Transcript Committed to Cases: Integrating the Case Concept into Your Course

Committed to Cases:
Integrating the case concept into your course
Eric Ribbens
Biology
Western Illinois University
Committed to Cases
• 1: What do you want to teach your students?
• 2: Syllabus deconstruction
• 3: Learn from my mistakes
A bit about me …
Crossing a milestone today!
My plan …
But my teaching?
My First Case
• Ribbens, E. 2001. Too many deer! A case study
in managing urban deer herds. In The National
Center for Case Study Teaching in Science Case
Study Collection.
Science as a Bicycle
• If biology was about bikes, in conventional
collegiate biology we would talk about the
theory of aerodynamics, take bikes apart in
the lab, watch videos of bike races … Then
we’d take students for a wobbly ride around
the block, and tell them to go win the Tour de
France.
So while we think:
They are more likely to…
But why?
• I knew the arguments for cases. But did I
believe them? And if so, why wasn’t I using
more cases?
Small Group Work
• How many cases (or hours of cases) do you
teach in your class over the semester?
• Why?
• What are your specific goals
for the case component?
Syllabus Deconstruction
• Look at the example syllabus: Biol 102
(deleted)
• It’s a real syllabus that I found at random on
the web.
• What can you tell about this course?
??
• What are the course goals?
• What are the objectives for November 3?
The Example Syllabus Again
• Assume it’s a typical intro bio for majors:
(you’ve all taken one, many of you teach one)
• As a group, identify some course goals.
The Example Syllabus Again
• Assume it’s a typical intro bio for majors:
(you’ve all taken one, many of you teach one)
• As a group, identify some course goals.
• What’s the most important goal? Why?
The Example Syllabus Again
• Assume it’s a typical intro bio for majors:
(you’ve all taken one, many of you teach one)
• As a group, identify some course goals.
• What’s the most important goal? Why?
• Look at the example syllabus. Will the goal you
chose be met when this course is taught?
Syllabus Redesign
• Look at the example syllabus. How many cases
do you think should be taught? How many
hours? How would you fit them in?
My Conclusion
• 1: Are cases important? YES
• 2: However many
to be used, there’s
NO ROOM.
Syllabus Redesign
• 1: Start with your goals
• 2: Allocate cases, etc. in proportion!
• 3: Goals goals goals
Look at the Botany Syllabus
• What are the course goals?
• What are the objectives for Unit 3?
Syllabus Deconstruction Cont.
•
•
•
•
Group Work:
Pick a topic (your choice).
Write a set of goals for that class period (or 2)
Would you share those goals with your
students? Why or why not?
Challenges
• 1: Pedagogy
• Why are you teaching with
cases?
• Why are you teaching THIS
case?
• Classroom Management:
cases are not lectures.
Students don’t know how
to act. You need to be a
risk-taker!
Challenges
• 2: Your colleagues:
• “You are not teaching concept XXX.”
• “My syllabus is already too full. There’s no way I
could add cases too!”
• “If your students are having fun, are they really
learning?”
• “Your classroom sounds chaotic. That can’t be
good.”
• “How do you possibly assess them?”
Challenges
• 3: Your Students:
• “Why do I have to work with this group? I’m
better than they are!”
• “This class was really fun, but Dr. Ribbens
didn’t do much!”
• “I really don’t like these cases. They make me
think, and I’m better at memorizing facts.”
Case Challenges
• The Unexpected
• Failure
– “the bad fishing dudes”
• Serendipity
– Chemical Eric and medical compassion
• Detours
– PCB case and why finance research
Conclusion: