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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Case Study in Education Research

Introduction, general overview and foundational texts of the late 20th century.

• Conceptualisations and Definitions of Case Study
• Case Study and Theoretical Grounding
• Choosing Cases
• Methodology, Method, Genre, or Approach
• Case Study: Quality and Generalizability
• Multiple Case Studies
• Exemplary Case Studies and Example Case Studies
• Criticism, Defense, and Debate around Case Study

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Case Study in Education Research by Lorna Hamilton LAST REVIEWED: 27 June 2018 LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2018 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0201

It is important to distinguish between case study as a teaching methodology and case study as an approach, genre, or method in educational research. The use of case study as teaching method highlights the ways in which the essential qualities of the case—richness of real-world data and lived experiences—can help learners gain insights into a different world and can bring learning to life. The use of case study in this way has been around for about a hundred years or more. Case study use in educational research, meanwhile, emerged particularly strongly in the 1970s and 1980s in the United Kingdom and the United States as a means of harnessing the richness and depth of understanding of individuals, groups, and institutions; their beliefs and perceptions; their interactions; and their challenges and issues. Writers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, advocated the use of case study as a form that teacher-researchers could use as they focused on the richness and intensity of their own practices. In addition, academic writers and postgraduate students embraced case study as a means of providing structure and depth to educational projects. However, as educational research has developed, so has debate on the quality and usefulness of case study as well as the problems surrounding the lack of generalizability when dealing with single or even multiple cases. The question of how to define and support case study work has formed the basis for innumerable books and discursive articles, starting with Robert Yin’s original book on case study ( Yin 1984 , cited under General Overview and Foundational Texts of the Late 20th Century ) to the myriad authors who attempt to bring something new to the realm of case study in educational research in the 21st century.

This section briefly considers the ways in which case study research has developed over the last forty to fifty years in educational research usage and reflects on whether the field has finally come of age, respected by creators and consumers of research. Case study has its roots in anthropological studies in which a strong ethnographic approach to the study of peoples and culture encouraged researchers to identify and investigate key individuals and groups by trying to understand the lived world of such people from their points of view. Although ethnography has emphasized the role of researcher as immersive and engaged with the lived world of participants via participant observation, evolving approaches to case study in education has been about the richness and depth of understanding that can be gained through involvement in the case by drawing on diverse perspectives and diverse forms of data collection. Embracing case study as a means of entering these lived worlds in educational research projects, was encouraged in the 1970s and 1980s by researchers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, who provided a helpful impetus for case study work in education ( Stenhouse 1980 ). Stenhouse wrestled with the use of case study as ethnography because ethnographers traditionally had been unfamiliar with the peoples they were investigating, whereas educational researchers often worked in situations that were inherently familiar. Stenhouse also emphasized the need for evidence of rigorous processes and decisions in order to encourage robust practice and accountability to the wider field by allowing others to judge the quality of work through transparency of processes. Yin 1984 , the first book focused wholly on case study in research, gave a brief and basic outline of case study and associated practices. Various authors followed this approach, striving to engage more deeply in the significance of case study in the social sciences. Key among these are Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 , along with Yin 1984 , who established powerful groundings for case study work. Additionally, evidence of the increasing popularity of case study can be found in a broad range of generic research methods texts, but these often do not have much scope for the extensive discussion of case study found in case study–specific books. Yin’s books and numerous editions provide a developing or evolving notion of case study with more detailed accounts of the possible purposes of case study, followed by Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 who wrestled with alternative ways of looking at purposes and the positioning of case study within potential disciplinary modes. The authors referenced in this section are often characterized as the foundational authors on this subject and may have published various editions of their work, cited elsewhere in this article, based on their shifting ideas or emphases.

Merriam, S. B. 1988. Case study research in education: A qualitative approach . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This is Merriam’s initial text on case study and is eminently accessible. The author establishes and reinforces various key features of case study; demonstrates support for positioning the case within a subject domain, e.g., psychology, sociology, etc.; and further shapes the case according to its purpose or intent.

Stake, R. E. 1995. The art of case study research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Stake is a very readable author, accessible and yet engaging with complex topics. The author establishes his key forms of case study: intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Stake brings the reader through the process of conceptualizing the case, carrying it out, and analyzing the data. The author uses authentic examples to help readers understand and appreciate the nuances of an interpretive approach to case study.

Stenhouse, L. 1980. The study of samples and the study of cases. British Educational Research Journal 6:1–6.

DOI: 10.1080/0141192800060101

A key article in which Stenhouse sets out his stand on case study work. Those interested in the evolution of case study use in educational research should consider this article and the insights given.

Yin, R. K. 1984. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . Beverley Hills, CA: SAGE.

This preliminary text from Yin was very basic. However, it may be of interest in comparison with later books because Yin shows the ways in which case study as an approach or method in research has evolved in relation to detailed discussions of purpose, as well as the practicalities of working through the research process.

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Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains †

Associated data.

• Appendix 1: Example assessment questions used to assess the effectiveness of case studies at promoting learning
• Appendix 2: Student learning gains were assessed using a modified version of the SALG course evaluation tool

Following years of widespread use in business and medical education, the case study teaching method is becoming an increasingly common teaching strategy in science education. However, the current body of research provides limited evidence that the use of published case studies effectively promotes the fulfillment of specific learning objectives integral to many biology courses. This study tested the hypothesis that case studies are more effective than classroom discussions and textbook reading at promoting learning of key biological concepts, development of written and oral communication skills, and comprehension of the relevance of biological concepts to everyday life. This study also tested the hypothesis that case studies produced by the instructor of a course are more effective at promoting learning than those produced by unaffiliated instructors. Additionally, performance on quantitative learning assessments and student perceptions of learning gains were analyzed to determine whether reported perceptions of learning gains accurately reflect academic performance. The results reported here suggest that case studies, regardless of the source, are significantly more effective than other methods of content delivery at increasing performance on examination questions related to chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication. This finding was positively correlated to increased student perceptions of learning gains associated with oral and written communication skills and the ability to recognize connections between biological concepts and other aspects of life. Based on these findings, case studies should be considered as a preferred method for teaching about a variety of concepts in science courses.

INTRODUCTION

The case study teaching method is a highly adaptable style of teaching that involves problem-based learning and promotes the development of analytical skills ( 8 ). By presenting content in the format of a narrative accompanied by questions and activities that promote group discussion and solving of complex problems, case studies facilitate development of the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning; moving beyond recall of knowledge to analysis, evaluation, and application ( 1 , 9 ). Similarly, case studies facilitate interdisciplinary learning and can be used to highlight connections between specific academic topics and real-world societal issues and applications ( 3 , 9 ). This has been reported to increase student motivation to participate in class activities, which promotes learning and increases performance on assessments ( 7 , 16 , 19 , 23 ). For these reasons, case-based teaching has been widely used in business and medical education for many years ( 4 , 11 , 12 , 14 ). Although case studies were considered a novel method of science education just 20 years ago, the case study teaching method has gained popularity in recent years among an array of scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, nursing, and psychology ( 5 – 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , 15 – 17 , 21 , 22 , 24 ).

Although there is now a substantive and growing body of literature describing how to develop and use case studies in science teaching, current research on the effectiveness of case study teaching at meeting specific learning objectives is of limited scope and depth. Studies have shown that working in groups during completion of case studies significantly improves student perceptions of learning and may increase performance on assessment questions, and that the use of clickers can increase student engagement in case study activities, particularly among non-science majors, women, and freshmen ( 7 , 21 , 22 ). Case study teaching has been shown to improve exam performance in an anatomy and physiology course, increasing the mean score across all exams given in a two-semester sequence from 66% to 73% ( 5 ). Use of case studies was also shown to improve students’ ability to synthesize complex analytical questions about the real-world issues associated with a scientific topic ( 6 ). In a high school chemistry course, it was demonstrated that the case study teaching method produces significant increases in self-reported control of learning, task value, and self-efficacy for learning and performance ( 24 ). This effect on student motivation is important because enhanced motivation for learning activities has been shown to promote student engagement and academic performance ( 19 , 24 ). Additionally, faculty from a number of institutions have reported that using case studies promotes critical thinking, learning, and participation among students, especially in terms of the ability to view an issue from multiple perspectives and to grasp the practical application of core course concepts ( 23 ).

Despite what is known about the effectiveness of case studies in science education, questions remain about the functionality of the case study teaching method at promoting specific learning objectives that are important to many undergraduate biology courses. A recent survey of teachers who use case studies found that the topics most often covered in general biology courses included genetics and heredity, cell structure, cells and energy, chemistry of life, and cell cycle and cancer, suggesting that these topics should be of particular interest in studies that examine the effectiveness of the case study teaching method ( 8 ). However, the existing body of literature lacks direct evidence that the case study method is an effective tool for teaching about this collection of important topics in biology courses. Further, the extent to which case study teaching promotes development of science communication skills and the ability to understand the connections between biological concepts and everyday life has not been examined, yet these are core learning objectives shared by a variety of science courses. Although many instructors have produced case studies for use in their own classrooms, the production of novel case studies is time-consuming and requires skills that not all instructors have perfected. It is therefore important to determine whether case studies published by instructors who are unaffiliated with a particular course can be used effectively and obviate the need for each instructor to develop new case studies for their own courses. The results reported herein indicate that teaching with case studies results in significantly higher performance on examination questions about chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication than that achieved by class discussions and textbook reading for topics of similar complexity. Case studies also increased overall student perceptions of learning gains and perceptions of learning gains specifically related to written and oral communication skills and the ability to grasp connections between scientific topics and their real-world applications. The effectiveness of the case study teaching method at increasing academic performance was not correlated to whether the case study used was authored by the instructor of the course or by an unaffiliated instructor. These findings support increased use of published case studies in the teaching of a variety of biological concepts and learning objectives.

Student population

This study was conducted at Kingsborough Community College, which is part of the City University of New York system, located in Brooklyn, New York. Kingsborough Community College has a diverse population of approximately 19,000 undergraduate students. The student population included in this study was enrolled in the first semester of a two-semester sequence of general (introductory) biology for biology majors during the spring, winter, or summer semester of 2014. A total of 63 students completed the course during this time period; 56 students consented to the inclusion of their data in the study. Of the students included in the study, 23 (41%) were male and 33 (59%) were female; 40 (71%) were registered as college freshmen and 16 (29%) were registered as college sophomores. To normalize participant groups, the same student population pooled from three classes taught by the same instructor was used to assess both experimental and control teaching methods.

Course material

The four biological concepts assessed during this study (chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication) were selected as topics for studying the effectiveness of case study teaching because they were the key concepts addressed by this particular course that were most likely to be taught in a number of other courses, including biology courses for both majors and nonmajors at outside institutions. At the start of this study, relevant existing case studies were freely available from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) to address mitosis and meiosis and DNA structure and replication, but published case studies that appropriately addressed chemical bonds and osmosis and diffusion were not available. Therefore, original case studies that addressed the latter two topics were produced as part of this study, and case studies produced by unaffiliated instructors and published by the NCCSTS were used to address the former two topics. By the conclusion of this study, all four case studies had been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication by the NCCSTS ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ ). Four of the remaining core topics covered in this course (macromolecules, photosynthesis, genetic inheritance, and translation) were selected as control lessons to provide control assessment data.

To minimize extraneous variation, control topics and assessments were carefully matched in complexity, format, and number with case studies, and an equal amount of class time was allocated for each case study and the corresponding control lesson. Instruction related to control lessons was delivered using minimal slide-based lectures, with emphasis on textbook reading assignments accompanied by worksheets completed by students in and out of the classroom, and small and large group discussion of key points. Completion of activities and discussion related to all case studies and control topics that were analyzed was conducted in the classroom, with the exception of the take-home portion of the osmosis and diffusion case study.

Data collection and analysis

This study was performed in accordance with a protocol approved by the Kingsborough Community College Human Research Protection Program and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the City University of New York (CUNY IRB reference 539938-1; KCC IRB application #: KCC 13-12-126-0138). Assessment scores were collected from regularly scheduled course examinations. For each case study, control questions were included on the same examination that were similar in number, format, point value, and difficulty level, but related to a different topic covered in the course that was of similar complexity. Complexity and difficulty of both case study and control questions were evaluated using experiential data from previous iterations of the course; the Bloom’s taxonomy designation and amount of material covered by each question, as well as the average score on similar questions achieved by students in previous iterations of the course was considered in determining appropriate controls. All assessment questions were scored using a standardized, pre-determined rubric. Student perceptions of learning gains were assessed using a modified version of the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) course evaluation tool ( http://www.salgsite.org ), distributed in hardcopy and completed anonymously during the last week of the course. Students were presented with a consent form to opt-in to having their data included in the data analysis. After the course had concluded and final course grades had been posted, data from consenting students were pooled in a database and identifying information was removed prior to analysis. Statistical analysis of data was conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and calculation of the R 2 coefficient of determination.

Teaching with case studies improves performance on learning assessments, independent of case study origin

To evaluate the effectiveness of the case study teaching method at promoting learning, student performance on examination questions related to material covered by case studies was compared with performance on questions that covered material addressed through classroom discussions and textbook reading. The latter questions served as control items; assessment items for each case study were compared with control items that were of similar format, difficulty, and point value ( Appendix 1 ). Each of the four case studies resulted in an increase in examination performance compared with control questions that was statistically significant, with an average difference of 18% ( Fig. 1 ). The mean score on case study-related questions was 73% for the chemical bonds case study, 79% for osmosis and diffusion, 76% for mitosis and meiosis, and 70% for DNA structure and replication ( Fig. 1 ). The mean score for non-case study-related control questions was 60%, 54%, 60%, and 52%, respectively ( Fig. 1 ). In terms of examination performance, no significant difference between case studies produced by the instructor of the course (chemical bonds and osmosis and diffusion) and those produced by unaffiliated instructors (mitosis and meiosis and DNA structure and replication) was indicated by the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. However, the 25% difference between the mean score on questions related to the osmosis and diffusion case study and the mean score on the paired control questions was notably higher than the 13–18% differences observed for the other case studies ( Fig. 1 ).

Case study teaching method increases student performance on examination questions. Mean score on a set of examination questions related to lessons covered by case studies (black bars) and paired control questions of similar format and difficulty about an unrelated topic (white bars). Chemical bonds, n = 54; Osmosis and diffusion, n = 54; Mitosis and meiosis, n = 51; DNA structure and replication, n = 50. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean (SEM). Asterisk indicates p < 0.05.

Case study teaching increases student perception of learning gains related to core course objectives

Student learning gains were assessed using a modified version of the SALG course evaluation tool ( Appendix 2 ). To determine whether completing case studies was more effective at increasing student perceptions of learning gains than completing textbook readings or participating in class discussions, perceptions of student learning gains for each were compared. In response to the question “Overall, how much did each of the following aspects of the class help your learning?” 82% of students responded that case studies helped a “good” or “great” amount, compared with 70% for participating in class discussions and 58% for completing textbook reading; only 4% of students responded that case studies helped a “small amount” or “provided no help,” compared with 2% for class discussions and 22% for textbook reading ( Fig. 2A ). The differences in reported learning gains derived from the use of case studies compared with class discussion and textbook readings were statistically significant, while the difference in learning gains associated with class discussion compared with textbook reading was not statistically significant by a narrow margin ( p = 0.051).

The case study teaching method increases student perceptions of learning gains. Student perceptions of learning gains are indicated by plotting responses to the question “How much did each of the following activities: (A) Help your learning overall? (B) Improve your ability to communicate your knowledge of scientific concepts in writing? (C) Improve your ability to communicate your knowledge of scientific concepts orally? (D) Help you understand the connections between scientific concepts and other aspects of your everyday life?” Reponses are represented as follows: Helped a great amount (black bars); Helped a good amount (dark gray bars); Helped a moderate amount (medium gray bars); Helped a small amount (light gray bars); Provided no help (white bars). Asterisk indicates p < 0.05.

To elucidate the effectiveness of case studies at promoting learning gains related to specific course learning objectives compared with class discussions and textbook reading, students were asked how much each of these methods of content delivery specifically helped improve skills that were integral to fulfilling three main course objectives. When students were asked how much each of the methods helped “improve your ability to communicate knowledge of scientific concepts in writing,” 81% of students responded that case studies help a “good” or “great” amount, compared with 63% for class discussions and 59% for textbook reading; only 6% of students responded that case studies helped a “small amount” or “provided no help,” compared with 8% for class discussions and 21% for textbook reading ( Fig. 2B ). When the same question was posed about the ability to communicate orally, 81% of students responded that case studies help a “good” or “great” amount, compared with 68% for class discussions and 50% for textbook reading, while the respective response rates for helped a “small amount” or “provided no help,” were 4%, 6%, and 25% ( Fig. 2C ). The differences in learning gains associated with both written and oral communication were statistically significant when completion of case studies was compared with either participation in class discussion or completion of textbook readings. Compared with textbook reading, class discussions led to a statistically significant increase in oral but not written communication skills.

Students were then asked how much each of the methods helped them “understand the connections between scientific concepts and other aspects of your everyday life.” A total of 79% of respondents declared that case studies help a “good” or “great” amount, compared with 70% for class discussions and 57% for textbook reading ( Fig. 2D ). Only 4% stated that case studies and class discussions helped a “small amount” or “provided no help,” compared with 21% for textbook reading ( Fig. 2D ). Similar to overall learning gains, the use of case studies significantly increased the ability to understand the relevance of science to everyday life compared with class discussion and textbook readings, while the difference in learning gains associated with participation in class discussion compared with textbook reading was not statistically significant ( p = 0.054).

Student perceptions of learning gains resulting from case study teaching are positively correlated to increased performance on examinations, but independent of case study author

To test the hypothesis that case studies produced specifically for this course by the instructor were more effective at promoting learning gains than topically relevant case studies published by authors not associated with this course, perceptions of learning gains were compared for each of the case studies. For both of the case studies produced by the instructor of the course, 87% of students indicated that the case study provided a “good” or “great” amount of help to their learning, and 2% indicated that the case studies provided “little” or “no” help ( Table 1 ). In comparison, an average of 85% of students indicated that the case studies produced by an unaffiliated instructor provided a “good” or “great” amount of help to their learning, and 4% indicated that the case studies provided “little” or “no” help ( Table 1 ). The instructor-produced case studies yielded both the highest and lowest percentage of students reporting the highest level of learning gains (a “great” amount), while case studies produced by unaffiliated instructors yielded intermediate values. Therefore, it can be concluded that the effectiveness of case studies at promoting learning gains is not significantly affected by whether or not the course instructor authored the case study.

Case studies positively affect student perceptions of learning gains about various biological topics.

Finally, to determine whether performance on examination questions accurately predicts student perceptions of learning gains, mean scores on examination questions related to case studies were compared with reported perceptions of learning gains for those case studies ( Fig. 3 ). The coefficient of determination (R 2 value) was 0.81, indicating a strong, but not definitive, positive correlation between perceptions of learning gains and performance on examinations, suggesting that student perception of learning gains is a valid tool for assessing the effectiveness of case studies ( Fig. 3 ). This correlation was independent of case study author.

Perception of learning gains but not author of case study is positively correlated to score on related examination questions. Percentage of students reporting that each specific case study provided “a great amount of help” to their learning was plotted against the point difference between mean score on examination questions related to that case study and mean score on paired control questions. Positive point differences indicate how much higher the mean scores on case study-related questions were than the mean scores on paired control questions. Black squares represent case studies produced by the instructor of the course; white squares represent case studies produced by unaffiliated instructors. R 2 value indicates the coefficient of determination.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that teaching with case studies produced by the instructor of a course is more effective at promoting learning gains than using case studies produced by unaffiliated instructors. This study also tested the hypothesis that the case study teaching method is more effective than class discussions and textbook reading at promoting learning gains associated with four of the most commonly taught topics in undergraduate general biology courses: chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication. In addition to assessing content-based learning gains, development of written and oral communication skills and the ability to connect scientific topics with real-world applications was also assessed, because these skills were overarching learning objectives of this course, and classroom activities related to both case studies and control lessons were designed to provide opportunities for students to develop these skills. Finally, data were analyzed to determine whether performance on examination questions is positively correlated to student perceptions of learning gains resulting from case study teaching.

Compared with equivalent control questions about topics of similar complexity taught using class discussions and textbook readings, all four case studies produced statistically significant increases in the mean score on examination questions ( Fig. 1 ). This indicates that case studies are more effective than more commonly used, traditional methods of content delivery at promoting learning of a variety of core concepts covered in general biology courses. The average increase in score on each test item was equivalent to nearly two letter grades, which is substantial enough to elevate the average student performance on test items from the unsatisfactory/failing range to the satisfactory/passing range. The finding that there was no statistical difference between case studies in terms of performance on examination questions suggests that case studies are equally effective at promoting learning of disparate topics in biology. The observations that students did not perform significantly less well on the first case study presented (chemical bonds) compared with the other case studies and that performance on examination questions did not progressively increase with each successive case study suggests that the effectiveness of case studies is not directly related to the amount of experience students have using case studies. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence from previous semesters of this course suggests that, of the four topics addressed by cases in this study, DNA structure and function and osmosis and diffusion are the first and second most difficult for students to grasp. The lack of a statistical difference between case studies therefore suggests that the effectiveness of a case study at promoting learning gains is not directly proportional to the difficulty of the concept covered. However, the finding that use of the osmosis and diffusion case study resulted in the greatest increase in examination performance compared with control questions and also produced the highest student perceptions of learning gains is noteworthy and could be attributed to the fact that it was the only case study evaluated that included a hands-on experiment. Because the inclusion of a hands-on kinetic activity may synergistically enhance student engagement and learning and result in an even greater increase in learning gains than case studies that lack this type of activity, it is recommended that case studies that incorporate this type of activity be preferentially utilized.

Student perceptions of learning gains are strongly motivating factors for engagement in the classroom and academic performance, so it is important to assess the effect of any teaching method in this context ( 19 , 24 ). A modified version of the SALG course evaluation tool was used to assess student perceptions of learning gains because it has been previously validated as an efficacious tool ( Appendix 2 ) ( 20 ). Using the SALG tool, case study teaching was demonstrated to significantly increase student perceptions of overall learning gains compared with class discussions and textbook reading ( Fig. 2A ). Case studies were shown to be particularly useful for promoting perceived development of written and oral communication skills and for demonstrating connections between scientific topics and real-world issues and applications ( Figs. 2B–2D ). Further, student perceptions of “great” learning gains positively correlated with increased performance on examination questions, indicating that assessment of learning gains using the SALG tool is both valid and useful in this course setting ( Fig. 3 ). These findings also suggest that case study teaching could be used to increase student motivation and engagement in classroom activities and thus promote learning and performance on assessments. The finding that textbook reading yielded the lowest student perceptions of learning gains was not unexpected, since reading facilitates passive learning while the class discussions and case studies were both designed to promote active learning.

Importantly, there was no statistical difference in student performance on examinations attributed to the two case studies produced by the instructor of the course compared with the two case studies produced by unaffiliated instructors. The average difference between the two instructor-produced case studies and the two case studies published by unaffiliated instructors was only 3% in terms of both the average score on examination questions (76% compared with 73%) and the average increase in score compared with paired control items (14% compared with 17%) ( Fig. 1 ). Even when considering the inherent qualitative differences of course grades, these differences are negligible. Similarly, the effectiveness of case studies at promoting learning gains was not significantly affected by the origin of the case study, as evidenced by similar percentages of students reporting “good” and “great” learning gains regardless of whether the case study was produced by the course instructor or an unaffiliated instructor ( Table 1 ).

The observation that case studies published by unaffiliated instructors are just as effective as those produced by the instructor of a course suggests that instructors can reasonably rely on the use of pre-published case studies relevant to their class rather than investing the considerable time and effort required to produce a novel case study. Case studies covering a wide range of topics in the sciences are available from a number of sources, and many of them are free access. The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) database ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ ) contains over 500 case studies that are freely available to instructors, and are accompanied by teaching notes that provide logistical advice and additional resources for implementing the case study, as well as a set of assessment questions with a password-protected answer key. Case study repositories are also maintained by BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium ( http://www.bioquest.org/icbl/cases.php ) and the Science Case Network ( http://sciencecasenet.org ); both are available for use by instructors from outside institutions.

It should be noted that all case studies used in this study were rigorously peer-reviewed and accepted for publication by the NCCSTS prior to the completion of this study ( 2 , 10 , 18 , 25 ); the conclusions of this study may not apply to case studies that were not developed in accordance with similar standards. Because case study teaching involves skills such as creative writing and management of dynamic group discussion in a way that is not commonly integrated into many other teaching methods, it is recommended that novice case study teachers seek training or guidance before writing their first case study or implementing the method. The lack of a difference observed in the use of case studies from different sources should be interpreted with some degree of caution since only two sources were represented in this study, and each by only two cases. Furthermore, in an educational setting, quantitative differences in test scores might produce meaningful qualitative differences in course grades even in the absence of a p value that is statistically significant. For example, there is a meaningful qualitative difference between test scores that result in an average grade of C− and test scores that result in an average grade of C+, even if there is no statistically significant difference between the two sets of scores.

In the future, it could be informative to confirm these findings using a larger cohort, by repeating the study at different institutions with different instructors, by evaluating different case studies, and by directly comparing the effectiveness of the case studying teaching method with additional forms of instruction, such as traditional chalkboard and slide-based lecturing, and laboratory-based activities. It may also be informative to examine whether demographic factors such as student age and gender modulate the effectiveness of the case study teaching method, and whether case studies work equally well for non-science majors taking a science course compared with those majoring in the subject. Since the topical material used in this study is often included in other classes in both high school and undergraduate education, such as cell biology, genetics, and chemistry, the conclusions of this study are directly applicable to a broad range of courses. Presently, it is recommended that the use of case studies in teaching undergraduate general biology and other science courses be expanded, especially for the teaching of capacious issues with real-world applications and in classes where development of written and oral communication skills are key objectives. The use of case studies that involve hands-on activities should be emphasized to maximize the benefit of this teaching method. Importantly, instructors can be confident in the use of pre-published case studies to promote learning, as there is no indication that the effectiveness of the case study teaching method is reliant on the production of novel, customized case studies for each course.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Acknowledgments.

This article benefitted from a President’s Faculty Innovation Grant, Kingsborough Community College. The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

† Supplemental materials available at http://jmbe.asm.org

A Case for Case Study Research in Education

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• Kit Grauer  

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This chapter makes the case that case study research is making a comeback in educational research because it allows researchers a broad range of methodological tools to suit the needs of answering questions of “how” and “why” within a particular real-world context. As Stake (1995) suggests, case study is often a preferred method of research because case studies may be epistemologically in harmony with the reader’s experience and thus to that person a natural basis for generalization.

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Grauer, K. (2012). A Case for Case Study Research in Education. In: Klein, S.R. (eds) Action Research Methods. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137046635_4

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Using Case Studies to Teach

Why Use Cases?

Many students are more inductive than deductive reasoners, which means that they learn better from examples than from logical development starting with basic principles. The use of case studies can therefore be a very effective classroom technique.

Case studies are have long been used in business schools, law schools, medical schools and the social sciences, but they can be used in any discipline when instructors want students to explore how what they have learned applies to real world situations. Cases come in many formats, from a simple “What would you do in this situation?” question to a detailed description of a situation with accompanying data to analyze. Whether to use a simple scenario-type case or a complex detailed one depends on your course objectives.

Most case assignments require students to answer an open-ended question or develop a solution to an open-ended problem with multiple potential solutions. Requirements can range from a one-paragraph answer to a fully developed group action plan, proposal or decision.

Common Case Elements

Most “full-blown” cases have these common elements:

• A decision-maker who is grappling with some question or problem that needs to be solved.
• A description of the problem’s context (a law, an industry, a family).
• Supporting data, which can range from data tables to links to URLs, quoted statements or testimony, supporting documents, images, video, or audio.

Case assignments can be done individually or in teams so that the students can brainstorm solutions and share the work load.

The following discussion of this topic incorporates material presented by Robb Dixon of the School of Management and Rob Schadt of the School of Public Health at CEIT workshops. Professor Dixon also provided some written comments that the discussion incorporates.

Advantages to the use of case studies in class

A major advantage of teaching with case studies is that the students are actively engaged in figuring out the principles by abstracting from the examples. This develops their skills in:

• Problem solving
• Analytical tools, quantitative and/or qualitative, depending on the case
• Decision making in complex situations
• Coping with ambiguities

Guidelines for using case studies in class

In the most straightforward application, the presentation of the case study establishes a framework for analysis. It is helpful if the statement of the case provides enough information for the students to figure out solutions and then to identify how to apply those solutions in other similar situations. Instructors may choose to use several cases so that students can identify both the similarities and differences among the cases.

Depending on the course objectives, the instructor may encourage students to follow a systematic approach to their analysis.  For example:

• What is the issue?
• What is the goal of the analysis?
• What is the context of the problem?
• What key facts should be considered?
• What alternatives are available to the decision-maker?
• What would you recommend — and why?

An innovative approach to case analysis might be to have students  role-play the part of the people involved in the case. This not only actively engages students, but forces them to really understand the perspectives of the case characters. Videos or even field trips showing the venue in which the case is situated can help students to visualize the situation that they need to analyze.

Accompanying Readings

Case studies can be especially effective if they are paired with a reading assignment that introduces or explains a concept or analytical method that applies to the case. The amount of emphasis placed on the use of the reading during the case discussion depends on the complexity of the concept or method. If it is straightforward, the focus of the discussion can be placed on the use of the analytical results. If the method is more complex, the instructor may need to walk students through its application and the interpretation of the results.

Leading the Case Discussion and Evaluating Performance

Decision cases are more interesting than descriptive ones. In order to start the discussion in class, the instructor can start with an easy, noncontroversial question that all the students should be able to answer readily. However, some of the best case discussions start by forcing the students to take a stand. Some instructors will ask a student to do a formal “open” of the case, outlining his or her entire analysis.  Others may choose to guide discussion with questions that move students from problem identification to solutions.  A skilled instructor steers questions and discussion to keep the class on track and moving at a reasonable pace.

In order to motivate the students to complete the assignment before class as well as to stimulate attentiveness during the class, the instructor should grade the participation—quantity and especially quality—during the discussion of the case. This might be a simple check, check-plus, check-minus or zero. The instructor should involve as many students as possible. In order to engage all the students, the instructor can divide them into groups, give each group several minutes to discuss how to answer a question related to the case, and then ask a randomly selected person in each group to present the group’s answer and reasoning. Random selection can be accomplished through rolling of dice, shuffled index cards, each with one student’s name, a spinning wheel, etc.

Tips on the Penn State U. website: https://sites.psu.edu/pedagogicalpractices/case-studies/

If you are interested in using this technique in a science course, there is a good website on use of case studies in the sciences at the National Science Teaching Association.

How to... Write a teaching case study

• What is a teaching case study?

A discussion-based case study is an education tool to facilitate learning about, and analysis of, a real-world situation.

A case study provides a well-researched and compelling narrative about an individual, or a group of people, that needs to make a decision in an organisational setting.

The case study narrative includes relevant information about the situation, and gives multiple perspectives on the problem or decision that needs to be taken, but does not provide analysis, conclusions, or a solution.

On this page...

How does a case study work in education, top tips for writing a case study, what is the difference between teaching cases and research focused cases.

• Writing the case study

How to write a teaching note

• Final thoughts

The Emerald Cases Hub

Which publication would suit my case study.

Read about getting ready to publish and visit the Emerald Cases Hub for courses and guides on writing case studies and teaching notes.

Teaching cases expose students to real-world business dilemmas in different cultural contexts.

Students are expected to read the case study and prepare an argument about the most appropriate course of action or recommendation, which can be debated in a facilitated case study class session, or documented in a case study assignment or examination.

A case teaching note, containing recent and relevant theoretical and managerial frameworks, will be published alongside the teaching case, and can be used to demonstrate the links between course content and the case situation to support teaching of the case method.

Teaching case studies have a distinctive literary style: they are written in the third person, in the past tense, and establish an objectivity of core dilemmas in the case.

We have gathered some top tips for you to think about as your write your case study.

Collect information

Cases can be based on primary or secondary data; however, carrying out interviews with the protagonist and others in the organisation, where possible, often results in a better and more balanced case study.

Make sure that you have all the materials you will need before you start the writing process. This will speed up the actual process. Most case studies have a mixture of primary and secondary sources to help capture the spirit of the protagonist.

Structure the narrative

Tell the story in chronological order and in the past tense. Identify and establish the central protagonist and their dilemma in the first paragraph and summarise the dilemma again at the end of the case.

Develop the protagonist

Ensure the protagonist is a well-developed character and that students can identify with their motivations throughout the case.

Get permission

When you submit your case study and teaching note, you must include signed permission from the relevant protagonist or company featured in the case and for any material for which you don’t own the copyright. 

Be clear on your teaching objective

The case method offers a variety of class participation methods, such as discussion, role-play, presentation, or examination. Decide which method best suits the case you want to write. 

Identify case lead author

You might want to consider writing your case study in partnership with colleagues. However, if you are writing a case with other people you need to make sure that the case reads as one voice.

You do not have to share the work evenly. Instead, play to your individual strengths: one author might be better at data analysis, one a better writer. Agree and clarify the order of appearance of authors. This is very important since this cannot be changed after publication.

Write a thorough teaching note

A well-written case study needs an equally well-written teaching note to allow instructors to adopt the case without the need for additional research. The standard teaching note provides key materials such as learning objectives, sample questions and answers, and more. See 'What to include in your teaching note' to produce effective teaching note for your case.

Writing a teaching case requires a distinctive literary style; it should be written in the third person, in the past tense, and establish objectivity of the core dilemmas in the case.

To begin with, a case has to have a hook: an overriding issue that pulls various parts together, a managerial issue or decision that requires urgent attention. 

The trick is to present the story so that the hook is not immediately apparent but ‘discovered’ by students putting the relevant pieces together. More importantly, the hook must be linked to a particular concept, theory, or methodology. 

A teaching case reflects the ambiguity of the situation and need not have a single outcome, as the intent is to create a dialogue with students, encourage critical thinking and research, and evaluate recommendations.

Research cases are a methodology used to support research findings and add to the body of theoretical knowledge, and as such are more academically-focused and evidence-based.

Writing a case study

How to write & structure a case

• Write in the past tense
• Identify and establish an issue/problem which can be used to teach a concept or theory

The opening paragraph should make clear:

• Who the main protagonist is 
• Who the key decision maker is 
• What the nature of the problem or issue is 
• When the case took place, including specific dates 
• Why the issue or problem arose

The body of the case should:

• Tell the whole story – usually in a chronological order 
• Typically contain general background on business environment, company background, and the details of the specific issue(s) faced by the company 
• Tell more than one side of the story so that students can think of competing alternatives

The concluding paragraph should:

• Provide a short synthesis of the case to reiterate the main issues, or even to raise new questions

Before you start, choose where to publish your case study and familiarise yourself with the style and formatting requirements.

Get ready to publish  

What to include in your teaching note

Case synopsis.

Provide a brief summary (approximately 150-200 words) describing the case setting and key issues. Include:

• Name of the organisation
• Time span of the case study
• Details of the protagonist
• The dilemma facing the protagonist
• Sub-field of academia the case is designed to teach (e.g., market segmentation in the telecommunications sector).

Target audience

Clearly identify the appropriate audience for the case (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, or both).  Consider:

• Possible courses where the case can be used
• Level of difficulty
• Specific pre-requisites
• Discipline(s) for which the case is most relevant

If there are multiple target audiences, discuss different teaching strategies.

Top tip: remember that the deciding factor for most instructors looking to find a case for their classroom is relevancy. Working with a specific audience in mind and sharing guidance on case usage helps develop the applicability of your case.

Learning objectives

Set a minimum of one objective for a compact case study and three to four for a longer case. Your objectives should be specific and reflective of the courses you suggest your case be taught in. Make it clear what students can expect to learn from reading the case.

Top tip: Good learning objectives should cover not only basic understanding of the context and issues presented in the case, but also include a few more advanced goals such as analysis and evaluation of the case dilemma.

Research methods

Outline the types of data used to develop the case, how this data was gathered, and whether any names/details/etc. within the case have been disguised. Please note that you will need to obtain consent from the case protagonist/organisation if primary data has been used. Cases based on secondary data (i.e., any information that is publicly available) are not required to obtain consent.

Teaching plan and objectives

Provide a breakdown of the classroom discussion time into sections. Include a brief description of the opening and closing 10-15 minutes, as well as challenging case discussion questions with comprehensive sample answers.

Provide instructors a detailed breakdown of how you would teach the case in 90 minutes. Include:

• Brief description of the opening 10-15 minutes.
• Suggested class time, broken down by topics, assignment questions, and activities.
• Brief description of the closing 10-15 minutes. Reinforce the learning objectives and reveal what actually happened, if applicable

Assignment questions and answers

Include a set of challenging assignment questions that align with the teaching objectives and relate to the dilemma being faced in the case.

Successful cases will provide:

• Three to five questions aligned to the learning objectives.
• A combination of closed, open-ended, and even controversial questions to create discussion.
• Questions that prompt students to consider a dilemma from all angles.

Successful sample answers should:

• Provide an example of an outstanding (A+) response to each question. To illustrate the full range of potential answers, good teaching notes often go on to provide examples of marginal and even incorrect responses as well.
• Draw from recent literature, theory, or research findings to analyse the case study.
• Reflect the reality that a case may not necessarily have a single correct answer by highlighting a diversity of opinions and approaches.

Supporting material

Supporting materials can include any additional information or resources that supplement the experience of using your case. Examples of these materials include  such as worksheets, videos, reading lists, reference materials, etc. If you are including classroom activities as part of your teaching note, please provide detailed instructions on how to direct these activities.

Test & learn

When you have finished writing your case study and teaching note, test them!

Try them out in class to see if students have enough information to thoughtfully address the case dilemma, if the teaching note supports an engaged class discussion, and if the teaching note assignments/lesson plan timing are appropriate. Revise as needed based on the class experience before submitting.

Guide to writing a teaching note

Our short PDF guide will give you advice on writing your teaching note, what you should include and our top tips to creating an effective teaching note.

Download our guide

Final thoughts on writing

What makes a great teaching case?

• Written in the case teaching narrative style, not in the style of a research article
• Classroom tested, making it much more robust
• Objective, considering all sides of a dilemma
• Aligned with the objectives of the publication in which it is included
• Structured to allow for relevant learning outcomes, enabling students to meet them effectively

Common review feedback comments

• The case requires additional information in order to be taught
• A lack of detail
• Suggested answers are not supported by the case
• Learning objectives which apply a model without a purpose
• No sample answers
• Not written in the third person or past tense
• No analysis or lessons learned

What makes a good teaching note?

• Clear learning objectives
• Suggested class time, broken down by topics
• Suggested student assignment
• Brief description of the opening and closing 10-15 minutes and case synopsis
• Challenging case discussion questions with sample answers
• Supporting materials – worksheets, videos, readings, reference material, etc
• Target audience identified
• If applicable, an update on ‘what actually happened’

Register on the Emerald Cases Hub to access free resources designed by case-writing experts to help you write and publish a quality case study. Develop your skills and knowledge with a course on writing a case study and teaching note, view sample cases, or explore modules on teaching/leaning through the case method.

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A key factor in boosting the chances of your case study being published is making sure it is submitted to the most suitable outlet. Emerald is delighted to offer two key options: 

Emerging Markets Case Studies (EMCS)

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The CASE Journal (TCJ)

TCJ is the official journal of The CASE Association, the leading online, double-blind, peer-reviewed journal featuring factual teaching cases and case exercises spanning the full spectrum of business and management disciplines.

TCJ invites submissions of cases designed for classroom use.  

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• 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.”

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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 Jr. and Distinguished Service University Professor. He served as the 10th dean of Harvard Business School, from 2010 to 2020.

Partner Center

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 31 January 2023

Student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion in postgraduate courses of computer science

• Xinhong Zhang 1 ,
• Boyan Zhang 1 &
• Fan Zhang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2176-3835 2  

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education volume  20 , Article number:  6 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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This study explores a student-centered teaching method in postgraduate courses. Teacher-centered classroom teaching cannot fully stimulate learning initiative and enthusiasm of students. Student-centered means that students actively learn and construct knowledge by participating in teaching activities. This study presents a student-centered online–offline hybrid teaching method, which adopts student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion in the postgraduate courses of computer science. The latest engineering cases are integrated into teaching and a case library is constructed. Taking the digital image processing course as an example, student-centered teaching allows students to choose what to learn and how to learn. Case-based teaching makes students better understand the application of theory of knowledge. It can introduce multiple perspectives, promote understanding and reflection on problems, and help students develop higher-level thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills. This study explores online–offline case discussion method in the student-centered teaching and proposes the principles of case design of postgraduate courses. Revised Bloom’s taxonomy is used for teaching assessment. The actual teaching effect shows that student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion have achieved better teaching effect.

Introduction

Teacher-centered classroom teaching is the main mode adopted in current postgraduate courses of computer science. However, this traditional teaching mode cannot fully stimulate the learning initiative and enthusiasm of students, and is also not conducive to cultivating their innovative thinking ability. We find it difficult to achieve the teaching goal by completely adopting teacher-centered classroom teaching for science and engineering graduate students, because their studies focus more on engineering and practical applications. So, it is necessary to explore a new teaching mode. Case-based teaching (CBT) or case-based learning (CBL) provides a solution to solve the problems above (Sangam et al.,  2021 ).

In case-based teaching, a case is defined as a description based on a real event or situation in which sufficient detail is provided to assist students in the analysis and solution of problems (Prada et al.,  2020 ; Tan et al.,  2014 ). The development of information technology has created a variety of possibilities for the design of cases. Therefore, cases are also defined as the typical teaching events using multimedia formats, such as video, audio, pictures, animation, and web pages. The case-based teaching method guides students to carry out a series of learning activities, including analysis, discussion, problem-solving, evaluation, reflection etc., which is helpful for students to develop higher-level thinking, analytical and integrative skills (Tawfik et al.,  2017 ; Strobel et al.,  2013 ). Some studies have shown that case-based teaching makes up for the deficiency of passive acceptance of learning, and has a significant impact on promoting knowledge transfer and knowledge application.

This paper presents a student-centered online–offline hybrid teaching method for the postgraduate courses of computer science, which adopts case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion. The latest engineering cases are integrated into teaching and a case library is constructed. Taking the digital image processing course as an example, student-centered teaching allows students to choose what to learn and how to learn. Case-based teaching makes students better understand the application of theory. It can introduce multiple perspectives, promote understanding and reflection on problems, and help students develop higher-level thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills. Revised Bloom’s taxonomy is used for teaching assessment.

The main contributions of this study are as follows:

Exploring student-centered teaching in postgraduate courses.

Using cases as the main contents of teaching.

Adopting the case-based teaching method.

Exploring the online–offline case discussions in the student-centered teaching.

Proposing the principles of case design of postgraduate courses.

This paper is organized as follows: " Introduction " section deals with the introduction. " Literature review " section reviews the relevant literature. " Methods " section describes the method of case library construction and the method of student-centered case-based teaching. " Result " section provides the implementation results of our teaching method. " Discussion " section discusses this study. Finally, " Conclusion " section draws conclusion.

Literature review

Case-based teaching

The design and implementation of case-based teaching activities create opportunities for an exploratory new learning mode (Goeze et al.,  2014 ). By participating in a series of activities in case-based teaching, students actively develop skills of knowledge application and problem-solving, and conduct abilities of higher-level thinking, analysis and synthesis (Newton et al.,  2015b ). Several studies have highlighted how case-based teaching enhances students’ comprehension and critical thinking skills (Leon et al.,  2015 ). Students’ reflective and critical thinking skills are promoted as they work on cases that challenge them to deal with issues of multiple layers and complex dimensions.

With the development of information technology, the cases used for teaching have been transformed from the textual narration to the multimedia-based presentation. Multimedia cases are gradually applied to the online learning environment (Luo et al.,  2018 ). Multimedia case teaching has its unique advantages. It can better simulate the complexity of real-world problems (Rico & Ertmer,  2015 ). For example, the cases presented by interactive multimedia can attract and motivate students, and can effectively promote knowledge transfer. Hewitt et al. use video cases as the carrier of case-based teaching. They encourage students to think, discuss, solve, and reflect the problem through pause and interaction of the video case at each key point. The final results prove that video case teaching promotes the learning interest and motivation of students (Hewitt et al.,  2003 ). In the exploration of learning effects, Choi et al. use the interaction and feedback functions of multimedia cases to provide feedbacks of experts at each decision point of case problems. During the case learning process, students can view expert opinions to gain an in-depth understanding of the problem. The results of the learning effect evaluation demonstrate the effectiveness of multimedia case teaching (Choi & Lee,  2008 ). Research results show that multimedia case teaching improves learning motivation of students, helps students better master knowledge, and improves their problem-solving ability. Yoon et al. use learning analytics to gain useful insights into student learning in a video-based online learning environment (Yoon et al.,  2021 ). Based on the observed patterns of log behavior, students can be divided into two categories: active learners and passive learners. Aactive learners have higher academic performance than passive learners.

When constructing teaching cases, teachers should start by identifying goals, identifying skills, and deciding which concepts students should learn. Through this process, teachers carefully consider the learning outcomes that students should achieve (Jevne et al.,  2021 ). Newton et al. argue that case production can be either open-ended or guided by challenges or problems, depending on the teaching purpose and student population. The case should enhance students’ interest by using stories they can relate to (Newton et al.,  2015a ).

Case discussion

Case discussion is an important part of case-based teaching. It is regarded as the key to the success of case-based teaching. Teachers guide students to express their personal opinions on the case, and realize the sharing process of problem exploration and knowledge construction (Ertmer & Koehler,  2014 ). Some studies have shown that case discussions can introduce a variety of viewpoints, promote students’ understanding and reflection on problems, and help students transfer and apply knowledge. In general, case discussion has a good role in promoting case-based teaching (Ertmer & Koehler,  2015 ). Yew et al. believe that students’ participation in the interactive case activities can help students to actively construct knowledge, improve learning interest and learning engagement, and enhance learning performance (Yew & Yong,  2014 ). The targeted guidance of teachers also improves the learning experience and learning effect (Long & Koehler,  2021 ; Kim,  2022 ; Roels et al.,  2021 ; Zhang et al.,  2019 , 2022a ). Lock et al. provide expert understandings of online discussions. These understandings address real-world issues related to diverse and digital classrooms (Lock & Redmond,  2021 ). Zhang et al. use epistemic network analysis (ENA) to explore the collaborative problem-solving processes of students and teachers in different online collaborative learning tasks (Zhang et al.,  2022b ). By investigating the academic performance of collaborative problem-solving patterns, they reveal in detail the relationship between cooperative problem-solving and students’ academic performance.

The online learning environment presents both opportunities and challenges for case discussions (Mcpartlan et al.,  2021 ). Broadbent et al. evaluate whether self-regulated learning (SRL) impacts with students’ academic performance in both online and offline learning environments (Broadbent et al.,  2021 ). Among students who study online, those who benefit the most are those who are confident, able to manage their time and discipline their efforts. Turk et al. believe that online course instructors should provide self-supporting goals, choices, guidance, and feedbacks. They should also ensure their effective interactions with students. The interactive learning environment for students to interact with their peers should be socially and emotionally trusting (Turk et al.,  2022 ).

As an important activity of the case-based teaching method, online discussions create conditions for online teaching or online–offline hybrid teaching. online–offline hybrid teaching is a kind of teaching that combines online teaching with traditional teaching (Zhao et al.,  2022 ; Yi,  2022 ; Peng & Wei,  2021 ). online–offline hybrid case discussion has special advantages. (1) online–offline hybrid case discussion breaks the limitation of time and space. It realizes a more flexible and free way of asynchronous discussion. Online case discussion prolongs the timeliness of classroom discussion and provides students with a more personalized learning pace, more flexible problem-solving and reflection space. (2) online–offline hybrid case discussion creates more favorable conditions for the participation of teachers and invited experts. Flexible online and offline interaction helps teachers to provide more accurate guidance and feedback, which makes it possible for highly interactive case teaching. However, the asynchronous discussion makes the problem discussion lose the characteristics of timely feedback, and the online discussion weakens the guiding role of teachers to a certain extent (Wu,  2022 ; Li et al.,  2021 ).

• Student-centered teaching

The student-centered teaching concept reflects the principles of constructivism theory. Student-centered means that students actively learn and construct knowledge by participating in teaching activities (Zhienbayeva & Abdigapbarova,  2021 ; Mamnpoba,  2021 ). In student-centered teaching, the teaching method changes from teaching to guiding; The teaching subject changes from teacher to student; The teaching content changes from textbook to practice; The assessment method changes from traditional examinations to diversified procedural examinations. Student-centered teaching is closely related to students’ learning enthusiasm. Specifically, student-centered teaching can help students actively participate in learning and achieve better grades. When students’ needs are more comprehensively met, student attendance will increase, and the possibility of dropping out will be reduced. They will focus more on their studies and be better prepared for graduation. Constantinou et al. point out that student-centered teaching involves not only academic learning, but also other skills, such as active participation in society or community, professionalism, mental health, etc. Therefore, student-centered teaching requires a holistic view of the learning and development of students (Constantinou,  2020 ). The corona virus 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has forced higher education to transform to the online learning mode. This provides an opportunity to adopt student-centered teaching. Active learning can improve students’ performance and close the achievement gaps for underachievers (Sandrone et al.,  2021 ). Angel et al. adopt the method of flipped classroom to carry out student-centered teaching (Mingorance Estrada et al.,  2019 ). Compared with the traditional teaching, this method significantly improves student performance, increases student interaction, and improves classroom attendance and engagement. Teachers’ feedback and teacher-student interaction will effectively mobilize students’ learning enthusiasm. Moges et al. believe that in order to improve the teaching effect, teachers should innovate and diversify teaching methods to attract students to participate. In addition, teachers and students need to be properly trained. Both of them need to understand the impact of student-centered education so that they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities (Moges,  2019 ).

Both the teacher-centered teaching method and the student-centered teaching method are useful. The best teaching method is comprehensive. Different teaching methods can learn from each other and complement each other. Several studies have revealed the value of combining traditional teaching with student-centered teaching. A way of combined approach is for students to try to solve problems on their own. The teacher then teaches the correct problem-solving steps and compares the student’s solution to a standard problem-solving solution. This model can be called learning before teaching. Exploratory learning is a teaching method of learning before teaching. Exploratory learning refers to the exploration of new problems by students before they are taught related concepts and solutions (Chung & Ho,  2021 ). The purpose of exploratory learning is to give students the opportunity to explore new topics for themselves before accepting traditional teaching (Weaver et al.,  2018 ; Schalk et al.,  2017 ). Another way of combining application is to teach the relevant knowledge and correct solution directly, and then ask the students to do problem-solving exercises using the method taught by the teacher. This model can be called teaching before learning. The most typical example of teaching before learning is problem-based learning (PBL). PBL is a teaching method that students are presented with a real or realistic problem, such as a case, and use inductive reasoning to learn both information about the topic and how to think critically about it. Through PBL, students can acquire both knowledge and skills of collaboration, communication, and reflection (Kapur,  2016 ; Armstrong et al.,  2021 ).

Self-regulated learning and Bloom’s taxonomy

Self-regulated learning (SRL) refers to the process by which students activate and maintain their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and systematically achieve learning goals (Song et al.,  2021 ; Tran et al.,  2022 ). Learning goal, efficacy and learning strategy are three important components of self-regulated learning (Granberg et al.,  2021 ). The most striking feature of self-regulated learning is that students have actual control over their own learning. They can cognitive and control the processes directly to achieve their learning goals (Callan et al.,  2021 ; Guo et al.,  2021a ; Tuti et al.,  2021 ). Rovers et al. compare the validity of several different methods of self-regulated learning (Rovers et al.,  2019 ). The self-reported questionnaire can reflect the overall level of students’ self-regulated learning. In contrast, behavioral measures provide more accurate explanations when students are asked to report specific self-regulated learning strategies. Many studies have shown that the external feedback from teachers could promote students’ self-regulated learning (Yunus et al.,  2021 ; Aguilar et al.,  2021 ). Teacher’s feedback and evaluation could increase the intrinsic motivation of students. For example, encouraging students to participate in more challenging tasks can improve the self-regulated learning level of students. Students typically exhibit more academic help-seeking behavior and make more efforts in response to teachers’ support (Guo et al.,  2021b ).

Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical model that divides learning into levels of complexity. The revised Bloom’s taxonomy divides the cognitive process dimensions in six levels (Krathwohl,  2002 ). The six levels from low to high are: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. Figure  1 shows the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical model designating learning into levels of complexity and is often used to structure course experiences such as learning objectives, assessments, and pedagogical choices (Killion et al.,  2022 ). Bloom’s taxonomy of educational goals reflects the relationship between knowledge learning and ability development through the structure of knowledge dimension and cognitive process dimension. It is also a tool for the evaluation of teaching objectives and the assessment of examinations (Vieyra & Gonzlez,  2020 ). Desha et al. propose a new model to assess the development of problem-solving skills based on Bloom’s taxonomy (Desha et al.,  2021 ). They wonder how the design might have stimulated or dampened student appreciation of complexity, and how these findings aligned with desired expectations. To explore this, the learning materials are evaluated through Bloom’s taxonomy. The goal is to understand the extent to which the course content exposed students to the spectrum of problem-solving contexts. Dolan et al. propose some recommendations for the use of virtual simulations in the current learning environment by studying learning theories, learning styles, and Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Dolan et al.,  2021 ). Synchronous debriefing with students, faculty, preceptors, and peers provides the opportunity for scaffolding to support students’ learning needs and foster reflection.

The revised Bloom’s taxonomy

Construction of a case library for the digital image processing course

Digital image processing is a course for computer science graduate students. This course is both theoretical and practical. At present, the cases in the teaching materials are relatively outdated and cannot reflect the latest research progress. In addition, because there is no experiment arranged, students’ sense of participation is not strong. This paper explores the method of student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion during digital image processing.

The construction objectives of the case library (or case base) of digital image processing course are as follows. The design of case library is student-centered. The information and data in the case should fully consider correctness and reliability. Case library requires constant maintenance and updating. Cases should meet the requirements of typicality, objectivity, advancement, and innovation. Students can acquire the knowledge of image processing efficiently and quickly from cases. Through case-based teaching, students should be able to broaden their horizons, stimulate their learning interest and improve their practical abilities.

Principles of case design

We propose the following principles of case design for the engineering courses:

Comprehensiveness. Multiple knowledge points are run through case-based teaching. Knowledge points are presented to students in the form of interconnected case applications. Students can discover and master knowledge in the practice process of problem-solving. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure comprehensive requirements in case design, so that the designed cases can be seamlessly connected with the knowledge points of the textbooks.

Advanced. The latest research results are collated into teaching cases to replace the outdated cases of the textbooks. The teaching case should be advanced and innovative. For example, choosing teaching cases using artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies can make up for the insufficient introduction of new knowledge and new technologies in the textbooks.

Engineering. The practical engineering problems are transformed into teaching cases to reflect the practicability of the digital image processing course. For example, we invite engineering experts from partner companies to write cases together. These cases place more emphasis on the combination of theory and practice.

Case design and selection

The design and selection of cases should give students a solid understanding of the application and implementation of theories, methods, and models. Well-designed cases can guide students to discover, analyze, and solve problems. Cases should involve all the knowledge points and their applications of each chapter of the digital image processing course.

Digital image processing has been widely used in many fields. The applications of digital image processing are interconnected with many disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, and computer science. At the same time, it is supported by many new theories, new tools, and new technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the main application field of digital image processing. The digital image processing course intersects with many courses, such as pattern recognition, machine vision, computer graphics and other courses. Therefore, the design and selection of cases should avoid being limited to the knowledge points of a digital image processing course, but should try to reflect interdisciplinary characteristics and interdisciplinary integration. Figure  2 shows the relationship between a digital image processing course and other disciplines or courses.

The relationship between a digital image processing course and other disciplines or courses

According to the case design principles mentioned above, we designed and selected some teaching cases for the digital image processing course. In order to facilitate students’ extracurricular study and online–offline discussions, we provide the case study documents for each case. The contents of case study documents include preparatory knowledge, theoretical knowledge, technical points, implementation process, results, and demonstration programs. Source codes are also provided in most of the cases. Case study documents are distributed online for students to study and practice after class. Some of the case study documents of the digital image processing course are shown in Table  1 .

Arrangements of student-centered case-based teaching

Our student-centered case-based teaching process adopts an online–offline hybrid approach. The teaching arrangement includes theoretical knowledge lectures (offline), case introduction (offline or online), extracurricular literature reading, extracurricular experiments, and group discussions (online or offline).

Lectures on theoretical knowledge

Classroom teaching is used to describe the knowledge background and the application fields of cases. Problems are elicited through cases, and theoretical concepts and knowledge points related to cases are explained. In the teaching of theoretical knowledge, we only teach selected contents of the textbook to save the limited classroom teaching time. The rest of the contents are left to students for self-study and discussion.

Introduction of cases

When and how to introduce cases is also considered. According to the teaching plan, we determine which cases are introduced in which chapters, how each case is presented, and how long it takes to explain or demonstrate the case. The introduction of cases not only enables students to better understand the practical application of theoretical knowledge, but also enables these cases to effectively support the relevant knowledge points in the textbook.

Extracurricular literature reading and extracurricular experiments

We arrange for students to consult the literature on the content of theoretical knowledge of the introduced cases. Students should run the source codes provided by case after class and improve it, or design new codes according to the requirements of the case and the theoretical knowledge they have learned. They need to implement the codes themselves to achieve the required functions of the case.

online–offline discussion

online–offline group discussions are conducted on the theoretical knowledge lectures, introduced cases, and experimental results. We encourage students to ask questions and encourage their sense of innovation. When necessary, we also arrange for oral presentations by group representatives.

Implementations of student-centered case-based teaching

The case-based teaching process is designed as student-centered. The main teaching content is cases and textbooks. The implementations of student-centered case-based teaching for digital image processing course is shown in Fig.  3 .

The implementations of student-centered case-based teaching for the digital image processing course

Providing case documents online and arranging students to preview before class.

Introducing the background and objectives of the case in traditional classroom teaching mode, and teaching relevant knowledge and theories. Classroom group discussions are arranged during this process.

Guiding students to explore cases in online and offline hybrid teaching mode. Students learn relevant theories and methods through case studies. Students are encouraged to come up with their own solutions based on the theories and methods they have learned. This is a learning-imitation-exploration-innovation process (innovation is optional). Online and offline discussions are arranged during this process.

Students implement extracurricular experiments based on the source codes provided by the case or design new codes by themselves. The analysis of the experimental results also needs to be done themselves. They can communicate about the problems they encountered, seek help, or discuss solutions of problems and experimental results through online or offline discussions.

Introducing, sharing, and demonstrating the learning results of the case in online or classroom teaching mode. Finally, we organize exams and evaluate the exam results.

Assessment methods

The revised Bloom’s taxonomy is used for teaching objective evaluation and examination assessment. After the introduction of the case-based teaching mode, the assessment method also needs to be adjusted accordingly. We no longer only use the static indicators, such as exam scores, but introduce the dynamic indicators for the assessments, such as case study reports, experiment reports, literature reading reports, oral reports, and records of participation in online–offline group discussions. These assessments consider the characteristics of case-based teaching and realize individualized evaluation.

Research object

This research is based on the digital image processing course for graduate students of computer science. Full-time postgraduate students of three consecutive years participated in this research. Since the number of graduate students varies from year to year, we randomly selected 100 students from each year as one group. All the students in the three groups are to study the digital image processing course for the first time, and they had never learned any cases used in this research before. The three groups of students are roughly equivalent in gender ratio, age distribution, and course-related prior knowledge. In addition, when the questionnaire of learning interest and learning motivation were scored, the feedbacks of the three groups of students are not significantly different. Which indicates that they have similar learning interests and learning motivations.

Different teaching methods, teaching contents, and assessment methods were adopted to the three groups of students. The differences between them are shown in Table  2 .

Student-centered case-based learning

The case-based teaching process is designed as student-centered. After the traditional classroom teaching for the introduction of the cases background and objectives, and the online–offline hybrid teaching for the study of relevant theories and methods, students are encouraged to propose their own solutions based on the theories and methods they have learned. Students can design and implement personalized solutions, and in the process, further learn and understand the theories and methods they want to use.

Example of a case: Text recognition of images.

Some X-ray images of welding seam inspection are provided. The goal of this case is to identify all the text on the X-ray images. This is a case with practical engineering needs.

According to the procedure of non-destructive testing (NDT), operators (welding workers) place some leaden markers beside the welding seam. The leaden markers are photographed together with the welding seam. The leaden markers include image quality indicator, positioning markers (center markers, overlap markers) and other identification markers. These identification markers can display the project number, pipe number, welding seam number, welding worker’s ID, welding date, etc.

The welding seam films will be scanned as high-quality digital images by using an industrial X-ray film digitizer. A scanned example image is shown in Fig.  4 . The resolution of scanned image is \(4242\times 882\times 3\) , and the image format is TIFF.

The scanned X-ray imaging film

Usually, the solution of this case includes three main parts: image preprocessing, image segmentation, and text recognition. Each part can be implemented in many different methods or a combination of several methods. For example, the methods of image preprocessing include: contrast enhancement, binarization, histogram equalization, geometric transformation, gray level interpolation, noise removal and so on. The methods of image segmentation include: threshold-based segmentation methods (such as Otsu’s method), region-based segmentation methods, and edge-based segmentation methods. In addition, image segmentation may also involve other related technologies, such as Radon transform. The methods of text recognition include: the traditional machine learning methods, such as artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), etc., and the deep learning methods, such as deep convolutional neural network (DCNN), recurrent neural network (RNN), etc. Here, deep learning is the learning technology in the sense of artificial intelligence (AI) rather than the learning method in the sense of education.

In each part, students can choose one or more methods they want to learn and use according to their own learning ability and learning interest. After making their choice, they need to conduct an in-depth study of these methods. They can download the source codes or write their own codes to implement these methods. Finally, the three parts of the codes are combined to generate their own personalized solution. Because the methods that students choose to learn and use are not the same, the combination of these methods results in a variety of personalized solutions. These solutions need to be tested and evaluated experimentally. Students can communicate any issues they encounter and share their learning experiences through online and offline case discussions. In this process, we encourage students to innovate their own methods or adopt novel ways of combining methods. For this case, the student-centered case-based teaching process is shown in Fig.  5 .

An example (text recognition of images) of the student-centered case-based teaching process

Learning behavior comparison

We compared the learning behaviors of Group B and Group C (Group A was the traditional teaching model without providing new cases). Group B adopted extracurricular self-regulated case learning mode. Group C adopted the student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion mode. According to the statistics, the times of online–offline discussions, the time of discussion, the times of asking questions, and the times of answering questions of Group C students was much larger than that of Group C students. The number of completed cases and the implement quality of cases of Group C students was better than that of Group C students. A radar chart of learning behavior comparison is shown as Fig.  6 . The comparison of the two groups of students’ learning behavior shows that the student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion teaching mode could indeed improve the students’ learning interest and initiative.

Radar chart of learning behavior comparison

Assessments

In the teaching of Group A, Group B and Group C, Groups A and B adopted the traditional teaching mode. The teaching of Group A did not involve new cases. Students of Group B were provided with case study documents and were arranged for extracurricular self-regulated case learning. Group C adopted the student-centered case-based teaching mode. The assessment methods of three groups were also different. Both Group A and Group B used the traditional examination method. Although students of Group B were arranged to study the case by themselves, the examination contents of Group B did not involve these cases. The assessment methods of Group C included traditional examination, case study reports, experiment reports, etc. In Group B, because the cases are self-regulated learned and the exam did not involve cases, many students did not put a lot of effort into the case study. The examination scores of Group B only improved slightly compared to Group A. The student-centered case-based teaching mode adopted by Group C greatly stimulated students’ learning interest, and their examination scores improved significantly. The comparison results show that the examination scores of Group C are significantly better than those of Group A and Group B. The comparison of the examination scores of the three groups is shown in Fig.  6 .

Comparison of examination scores of the three groups

Bloom’s taxonomy can be used as a tool for objective evaluation and examination assessment. It reflects the relationship between knowledge learning and ability development. In the assessments of Group C, we assigned six weights for each examination question according to the revised Bloom’s taxonomy in six aspects: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. Table  3 is an example of student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion applying the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Each cognitive skill corresponds to a specific teaching objective, and these teaching objectives are reflected in the specific test questions.

We conducted a comparison of the examination performance of students in Group A and Group C according to the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. The test data of the two groups approximately obey the normal distribution and meet the requirement of parameter test. The joint hypotheses test ( F -test) is used to analyze whether there are significant differences in the knowledge and ability levels of the two groups of students. The F -test results are shown in Table  4 , where MS represents mean squares, df represents degrees of freedom. Degrees of freedom refers to the number of variables that can be evaluated without restriction when calculating a uniform measure. F -value (or F -statistic) is the test statistic. P -value is the observed significance level. F crit represents the F -critical value, which is a specific value that F -value is compared with. It can be seen from Table  4 that, for Remember, Analyze, and Evaluate, their F -values are less than F crit and P -values are higher than 0.05. This indicates that there is no significant difference between the two groups in these three aspects. For Understand, Apply, and Create, their F -values are greater than F crit and P -value are less than 0.01. This indicates that the two groups of data have very significant differences in these three aspects. The F -test results show that, in three aspects of Understand, Apply, and Create, our teaching method has a very significant improvement over the traditional teaching method.

These results can be interpreted as follows. Traditional classroom teaching methods emphasize memorization of basic theories and concepts, based on which students can use these insights to solve problems and pass exams. Therefore, students are fully trained in the three cognitive skills of Remember, Analyze, and Evaluate. In these three aspects, its learning effect is no less than the student-centered case teaching. However, due to the lack of specific application training, traditional classroom teaching methods do not allow students to understand the basic concepts more deeply. Students’ ability of association and innovation has not been fully trained. This is reflected in students’ difficulty in applying what they have learned to solve complex engineering problems.

Student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion provide students with an environment and opportunity to carry out specific application training, which help students actively explore and understand basic concepts, and apply the knowledge learned to practical engineering problems. Compared with the traditional classroom teaching mode, student-centered case-based teaching mode can improve students’ enthusiasm and initiative in learning, and improve their ability to solve complex engineering problems. This is reflected in the improvement of three cognitive skills: Understand, Apply, and Create.

Digital image processing is a highly theoretical and practical course. When using the case-based teaching method, the physical concepts and meanings behind mathematical formulas should be emphasized in classroom teaching, and the methods and principles should be explained thoroughly. We try to let students truly grasp the theoretical principles and understand engineering applications through the introduction of engineering cases. The main characteristics of our student-centered case-based teaching are as follows.

Using cases as the main content of teaching

At present, the digital image processing teaching materials used in this course cannot fully meet the needs of postgraduate teaching, and we do not find a better alternative textbook. Therefore, changing the main teaching content from textbook to cases is a solution. In our student-centered case-based teaching, cases are the main content of teaching. This method stimulates learning interest of students. Students can deepen their understanding of knowledge in the process of solving engineering problems.

Adopting a case-based teaching method

Knowledge points of the textbook are guided by the needs of engineering applications. The knowledge points are presented to students in the way of interconnected applications, so that students can discover and master knowledge in the practice process of solving-problems.

Student-centered teaching design

Through case-based teaching, the student-centered teaching design is truly realized. The student-centered learning approach not only allows students to choose what to learn, but also to choose how to learn.

Online and offline case discussions

Case discussion promotes knowledge construction through the process of shared exploration. Case discussion is the key to the success of case-based teaching. In the teaching method we designed, the case discussions can be transferred to online, and the real-time synchronous discussions can be transferred to the online asynchronous discussions.

Compared with the traditional teaching mode, the student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussions proposed in this paper have achieved the following improvements in the teaching of postgraduate courses of computer science.

Students have a deeper and better understanding of the digital image processing course. The case-based learning model enables personalized learning by using offline-online hybrid approaches, supported by expanded learning options and multiple case resources (Jevne et al.,  2021 ; Yoon et al.,  2021 ). Through case-based teaching, they have fully realized the importance and practicability of this course.

Through the student-centered case-based teaching method, the boring knowledge teaching is replaced by the flexible and diverse case teaching, which arouses learning enthusiasm and interest of students. The study found that students can organize their learning process, and students’ time management flexibility and flexibility content are quite high, which were stated in the literature (Endedijk et al.,  2016 ; Turan et al.,  2022 ).

Teaching effect is improved. Students’ theoretical level, practical level, ability of analyze and solve problems, innovative thinking mode and literature reading level are improved to a certain extent. This result can be confirmed by the comparison of examination scores of the three groups (Fig.  7 ) and the learning behavior comparison of the two groups (Fig.  6 ). Empirical studies on how students learn, including brain development, motivation, creativity, perseverance, self-regulation, knowledge application, etc., also confirm the effectiveness of student-centered learning approaches (Goodell & Thai,  2020 ).

Students’ horizons are broadened. Students can understand the knowledge structure and problem-solving methods of different disciplines and courses, and fully realize the advantages of interdisciplinary learning. In case-based learning, there is a need to relate prior knowledge within and between disciplines to external lived experiences. In the process, students are trained in critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills and strategies (Jung,  2013 ).

Teaching level of teachers is improved. After the introduction of the student-centered case-based teaching method, the teaching process is no longer completely based on textbooks. Teachers need to think more about the selection and design of cases. This process deepens teachers’ understanding of the curriculum and improves teachers’ knowledge structure. Student-centered case-based teaching can help teachers update teaching concepts, improve teaching methods, and continuously improve teaching levels in subsequent teaching. In student-centered teaching, teachers need to solve problems in communication between students and teachers so that students can receive correct feedback when they need it. Therefore, the teaching management ability of teachers has also been improved (Yan et al.,  2021 ).

Graduate students of science and engineering usually focus on engineering applications and practices. It is difficult to achieve teaching goals by completely adopting teacher-centered classroom teaching. Case-based teaching can greatly improve the teaching effect. By constructing a case library and integrating the latest engineering cases into teaching, students can better understand the practical application of theoretical knowledge, and generate strong interest in learning and research. We practice the student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion in a digital image processing course for graduate students in computer science, and propose an actionable case-based teaching scheme. Case-based teaching is a systematic project. In addition to the construction of a case library and the introduction of cases in teaching, it also involves a series of problems, such as the adjustment of teaching plans and the changes of assessment methods. There are still many aspects of case-based teaching that need to be explored and perfected. Through the verification of actual teaching, the student-centered case-based teaching can stimulate learning enthusiasm and interest of students, and help them to cultivate innovative thinking modes and practical abilities. The joint hypotheses test is used to analyze whether there are significant differences in the knowledge and ability levels of students in different learning modes. The F -test results show that, in three aspects (Understand, Apply, and Create), our teaching method shows a very significant improvement over the traditional teaching method.

Availability of data and materials

The data of this study is not open to the public due to participant privacy.

Abbreviations

• Case-based learning

Epistemic network analysis

Self-regulated learning

Coronavirus disease 2019

Pproblem based learning

Artificial intelligence

Non-destructive testing

Aartificial neural network

Support vector machine

Deep convolutional neural network

Recurrent neural network

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This research was supported by the Key scientific and technological project (222102310090) and the Postgraduate Education Reform and Quality Improvement Project (YJS2022AL098 and YJS2022JD26).

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Zhang, X., Zhang, B. & Zhang, F. Student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion in postgraduate courses of computer science. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 20 , 6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-022-00374-2

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Teaching by the Case Method

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Case Method in Practice

Chris Christensen described case method teaching as "the art of managing uncertainty"—a process in which the instructor serves as "planner, host, moderator, devil's advocate, fellow-student, and judge," all in search of solutions to real-world problems and challenges.

Unlike lectures, case method classes unfold without a detailed script. Successful instructors simultaneously manage content and process, and they must prepare rigorously for both. Case method teachers learn to balance planning and spontaneity. In practice, they pursue opportunities and "teachable moments" that emerge throughout the discussion, and deftly guide students toward discovery and learning on multiple levels. The principles and techniques are developed, Christensen says, "through collaboration and cooperation with friends and colleagues, and through self-observation and reflection."

This section of the Christensen Center website explores the Case Method in Practice along the following dimensions:

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Aligning Education with Market Demands: A Case Study of Marketing Graduates from Daffodil International University

This study conducted a comprehensive tracer analysis of 197 graduates from Daffodil International University’s Marketing bachelor program between 2019 and 2022. The main objective was to evaluate the program's alignment with labor market requirements and its effectiveness in equipping students with the necessary skills to navigate the complexities of the global market. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed, utilizing a survey questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. The target population consisted of graduates of the marketing program, selected through purposive sampling to ensure the inclusion of individuals with relevant experience. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to identify trends and percentages. Key findings revealed a significant gender disparity, with more male graduates than female, and high unemployment rates, which highlighted ongoing employment difficulties. While 75.5% of graduates affirmed the curriculum’s relevance to their professional roles, a gap was noted between the theoretical knowledge imparted and its practical application. The study suggests integrating comprehensive career preparation and extensive networking opportunities into the curriculum to mitigate employment barriers. Additionally, enhancing the curriculum to support entrepreneurial ventures is recommended. The findings emphasize the importance of ongoing curriculum revisions and the development of dynamic career support services to improve graduate employability and adapt to the evolving demands of the marketing profession. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, curriculum developers, and educational researchers to enhance the relevance of higher education to the workforce, facilitating successful transitions into the labor market.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.8.8

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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Examining influences of academic resilience among minority adolescent students.

Sylvia Alice Okpon , Liberty University Follow

School of Behavioral Sciences

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Tracy N. Baker

Academic resilience, racial minority, minority middle school students, adolescents, academic success

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Okpon, Sylvia Alice, "Examining Influences of Academic Resilience Among Minority Adolescent Students" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects . 5973. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5973

This quantitative and correlational study aimed to investigate which variables of minority adolescent students promote academic resilience and focus on African American and Hispanic students within a public charter school located in Southeast Texas. Grounded on resilience theory, the research investigated the cognitive and emotional regulation of students and student–teacher connections in the process of academic resilience. A purposive sample composed of more than 100 students was used to collect data using the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, the Inventory of the Student–Teacher Relationship, and the Academic Resilience Scale for an online survey. Data analysis indicated that cognitive and emotional resilience mitigating coping skills demonstrate significant or greater adaptation to academic hardships. Furthermore, the correlations of the strong teacher–student ties on academic resilience emphasized the mediation effect on the repercussions of emotional regulation. This research highlights the importance of identifying and cultivating factors that give academic success among vulnerable groups of students. In this case longitudinal aspects of the influence of resilience strategies and broader demographic factors emerged as an important direction of further investigation. This research study sought to deliver valuable recommendations to educators who are not only learning specialists but also psychologists and policymakers striving to improve the academic achievements of minority students who are studying in disadvantaged environments.

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The effects of climate change Case Study: Tuvalu full lesson.

Subject: Geography

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

1 September 2024

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A lesson I created for a teaching interview (I got the job!).

The lesson explores how climate change is affecting the small islands of Tuvalu.

The lesson contains:

• a hook starter task to draw students into the topic with a short video around how the government in Tuvalu is trying to raise awareness.
• Quick tasks including some simple locational map skills, match the word to the picture task for the effect of climate change.
• A main task that gets students considering the social, environmental and economic impacts.
• A think pair share task to summarise what they have learnt.
• A quick ending task that gets students thinking about potential solutions, plus images of solutions already being used in the area.

This is a really lovely lesson that gets kids thinking outside of the box, and thinking Geographically in all areas.

Designed as a one hour lesson but could easily stretch over 2 if needed.

Note: the template needed for the main task can simply be printed from slide 10. This could be an individual task , pair, or group task,

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

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More From Forbes

Research suggests that teacher strikes work.

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Teachers and demonstrators hold signs during a rally inside the Oklahoma State Capitol building in ... [+] Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., on Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Hundreds of teachers crowded into the Oklahoma Capitol for a second day Tuesday to press demands for additional funding for the state's public schools. Photographer: Scott Heins/Bloomberg

For teachers, a strike is a last resort, a tactic to use when it seems that nothing else will bring management to make a good-faith attempt to bargain. Teachers strike when all other avenues have been exhausted, and nobody welcomes a strike. A strike is disruptive, a strike often tears apart a community, and in thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia, it’s illegal.

But do strikes work? A new working paper seeks to answer that question.

In “ The Causes and Consequences of U.S. Teacher Strikes ” from the National Bureau of Economic Research , authors Melissa Arnold Lyon (SUNY Albany), Matthew A. Kraft (Brown University), and Matthew P. Steinberg (Accelerate) “revisit the question of how strikes affect wages, working conditions, and productivity in the context of the U.S. K-12 public education sector.”

Their research is unprecedented. Since the 1980s, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has only tracked large scale strikes, so these researchers had to assemble their own data base (with seven research assistants) including the review of roughly 90,000 news articles. They collected 772 teacher strikes from 610 districts in 27 states from 2007 to 2023. Those included legal and illegal strikes, coordinated between locals, individual, wildcat (a strike without union authorization), and sick-outs.

The researchers found that strikes happen more frequently in conservative states that are “less friendly” to unions, with three quarters of striking districts located in states in which strikes are illegal. Strikes were also frequent in states will lower relative level of membership in NEA.

Strikes were most often about compensation, and the researchers find that the strikes did produce positive effects, with pay increases following in the post-strike years, regardless of the length of the contract agreement.

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Many strikes were also about working conditions, and the researchers were able to zoom in on pupil-teacher ratios. Class size did decrease after strikes. After a strike raised teacher salaries, the researchers found that non-teacher staff also saw salary bumps. However, other spending on items such as instructional materials and technology did not increase.

The researchers also looked the question of “productivity,” defined here as test score results. They found no real effect either way; the test scores did not dip because of the strike-related disruption of education, nor did they rise because of improved teacher conditions. While using test scores as this sort of measure is certainly common, it’s hard to justify, unless you believe that the only things schools are meant to produce is scores on a single standardized test of math and reading.

Lyon credits the effectiveness of strikes on the unique visibility of teacher job actions. “Because education is such a salient industry, even a one-day strike can have a big impact. News media will pick it up, people will pay attention, and parents are going to be inconvenienced. You have these built-in mechanisms for attracting attention that other types of protest do not,” she told Rachel Cohen for Vox .

There will always be people deeply opposed to teacher strikes. In 2018, when teachers staged massive walkouts in several states, those were followed by some attempts to clamp down on teachers even harder. And there is always one other alternative. Every teacher who ever walked out on strike has heard the argument, “If you don’t like it, quit.”

Sadly, many teachers have taken that option . Teacher shortages can be understood as slow motion, one-at-a-time walkouts and those may be far more problematic than an old fashioned strike.

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