needs during their education [ 40 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 52 ]. Data collection with additional student focus groups with students early in their training and drawn from other training contexts would contribute to further validation of survey items.

Future studies should incorporate pilot testing with small sample of nursing students followed by a larger cross-program sample to allow evaluation of the psychometric properties of specific items and further refinement of the survey tool. Consistent with literature about the importance of leadership in the context of MAiD [ 12 , 53 , 54 ], a study of faculty knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward MAiD would provide context for understanding student perspectives within and across programs. Additional research is also needed to understand the timing and content coverage of MAiD across Canadian nurse training programs’ curricula.

The implementation of MAiD is complex and requires understanding of the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Within the field of nursing this includes clinical providers, educators, and students who will deliver clinical care. A survey to assess nursing students’ attitudes toward and willingness to participate in MAiD in the Canadian context is timely, due to the legislation enacted in 2016 and subsequent modifications to the law in 2021 with portions of the law to be enacted in 2027. Further development of this survey could be undertaken to allow for use in settings with practicing nurses or to allow longitudinal follow up with students as they enter practice. As the Canadian landscape changes, ongoing assessment of the perspectives and needs of health professionals and students in the health professions is needed to inform policy makers, leaders in practice, curricular needs, and to monitor changes in attitudes and practice patterns over time.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to small sample sizes, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives

Medical assistance in dying

Nurse practitioner

Registered nurse

University of British Columbia Okanagan

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the faculty and students who generously contributed their time to this work.

JS received a student traineeship through the Principal Research Chairs program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

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School of Health and Human Services, Selkirk College, Castlegar, BC, Canada

Jocelyn Schroeder & Barbara Pesut

School of Nursing, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada

Barbara Pesut, Lise Olsen, Nelly D. Oelke & Helen Sharp

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JS made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and drafting and substantively revising the work. JS has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. BP made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and drafting and substantively revising the work. BP has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. LO made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and substantively revising the work. LO has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. NDO made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and substantively revising the work. NDO has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. HS made substantial contributions to drafting and substantively revising the work. HS has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature.

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JS conducted this study as part of their graduate requirements in the School of Nursing, University of British Columbia Okanagan.

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Correspondence to Barbara Pesut .

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The research was approved by the Selkirk College Research Ethics Board (REB) ID # 2021–011 and the University of British Columbia Behavioral Research Ethics Board ID # H21-01181.

All participants provided written and informed consent through approved consent processes. Research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Schroeder, J., Pesut, B., Olsen, L. et al. Developing a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): a mixed method modified e-Delphi study. BMC Nurs 23 , 326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01984-z

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Received : 24 October 2023

Accepted : 28 April 2024

Published : 14 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01984-z

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