Luggage Investigations ??

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 No, this post is not about dodge air traffic people.

When trying to get an idea across to other people, often the use of examples aids the understanding of the concept. Case studies take this one step further and place the example in reality. They also show students that the work they are studying can be used in real life. This post will lay out some of the do's and don't's of developing a case study using Waterman and Stanley "Investigate Case Based Learning" (http://bioquest.org/case99.html).

In my case I will using a practical in which the students did particularly bad in. They were given various cartilaginous fish and bony fish (5 in total) and were told to tabulate their morphological differences and note morphological characteristics. Most of them found the exercise pointless and didn't actually think about what they were listing. My aim is to write a case study to help them understand the importance of simple morphological differences

- Find your muse: find a topic (learning goal) which that you want your students to take away from the case study whether it be analytical techniques, lab skills or concept understanding (my case: the importance of morphology)

- Set the scene: find a realistic place for your case study. by placing it outside the local environment (school or campus) and in an ordinary, every day situation.

Some don't's:

• Avoid Sci-Fi scenarios, or unrealistic images like talking plants and animals......its confusing

• Avoid Research Labs at school or university. The point is to show them applications in the real world

• Don't involve the student. Do not use their names or place them in the situation. The case study should be more like a Pensieve, where they view the situation from the outside. It also makes it easier for the students to criticise the characters 

Then just write a draft and re-write..........my draft will follow.....eventually....