One barrier would probably be the time that it would take to design and develop this model. Teachers would have to create cases and provide students with resources to help them solve the cases, or provide hints. I think it would be helpful for teachers to work with other teachers in teams to create modules such as this one. Different teachers could be responsible for presenting different resources that go along with the case.
I would be willing to try out this model in the classroom. However, if I used it in the classroom, I would definitely put students in small groups so they would be able to collaborate with their peers and have discussions with their group members about the case. I think this model would be a great way to incorporate relevant contexts and real world situations and decisions.
If I used this model online, to present the case, I would probably use some type of video. I might create one on MovieMaker or iMovie. Also, I would incorporate a discussion thread or wiki where students could share their thoughts about the case with their classmates.
I also found the Case-Based Reasoning model effective for teaching students. I think it would be useful for students to retrieve past information that they have learned, and reuse it, revise it, and then retain it. It is useful for students to remember how they solved past cases, so they can apply their knowledge to future cases.
I agree that the process of creating a case for the modules can be a barrier. But one of the good things about using cases is that the teacher doesn't have to dream up the case from their imagination, but can use real-life cases that have been studied by experts. I feel like this is what takes this approach a step further than the others. It's not necessarily simulating a real-problem/example...it "is" a real problem/example.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, you bring up some good points. There are many fields that could benefit from case based learning. I also can see this being applied more to higher grade level classes, than in elementary school grades. I think it would be hard to teach phonics, addition, and subtraction in a case based model in elementary school. This model require much more higher order thinking as student analyze, evaluate, and compare cases.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of teachers pooling together their "cases" to make a set of resources for a class.
ReplyDeleteTime would indeed be a serious problem for teachers interested in this approach. Not only for creating cases, but even if they wanted to ind premade cases it could still be a time consuming process. I know from experience that even locating premade smart board materials that specifically match the curriculum can be take a lot of time even when I have in have the search narrowed down to some pretty decent web sites. And then I still typically have to modify them even when they do match. I found this to be an issue with some of the other approaches we've looked at as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas. Videos are the ticket these days in the online community. I would use free video sites such as Vimeo, Youtube, Facebook, and Daily Motion to share the cases to the class. Voki's are also a good way to capture the attention of the students. Voki uses an avatar that can speak from recorded voice or text. I think that this tool can be embedding on class sites to assist them with a case or give hints , ect.
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