Cassidy-Problems-and-cases-what-is-it-all-about-16-page

Taxonomy of Significant Learning: Kinds of Knowledge Fink, 2003 • Foundational Recall information and ideas • Application Critical, creative, practical thinking • Integration Connect ide

Problem-based Learning, Collaborative Learning, Problem-solving and Use of Cases to Enhance Learning: What's it all about?

Alice Cassidy <mailto:alice.cassidy@ubc.ca>

Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, the University of British Columbia

Last updated: July, 2005

Problems and cases are often complex, real world and interdisciplinary

with no one correct answer.

In 1915, John Dewey, an educational theorist argued that "… education is not an affair of 'telling' and being told, but an active and constructive process" that requires "direct and continuous

occupations with things." Further, for these occupations (or experiences) to be educational, they required reflection to transform them into knowledge (Dunne and Brooks, 2004)

Taxonomy of Significant Learning: Kinds of Knowledge (Fink, 2003)

• Foundational Recall information and ideas

• Application Critical, creative, practical thinking

• Integration Connect ideas and information

• Human dimension Learn about oneself and others

• Caring Develop new feelings, interests, values

• Learning Become more self-directed

Higher order thinking skills

Good problems and cases should challenge students to achieve higher-level critical thinking Too often, students view learning as remembering facts, terms and definitions in order to answer

questions on tests Many students seem to lack the ability or motivation to go beyond factual material to a deeper understanding of course material In Bloom's Taxonomy, cognitive levels along with parallel student activities are arranged from lower (simple - 1, 2) to complex (higher - 5,6) Problems and cases should strive to induce students to learn at the higher levels

Evaluation 6 Making a judgment based on a pre-established set of criteria

Synthesis 5 Producing something new or original from component parts

Analysis 4 Breaking material down into its component parts to see

interrelationships/hierarchy of ideas Application 3 Using a concept or principle to solve a problem

Comprehension 2 Explaining/interpreting the meaning of material

Knowledge 1 Remembering facts, terms, concepts, definitions, principles

References: Bloom, B (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, New York: McKay.

Fink, D (2003) Creating Significant Learning Experiences San Francisco:

Dunne, D and K Brooks (2004) STLHE Green Guide No 5 Teaching with Cases Halifax, Canada The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education

General Resources: Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, UBC

http://www.tag.ubc.ca/links/topics.php The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (join the excellent listserve to share ideas, resources and queries)

http://www.mcmaster.ca/stlhe/index.html

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is a form of instruction that involves learners working together to

accomplish a common goal (Felder and Brent, 1994) It incorporates collaboration as a

philosophy of interaction, where learners are responsible for their learning actions, and respect the abilities and contributions of their peers (Panitz) A related technique is Cooperative

Learning (Johnson, Johnson and Holubec, 1994) They describe conditions for it to occur:

• Positive interdependence – sink or swim together, responsible for ensuring that

everyone learns

• Individual accountability and responsibility to achieve group goals – each member is

responsible for contributing a fair share to group success

• Group reflection and processing – to determine what was helpful, not helpful, how to

improve on effectiveness

• Skills: interpersonal and group – requires trust, communication, acceptance and support

of each other and resolution of conflicts

• Face-to-face interaction – encouraging and facilitating each others’ efforts to achieve

task or reach goals

References:

Felder, R.M., and Brent, R (1994) Cooperative Learning in Technical Courses: Procedures, Pitfalls, and Payoffs ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED377038

http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Coopreport.html

Johnson E.W., Johnson, R.T., and Holubec, E.J (1994) The New Circles of Learning:

Cooperation in the Classroom and School Alexandria: Association of Supervision and

Curriculum Development

Panitz, T Collaborative versus cooperative learning – A comparison of the two concepts which will help us understand the underlying nature of interactive learning

http://home.capecod.net/~tpanitz/tedsarticles/coopdefinition.htm

Learning in Groups

The Tuckman Model of Group/Organization Formation

Bruce W Tuckman is an educational psychologist who first described the four stages of group development in 1965 Tuckman described the four distinct stages that a group can elicit as it comes together and starts to operate The process can be subconscious, although an

understanding of the stages can help a group reach effectiveness more quickly and less painfully The four stages are: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing

In a group environment, students learn how to achieve their education goals by setting

expectations, group ground rules, and/or learning contracts

Reference:

The Tuckman Model of Group/Organization Formation

http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/leadership/manual/hadracha/group_behaviour.shtml

More Resources:

The Learning Contract http://www.ncl.ac.uk/n&yphm/manual/contracts.htm

Stages of Group Development http://www.chimaeraconsulting.com/tuckman.htm

Gibbs, G (1995) Learning in Teams: A Tutor Guide Oxford: The Oxford Centre for Staff

Development

This manual is designed to help tutors (instructors) to plan the productive use of student teams and to support their operation in ways which are more likely to develop the kinds of team skills which students need whatever they do after they have finished studying It also addresses tricky issues such as the assessment of teams, the formation of teams and the design of appropriate tasks and assignments for teams

Team-based Learning

Team-based learning is a powerful instructional strategy that brings together student

responsibility for learning basic course concepts, readiness assessment procedures that provide rich and rapid feedback for both individuals and teams, and opportunities for student teams to apply course concepts to problem solving assignments

The readiness assessment process allows instructor to focus classroom sessions on the

application and analysis of course concepts, rather then the delivery of course content The readiness assurance process consists of:

1 Assigned readings - Exposes students to essential course concepts

2 Individual testing

3 Team testing - Same evaluation instrument as individual test During team tests students orally elaborate their understanding, defend, strengthen or adjust their schemata related to key course concepts

4 Team feedback - Team reflection and discussion of troublesome concepts identified in results of team tests

5 Instructor feedback - Opportunity to address misconceptions and troublesome concepts

Two features distinguish Team-Based Learning from other forms of teaching with small groups and make it an especially powerful form of teaching and learning: (TBL Homepage)

"TEAMS" are distinct from and more powerful than "GROUPS"

• When a teacher initially puts students into a group, the students are a "group," not a

"team."

• As the students begin to trust each other and develop a commitment to the goals and

welfare of the group, they become a team.

• When they become a cohesive team, the team can do things that neither a single

individual nor a newly-formed group can do

• Team-based learning starts with groups and then creates the conditions that enable them

to become teams

Course Examples:

*** need to add in Brent MacLaine's example from UPEI - see Team learning Explanation doc

Mechanical Engineering 223, Mechanical Design and Civil Engineering 400, Construction Management

Contact: Jim Sibley <sibley@apsc.ubc.ca>

These courses, which take place in fixed-seating, tiered lecture theatres, have enrollments of 115 students Jim reports that the first year of using TBL had great results, with students dispersing and collecting their team folder of Scantron (bubble sheet) forms during class time, and working

to complete them (for the readiness assessment procedures) with great energy

3rd year Psychology of Sports (this example comes from a member of the TBL listserve, who

teaches at Towson University in Maryland: Instructor: Karla Kubitz <kubitz@towson.edu>)

Excerpt from course assignment:

The purpose of the assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to integrate and apply what you have learned about the group/ environment-related tools (i.e., the theories, models, etc in chapters 5-10) in the sport psychology toolbox There will be four parts to this assignment

1 Integrative Individual Assignment

2 Integrative Team Assignment

3 Peer-evaluation

4 Self-evaluation (the Team Self-evaluation and the individual One Minute Paper).

Reference:

Team-based Learning Homepage http://atlas.services.ou.edu/idp/teamlearning/index.htm

More Resources:

Michaelsen, L.K., Knight, A.B., and Fink, L.D (2002) Team-based Learning: A

Transformative Use of Small Groups Westport: Praeger.

Sibley, Jim 2005 Team-based Learning: An alternative to lecturing in large class settings

Sneak Preview of Tapestry (Newsletter of the Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth),

University of British Columbia Download PDF from:

http://www.tag.ubc.ca/resources/tapestry/index.php

Case-based Learning

In case-based learning, students are given a realistic statement, scenario, and/or case relevant to the course Students often apply what they learned from previous courses or their current

courses to work through the case

Excerpted from Dunne and Brooks (1994):

Origins of the Case Method:

Harvard Law School - 1870

• Real law cases used to illustrate rules of law

• Students placed in roles of the parties and “think in the discipline”

• Promotes judgment on part of students

Harvard Business School - 1908

• Based on the Law model

Perceived benefits at the time

• Learning anchored in reality and based on experience

• Situations multi-dimensional and often ambiguous

• Students must make trade-offs between conflicting influences

• In discussing the case with others, must confront your own assumptions and values

More Resources:

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Southern California has an excellent collection of on-line resources on case-based learning,

Dunne, David and Kim Brooks (2004) STLHE Green Guide No 5 Teaching with Cases

Halifax, Canada The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Order through STLHE at: http://www.mcmaster.ca/stlhe/publications/green.guides.htm)

Course Examples:

Nursing 410, Exploring Avenues of Nursing Practice,

Instructor: Marion Clauson <clauson@nursing.ubc.ca>

Excerpt from an in-class assignment:

Communications 125 British Columbia Centre for International Education

http://www.bccie.bc.ca/bccie/clients&partners/Publications.asp

This course uses case studies to model interview and cultural history techniques

Learning through Scenarios and Role Plays

Course Examples:

Human Kinetics 461 and 471: Prevention of Sports Injuries

Instructors: Rob Lloyd-Smith <rob.lloyd-smith@ubc.ca> and Jack Taunton

<jtaunton@interchange.ubc.ca>

This course came to our attention in TAG from a student taking it who spoke of how real-life it was Pairs of students have unique cases, which are actual cases at the Sports Medicine Clinic at UBC, including full charts on the patients One example is "Achilles Tendonitis in 48-year old male basketball player."

Perinatal Loss – Worksheet

Maria Lewis, a primipara is admitted to your postpartum unit

after delivering a stillborn baby boy at 38 weeks, due to a true

knot in the cord Maria and her husband, John are very

distraught and they can’t believe this is happening to them.

Part 1

a) What is unique or different about loss during the

perinatal period as compared to loss during other life crises

b) Can you think of differences in how Maria and John

would react if this had been an early pregnancy loss (i.e., miscarriage)?

Students then come to meet with the sports medicine doctors who are instructing the course With student taking on the role of the doctor, and doctor taking on the role of patient, the student asks questions and makes notes on how to proceed They then discuss the case and how the student might proceed if they were treating the patient for real

Students, in pairs, then write up the case, following guidelines for the profession, and lead a joint presentation with Student 1 responsible for: Abstract, Introduction, Case Study, Investigation, Diagnosis, References and Student 2 responsible for: Discussion, Prevention, Conclusion

The paper is worth 30%, the joint case presentation work 20% and a final examination is worth 50% of the course grade

Business Administration 236: Accounting Computer Applications

Instructor: Michelle Nicholson, Business Administration <mnicholson@ouc.bc.ca>

Michelle uses a simulated set of actual client files to teach accounting software

First year Management Principles

Instructor: Kerry Rempel, Business Administration <kbrundige@ouc.bc.ca>

Efficiency and Effectiveness Assignment

Active and Experiential Learning

• Involve students with the material (individually, pairs, groups)

• Use a variety of formats, materials, modes: Learning styles, Multiple Intelligences

• Model the content or process

• Find a way for learners to “experience” it

More Resources:

Cameron B.J (1999) STLHE Green Guide No 2 Active Learning Halifax, Canada The

Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Order through STLHE at:

http://www.mcmaster.ca/stlhe/publications/green.guides.htm)

TAG On-Line Resources

http://www.tag.ubc.ca/links/Topics/ActiveLearning.php

Tutor-dedicated Problem-based Learning

What is PBL?

Medical educators at McMaster University pioneered, or reinvented, problem-based learning, in

about 1969 Also called problem-stimulated learning, PBL has been defined as:

"A learning method based on the principle of using problems as a starting point

for the acquisition and integration of new knowledge." H S Barrows, 1982.

PBL is a learning environment in which the problem drives the learning That is, before students

learn some knowledge they are given a problem The problem is posed so that the students

discover that they need to learn some new knowledge before they can solve the problem

Posing the problem before learning tends to motivate students They know why they are

learning the new knowledge Learning in the context of the need-to-solve-a-problem also tends

to store the knowledge in memory patterns that facilitate later recall for solving problems

PBL utilizes student groups, but each group member is also responsible for independent research Further, instructor scaffolding is considerably less direct in problem-based learning than in other constructivist models such as anchored instruction Students are allowed to struggle and induct their own mental model of course concepts with only occasional "life-lines" from the instructor when concept processing falls off-track Problem-based learning is most similar to case-based instruction, but in its purest form, PBL is more open-ended

In PBL, students are confronted with an ill-structured problem that mirrors real-world problems Well chosen problems encourage students to define problems, identify what

information is needed, and engage in solution generation and decision making

In PBL, the self-directed study occurs in small groups of 6-8 students with the aid of a facilitator, or tutor It is the tutor's role to guide the students through the problems, and to provide them with ongoing formative evaluation

Although PBL uses tutorial groups, the learning is essentially an individual process, and each person is responsible for the acquisition of knowledge The tutorial is where learning issues are developed and information is shared, discussed and integrated back into the problem In addition, it is a place where clarification of concepts can occur as well as a place to share useful resources Each individual is responsible for his/her own learning, and for making sure the tutorial meets his/her own needs

More Resources:

Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, UBC

http://www.tag.ubc.ca/links/Topics/Problem-basedLearning.php

Educational Technologies, Virginia Tech

http://www.edtech.vt.edu/edtech/id/models/index.html

The Effectiveness of Problem-based Learning (PBL) in Preparing Dental Students for Clinical Treatment Planning

http://www.dentistry.ubc.ca/Personnel/walton/project3.html

Art History, University of Delaware

http://www.udel.edu/pbl/

Agricultural Sciences, UBC

http://www.agsci.ubc.ca/learningcentre/resources.htm

FNH 313, Microorganisms in Food Systems

www.agsci.ubc.ca/courses/fnh/313/FNH313.syllabus.pdf

FNH 250, Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (On-line)

http://det.cstudies.ubc.ca/detsite/CourseOfferings/FNH.html

FNH 472, Nutrition Assessment

www.agsci.ubc.ca/courses/fnh/370/FNH370.syllabus.pdf

FNH 475, Advanced Topics in Clinical Nutrition

www.agsci.ubc.ca/courses/fnh/475/FNH475.syllabus.pdf

FNH 497, Sports Nutrition Student Directed Seminars

www.agsci.ubc.ca/courses/fnh/497/FNH497B.syllabus.pdf

AGRO 461, Applied Agroecology

www.agsci.ubc.ca/courses/agro/461/AGRO461.syllabus.pdf

Landscape Architecture

http://www.agsci.ubc.ca/landscape_architecture/our_program/html/unique_format.html

Psychiatry, UBC

http://www.psychiatry.ubc.ca/undergrad/PBL.htm

Faulty of Medicine, UBC

http://www.health-sciences.ubc.ca/desd/faculty.html

A Study on Tutors' Expertise and Student Learning

http://www.health-sciences.ubc.ca/desd/exp-tut-learn.html

Validity of PBL Tutors' Summative Assessment

http://www.health-sciences.ubc.ca/desd/tut-valid.html

Students' Evaluation of Expert Vs Non-Expert PBL Tutors

http://www.health-sciences.ubc.ca/desd/expert-tutors.html

Educational and Counseling Psychology, and Special Education, UBC

EPSE 513, Seminar in Developmental Disabilities

EPSE 549, Seminar in Autism

http://www.ecps.educ.ubc.ca/courses/archive/00W/EPSE_549.htm

Office of Distance Education and Technology (On-line Courses), UBC

Pathology 417

http://det.cstudies.ubc.ca/detsite/CourseOfferings/outlinePATH417.html

Microbiology 410

www.microbiology.ubc.ca/pdfs/micb410.PDF

MEDG 530, Human Genetics

www.medgen.ubc.ca/courses/mggp/MEDG%20530%202005.pdf

Special Topics

Problem-based Learning in Large Classes

http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/pbl/pbl.htm

Learning through Inquiry

Learning through inquiry is based on a self-directed, question-driven search for understanding

An absolutely essential feature of this conception of inquiry is the explicit formation of a set of questions that provide a framework for research Inquiry can be carried out by students working

as individuals or in small groups The approach can be the format for an entire course or for just part of a course

The principal steps of inquiry are:

1 the students explores a subject or theme and chooses a focus for the research;

2 a central research question for inquiry is formulated;

3 the student develops a plan of research, based on critical questioning and the attempt to anticipate findings; and

4 these research findings are brought to bear on the central question

The above excerpt is from Hudspith, B., and Jenkins, H (2001) STLHE Green Guide N0 3 Teaching the Art of Inquiry Halifax, Canada: The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education

Course Examples:

Chemistry 121, Structural Chemistry and Chemistry 123, Physical and Organic Chemistry:

From the URL below, you can link to the lab components, which are taught via inquiry