Developing an effective case study
Transcript of Developing an effective case study
TEACHING IN MEDICAL EDUCATION FACULTY FELLOWS PROGRAM
ADLT 672 , INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING IN MEDICINE
NOVEMBER 14 , 2013
Developing an Effective Case Study
What is a Case?
The What
Cases are stories: real events or problems so learners experience the complexities, ambiguities, and uncertainties of participants
Cases come in all sizes: written cases, movie clips, radio/TV stories, pictures
Retrospective cases tell the whole story
Your Initial Moves
Provide an overview A brief summary of the facts of the case The story of the case Issues raised by the case
Create an analytic framework The time line Decisions to be made/ decision-makers Rational analysis
What is the problem? What are the alternatives? How should you evaluate the
alternatives? What’s the rationale for the solution you
propose?
Your Initial Moves
Use a Quick Question Pose a question to students to open
the case to elicit facts, opinions, interpretations, or issues
Ask students to summarize the story of the case in one sentence The subsequent discussion can pool
their ideas to create a larger, more complex picture of the case
Establish a baseline Poll students with their preliminary
judgments about the case
Deploying Your Power as Facilitator
Inquiring or badgering? Be sure your questions are designed in the spirit of
inquiry Avoid overly specific or skeptical questions
Your points or theirs? Demonstrate that you are wide open to their ideas and
suggestions. “I like your point; let’s use it.” Avoid asking students to guess what you want.
Instead, use questions like, “Have we covered all the main points?”
Deploying Your Power as Facilitator
Hearing or Listening? Focus on sensing what they really mean when you
listen to what they say. Are you sensing their concerns or their issues? More than “hearing” is required when you facilitate a case discussion.
Seeing or reacting? It is easy to see or react to learners who sit up front.
You’ll need to develop your peripheral vision to stay attuned to those who have something to add from the back of the room.
Deploying Your Power as Facilitator
Warm or cold? Avoid being the dispassionate observer. If learners think
you are remote or unresponsive, they will “check out” of the discussion. Warmth and enthusiasm go a long way!
Up here or out there? Students under pressure to answer questions will often
deflect the attention and pressure back to you by insisting that you provide answers or clarifications, putting you back in the expert role.
Avoid the “hub and spoke” discussion in which conversation moves back and forth from one student to you.
Moving the Discussion Forward
Consider using flip charts or a chalkboard to establish a sense of progress
Use transitions to mark the sequence of stages or steps in the discussion: In a seque, your transition seems natural to the
conversation, “that point raises another good issue.” In a shift, your transition is deliberately more abrupt. “I
want to ask you a different question.” In an interim summary, you (or the learners) sum up
what has been said so far
Skillful time management is essential
Remember, that with the best case discussions, students will all wish there was more time!
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
But what if it isn’t working?
Dealing with Problem Situations
Silence / ApathyPremature closureSitting at the teacher’s feetThe abyssThe problem student
Unmotivated student Uninformed student Defector Compulsive talker Show-off Conflict avoider The rude or abrasive student
How do you close a case discussion?
What’s the most important thing to remember?
Indicators of SuccessHow much did the instructor talk vs. how much did the students talk? How many
students were voluntarily
active in the discussion?
How many questions did the instructor
ask?
How “mobile” was the
instructor, i.e. traveling around the classroom?
How many times did students
laugh?
Was there a high level of energy in the
room?
Did the discussion
make sense? Was it
coherent?
The LCME definition of Active Learning
In active learning, The learner is given the opportunity to self-assess
learning needs
The learner is given the opportunity to independently identify, analyze, and synthesize relevant information
The learner is given the opportunity to appraise the credibility of information resources
All of this implies a new paradigm for teaching!
GoalsAre written as
broad statements of purpose or
intent Answer the question, “What
do I want my learners to be
able to do at the end of my course?”
Serve as criteria for selection of
curricular components
(such as assessments &
learning strategies)
Clearly communicate
what the learning experience addresses
Serve as benchmarks
against which courses can be
evaluated
Can be considered
“broad” educational objectives
Goals Differ from Learning Objectives
Goals Learning Objectives
Can use verbs such as “understand,” “know” or “appreciate”
Are often written, The purpose of this
course is ….
Use strong, action-oriented verbs in one of three domains of learning: Cognitive Psychomotor Affective
Can also be related to process or desired outcomes of the learning experience
Example of a Course Goal
The purpose of the End-of-Life elective for 4th year medical students is to develop the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills that will enable them to become compassionate care providers to patients and their
families in palliative care, sudden or traumatic death, pediatric death, transplant, and other end-of-
life situations.
Traditionally, behavioral objectives address three things:
The desired behavior
The conditions under which the behavior is performed
The performance standards that are to be met
A well-written objective answers the question:
Who will do how much (or how well) of what by
when?
Hint: When writing your objective, begin with
“By when”
Example of a Course Goal
The purpose of this course is for medical students to learn to identify normal from abnormal structures from pathologic gross images, glass slides, or digital images.
and a corresponding behavioral learning objective
By the end of this lesson, more than 95% of the students will have correctly connected the radiologic and microscopic images for the six
bone tumors presented in the class.