Case Study: Cell and Molecular Biology (BIOL 405)
Date: Spring 2008
Reflection written July 3, 2008
Standard: National Science Education Standards A, B, D, and E. These standards state that science teachers will plan inquiry-based science programs that will guide and facilitate their students’ learning while providing students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science. Additionally, science teachers will develop communities of learners that reflect the intellectual rigor, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.
Describe: One of my teaching goals for 2007-2008 was to add more case studies to my courses since students retain more information when using active learning methods. The Tay Sachs case study was used in the upper-division Cell and Molecular Biology course taught in the spring of 2008. It was given to the students at the beginning of the unit covering intracellular transport, and was designed to remind them of the function of lysosomes while also introducing the question of how proteins are moved throughout a cell. The student groups were given time at the end of the lecture period to begin working on the case study, which they completed outside of class. Each group submitted their completed write-up at the beginning of the next class period. (Note that the job of group reporter shifted with each case, so that the workload was fairly distributed, and all students shared responsibility for the group points.)
Analyze: I have chosen to include this artifact in my teaching portfolio since it demonstrates both an inquiry-based program and an alternative way to guide students’ learning. Case studies, such as this one, can be used to capture the students’ interest; the students are then more likely to ask their own questions as the unit progresses. The case study, therefore, facilitates learning by guiding students to make their own inquires. Additionally, since the students work in groups, the case study encourages development of a community of learners that reflect the intellectual rigor, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.
Appraise: One advantage of case studies is that they require students to explicitly state their knowledge; knowledge they often have to acquire through outside readings or group discussions. This is an advantage because too often my instinct is to simply supply students with “just the facts”. Case studies force me to step back and let my students grapple with the concepts on their own. This encourages students to find their own answers, rather than relying on the teacher to provide all the answers, and I have learned that this method of guiding student learning is preferable to simply giving them the answers. Although I am still working to perfect the professional skill of smoothly guiding student learning, I have found the use of case studies to be an effective tool in this area.
Transform: As previously mentioned, I have found case studies to be an effective methodology for guiding student learning and building a community of learners. However, now that I have used this particular case study in class, there are several changes that I would like to make. In general, I have found that I under-estimate the amount of classroom time required for a case study. This is something that has gotten easier with practice, but is still an area to which I must pay close attention when planning the use of a case study. More specifically, this case study is too simplistic; the questions need to be redesigned to more explicitly direct the students into the unit on intracellular sorting pathways. For example, the last question could be: “Explain the process by which the defective protein arrives at its location within the cells of a Tay Sachs patient.”
************
To view the sample Tay Sachs case study, click here.