Students
should have meaningful learning experiences (The Learning and Skills
Improvement Service, 2010). While the article is written for adult learners, it
has reasonable application to younger students.
Case studies can provide meaningful learning experiences for students by
having them apply their learning. By providing students the opportunity to
apply their knowledge, case study lessons become much more real (Mind Tools
Ltd, 2014). By giving students an opportunity to practice and work with learned
skills during a case study, students are more likely to retain the knowledge
and skills over time. Cased Study-Based Learning is a strategy that can be used
to provide learners with an opportunity to solve a problem by applying what
they know in the classroom(Mind Tools Ltd, 2014).
Similarly, Mind Tools (2014) states, “Case studies are a
great way to improve a learning experience, because they get the learner
involved, and encourage immediate use of newly acquired skills.” The article
correlates in many aspects with the Case
study toolkit shared in this week’s readings. In correlation The Case Study toolkit states “learners have
to draw on information and skills acquired from different areas of their
programme in order to provide an effective solution to the problem that has
been set. This helps learners to see connections between different elements of
their programme and understand their relevance” (Learning and Skills
Improvement Service, 2010). The two
resources make a strong statement about having students use learned skills to
apply learning and make it relevant.
The two
articles have similar information about what a case study is, why use a case
study, and how to write a scenario. The Case
study toolkit provides more information for teachers in regards to the role
of the teacher, preparing learners, managing groups, supporting and mentoring
learners, and how to debrief after completing a case study.
Case
Studies can be applied in the Family and Consumer Science classroom by putting
students into the role of a professional in the field. Teachers could provide a
problem that a professional of that field would come across frequently and have
to solve. For example, a scenario about a gluten intolerant patient can be
given to students. Students could then take on the role of a nutritionist and
make a meal plan for the patient. To ensure learning becomes meaningful
students could then take one traditional pastry recipe and formulate it into a
gluten free product. Students could then prepare the recipe, analyze the final
product, and compare the product to the original recipe.
Implementing
Case Study-Based learning into a classroom is reinforcing the 21st
century skills of problem solving and teamwork.
Case Study-Based Learning encourages ownership of student learning as
they organize themselves, review their progress and reflect on their decisions
and experiences (The Learning and Skills Improvement Service, 2010). Case Study-Based Learning can be used in a
variety of classroom settings and these resources are great tools to help start
the process of implementing it into your classroom.
References
Learning
and Skills Improvement Service. (2010). Case study toolkit. Retrieved from
/casestudyhttp://tlp.excellencegateway.org.uk/tlp/pedagogy/tools/casestudytoolki2toolki/fullscreen/index.html
Mind
Tools Ltd. (2014). Case Study-Based
Learning, Enhancing Learning Through Immediate Application. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS94.htm
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