University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York.
Capilano University, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2021 Sep 1;45(3):620-625. doi: 10.1152/advan.00046.2021.
Before COVID-19, the use of case studies to learn science was well established in high school and postsecondary classrooms. Once the pandemic ensued, many faculty continued to use the method as a way to infuse elements of active learning remotely. The results of a survey taken by 600 faculty reveal how they accomplished this feat. Respondents to the survey found that the case method readily transferred to online learning. Most used a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous classrooms. Serious challenges were encountered, primarily due to the difficulty instructors had in keeping track of learner participation. Many obstacles were overcome by creative strategies such as using Google Forms. Some semblance of a normal classroom was achieved by using online conferencing tools and using small groups in synchronous breakout rooms. Cases were commonly broken into chunks and spread over several days. This worked especially well with cases that were already structured this way, including interrupted cases and problem-based learning exercises. Assessment of student performance largely followed the traditional path of exams, projects, and essays, although a third of the faculty attempted to evaluate participation. Classes conducted via an asynchronous approach were largely lecture based, with cases given to learners to complete as homework either individually or as groups. The greatest challenge in this setting was that answers to case questions were often readily available to learners on the internet. This was avoided by faculty modifying questions or creating their own.
在 COVID-19 之前，案例研究在高中和高等教育课堂中被广泛应用于学习科学。大流行开始后，许多教师继续使用这种方法，将主动学习的元素远程融入教学中。一项针对 600 名教师进行的调查结果揭示了他们是如何做到这一点的。参与调查的受访者发现，案例法很容易转移到在线学习中。大多数人使用同步和异步教室的混合模式。由于教师难以跟踪学习者的参与度，因此遇到了严重的挑战。许多障碍通过创造性的策略得以克服，例如使用 Google 表单。通过使用在线会议工具和在同步分组讨论室中使用小组，可以实现某种正常课堂的效果。案例通常被分成几部分，并在几天内完成。对于已经以这种方式组织的案例，包括中断案例和基于问题的学习练习，这种方法特别有效。学生表现的评估主要遵循传统的考试、项目和论文路径，尽管三分之一的教师试图评估参与度。通过异步方法进行的课程主要以讲座为基础，将案例提供给学习者作为家庭作业，无论是单独完成还是分组完成。在这种情况下最大的挑战是，案例问题的答案在互联网上经常对学习者可见。教师可以通过修改问题或创建自己的问题来避免这种情况。
