Course materials with a student-centred case-based design

Paul LamDaniel Ong

25 October, 2006

About us

Carmel McNaught, Paul Lam, Vivian LeeCentre for Learning Enhancement

And Research (學能提升及硏究中心 ), The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Daniel OngDepartment of Physics, The Chinese

University of Hong Kong

Context Teaching vs. Learning

Context

Theory and then drill? Or, inquiry-based learning?

Context

True understanding

Context

Peer learning

Context

Learning skills

Case-based learning

• Presentation of cases with problems to solve

• Identification of learning issues

• Acquiring information

• Understanding information

• Developing a plan of actions

• Arriving at case solutions

A case is a story, often told as a sequence of events in a particular place. Students put themselves in the role of an actor in the situation

History

Early use of Case-Based learning Law schools as early as late 1800s Business schools since early 1900s

Currently Professional schools: medicine, dentistry, law,

business, teachers General education, humanities Science?

Goals

Able to formulate concepts (hypotheses) in a systematic way

Analyze and critically review data and ideas Integrate knowledge across different areas Apply scientific knowledge to real world Improve thinking & problem-solving skills Learn form their peers learn & remember

more Feel motivated in learning

UGC Teaching Development Grant (2001-04) Project

Incorporating skills in metacognition and case-based teaching and learning into tertiary science education

Major investigators

•Leo Lau, Physics, CUHK

• Peter Au, Chemistry, BUHK

• Carmel McNaught, CLEAR, CUHK

Coach students to acquire the concept of

learning responsibility and skills in self-

learning, collaborative learning, and

presentation, in the context of introductory

materials science

Year 1 Undergraduate Course in Materials Science

Design philosophy

CASE: Peter Lam's Puzzle in Organizing Data for his First Job Interview

Peter Lam received a phone call from David Chan, HR manager of Compass Technology Ltd. at 9:45am this morning, who requested him to attend a one-hour job interview at 2pm. Peter is extremely happy and excited, partly because he will have his first job interview two months prior to his graduation from the BSc Program in Materials Science and Engineering at CUHK, and partly because he knows that Compass Technology is a leading company in the global business of tape packaging products for the integrated circuit industry. But he is also very nervous, particularly because David specifically asked him to prepare a ten minute presentation on his knowledge on materials science and engineering.

Year 1 Undergraduate Course in Materials Science

A case

Courses involved

Traditional

(w/o enhance

website

materials

Pilot

case-based

teaching

Refined

case-based

teaching

Number of

courses

6 3 3

Overall course structure

Teaching of main concepts Self learning Peer teaching Cases Group discussion Presentation and class

teaching

Evaluation data

Student Survey Focus group

interviews Exam results In class observation

Teacher survey

FindingsLearning ( pilot case-based, 2003-04)) “I learned more by going through the cases than what I could have learnt if

the course had been conducted in a traditional lecture format”

2003-2004 Student feedback on usefulness of case-based approach in learning

01020304050

Stronglyagree

Agree No comment Disagree StronglyDisagree

Student answer

Per

cen

tag

e

Undergraduates Postgraduates

Learning ( refined case-based, 2004-05 )Students’ answers to survey question:

2004-2005 Student feedback on usefulness of case-based approach in learning

0

1020

3040

50

Strongly agree Agree No comment Disagree StronglyDisagree

Students' answer

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Undergraduates Postgraduates

Enjoyment (pilot case-based, 2003-04) Students’ answers to survey question:

“I found completing the cases enjoyable”

2003-2004 Students' feedback on enjoyment of case-based learning

010203040

Stronglyagree

Agree No comment Disagree StronglyDisagree

Students' answer

Per

cen

tag

e

Undergraduates Postgraduates

Enjoyment (refined case-based, 2004-05)Students’ answers to survey question:

2004-2005 Student feedback on enjoyment of case-based learning

01020304050

Stronglyagree

Agree No comment Disagree StronglyDisagree

Students' answer

Per

cen

tag

e

Undergraduates Postgraduates

Acquisition of skills Students’ answers to survey question:

“The cases have helped me acquire the following skills which are important for my future career:

Students' feedback - Skills acquisition Survey question:

"The cases have helped me acquire the following skills which are important for my future career"

0102030405060

Str

ongly

agre

e

Agre

e

No

com

ment

Dis

agre

e

Str

ongly

Dis

agre

e

Students' answers

No

of

resp

on

ses

Problem solving skill

Skills to work efficientlyin groups

Self learning skill

Presentation skill

2.4

2.6

2.8

3

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

Traditional Pilot case-based Refined case-based

Workload manageable

Enjoy

Understanding

Learning skills

Self-study readiness

Comment: Only 4 out of the 6 traditional courses were counted as the earliest 2 courses did not have course-end surveys (they had spq only).

Findings on opinions

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

remember/understand apply/analyze evaluate/create

Traditional

Pilot case-based

Refined case-based

Assignment performance

Strengths

Case-based learning helps students gain better understanding of theories

Students observed improvement in their skills including problem-solving skills, group-working skills, and self-learning skills and presentation skills

Available data of exam scores suggests that students

perform well in answering questions that require knowledge of fact and perform even better in questions that require higher analytical skill. Students had become more able to apply relevant material when answering analysis based questions.

Weaknesses

For some part-time postgraduates, they found case-based approach which demands group work time consuming

Students require stronger learning support in terms of guidance, teaching support and communications with tutors

Students required strong guidance – it is important for the lecturer to disseminate more concrete instructions and basic knowledge before the start of the case project (maybe in the form of a briefing session), give tips and direction to students during the process, and give more comments to students after their presentations.

Designing the supplementary package Inquiry-based Balancing lecturing and student inquisitive

learning Not about knowing a lot, but about true

understanding of the important and basic Peer learning Student motivation (variety of activities,

interesting topics, stories, cases)

Teacher help