Using Investigative Case Based Learning May 30-June 9, 2006 BS 618 Dr. Margaret Waterman

"I read on the Internet that you can get Mad Cow Disease from Altoids." The Rumor

"Well, they are made in Great Britain and they do have gelatin in them.”

What do you think this case is about? What do you already know that relates to this case? What do you need to know to understand the case? How do think this case could be used?

Challenges for Science Instruction: NSF 1.Include inquiry so students understand the process of science. 2.Relate science to what students already know. 3.Put science in social and technological perspective. 4.Encourage collaboration and student responsibility for learning.

Cases are one tool to answer these challenges

Cases: Definition A case study is a narrative - often with characters facing decisions or a dilemma. A case defines a problem space that learners will investigate.

Elements in Common All use realistically complex problems All are multidisciplinary All ask learners to consider the events, decisions, facts

Cases provide learners with an opportunity to: Engage with characters and circumstances. Investigate to underlying science, concepts, and contexts. Connect the meaning of the story to their own lives

ICBL Cases for Science Teaching Cases used for Investigative Case Based Learning are very open ended They are designed to initiate scientific investigations as well as “covering the content”

Using Cases: Pre-Assessment Cases can be used as a starting place for assessing what the learner already knows.

Using Cases: Take-Home Exam Scenario: 4 month-old puppy that “chews everything” found dead in back yard Resources for each student: prepared slide of suspect plant material list of back yard plants by gardener

Using Cases: Take-Home Exam Submit a memo reporting your findings as a forensics specialist: Provide an identification of the plant material with evidence to support choices: root, stem, or leaf dicot or monocot herbaceous or woody

Using Cases: Lab Technology FILTHY LUCRE: A Case Study Involving the Chemical Detection of Cocaine-Contaminated Currency Ed Acheson Department of Chemistry Millikin University

Using Cases: Lab Technology Tom Brown [was daydreaming while standing in the security line at the airport.] He was in a particularly good mood because Grandma Brown had given him $200 in cash as a Christmas present... Tom had tucked the cash into his carry-on. "Sir?” repeated a loud voice. “We have detected evidence of illegal drugs and will need to search your carry-on.”

Using Cases: Lab Technology Tom’s cash ($200 in ones) will be treated with methanol to extract any cocaine present in the money. The extract will then be injected into the gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer (GC/MS), which will determine if any cocaine is present.

Using Cases: Lab Technology Roll the bill and place it into a clean vial. Add 2 mL of methanol to the vial. Cap the vial and shake for 1 minute. Using a glass Pasteur pipette, transfer enough methanol to an autosampler vial to fill the vial about three-quarters full. Remove the bill from the vial when you are finished using a forceps.

Using Cases - Multicultural Perspectives John Kepaaq is a member of the Tribal Council of his Alaskan village. John wants to be sure that the sewage system proposed for the village is appropriate for the cold temperatures and safe for the tundra environment. ye%20honeybuckets2_files/frame.htm

Using Cases: Biology Past In the 1840’s, Late Blight devastated the potato crop which resulted in mass starvation and forced migration of the human population.

Using Cases: Simulating Late Blight

Using Cases - Writing Assignment

Using Cases - Using Models

Using Cases - Using Models

Sim-Bio2 Elisabeth C. Odum Santa Fe Community College H. T. Odum University of Florida-Gainesville

3 P’s for Science Inquiry Problem Posing Problem Solving Peer Persuasion

Applying the 3 P’s to ICBL Teaching Problem Posing Introduce the case Identify major themes Know/Need to Know chart

Applying the 3 P’s to ICBL Teaching Problem Solving Conduct a scientific investigation Gather more information Explore ideas further problems demonstrations discrepant events

Applying the 3 P’s to ICBL Teaching Peer Persuasion Convince others of your findings Poster Paper Presentation Pamphlet other

When do instructors use cases? At the beginning of the topic After topic is complete Throughout - the case work is the instruction Before lab After lab At exam time

How do instructors expect the students to work with cases? Solo In groups Fully prepared in advance of the case discussion “Open” the case first in class Use only the information in the case Consult additional resources Should all get the same answer?

Warning! Case in Use

Angela sighed as she held a copy of Derrick’s Malaise. “I’m supposed to come up with my own problems for study in this bio course?” she asked no one in particular. She re-read the short case.

“What caused Derrick’s malaria?” Angela thought. The only thing Angela knew about malaria was that people got it when they lived in other countries.

Angela noticed other students going to the computers or leafing through books at the front of the room. She decided to go to a computer herself. Using Google, she looked up malaria and found the Mosquito Bytes site.

When the teacher walked by, he saw this on Angela’s screen.

Do you think Angela is a good student? How could we help her?

Assessment Opportunities You can evaluate the students actions, consider: their participation and contribution to work in groups, the kinds of issues they identify, the questions they develop, the investigations they propose, where and how they locate resources, how they conduct investigations, and the presentations or products they make.

Finding Cases

Finding Cases

Finding Cases