Turning to case studies as a mechanism for learning in action learning

Case studies are a useful means of capturing and sharing experiential knowledge by allowing researchers to explore the social, organisational and political contexts of a specific case. Although accounts of action learning are often reported using a case study approach, it is not common to see individual case studies being used as a learning practice within action learning sets. Drawing on a network action learning (NAL) project, this paper explores how the process of coaching, articulating, authoring, sharing and editing case studies provided a vehicle for learning and research within a NAL set. The intended contribution of this paper to the theory of action learning is to extend the range of learning practices to include the case study within the NAL set. It discusses how case studies act as boundary objects, which are artefacts that can be used to cross boundaries between groups in order to facilitate learning that might not otherwise occur.     

Student connections among counting problems: an exploration using actor-oriented transfer

The purpose of this article is to explore student-generated connections among counting problems. The literature indicates that such problems pose difficulties for students, who struggle to detect common structures and identify models of underlying problem types. A case study is presented here, in which students elaborate upon connections they make during the problem solving process. The selected case study highlights student work on three particular combinatorics problems, one of which highlights tendencies toward over-counting. The conception of Lobato (Educational Researcher 3(1):17–20, 2003) of actor-oriented transfer, in which students’ (as opposed to experts’) notions of similarity are emphasized, is used as a means by which to analyze the resulting qualitative data. Results include (1) a domain-specific categorization of fundamental types of actor-oriented transfer in combinatorics and (2) implications that there is much to be gained when students attend to features of problems that experts might not emphasize.     

案例教学法在高职德育课中的应用

高职德育课存在形式主义和教条主义、教材格式刻板、教材内容滞后、学生厌学等问题，引入案例教学法可以有效地解决这些问题。运用案例教学法应遵循适用性、完整性、趣味性等原则。在具体应用中，主要包括课内讲评法、讨论法、情景再现法、多媒体教学法。案例教学要充分发挥教师和学生的双主体作用。     

Case Study Research: A Valuable Learning Tool for Performance Improvement Professionals

Although it is sometimes recommended that performance improvement (PI) professionals include experimental research designs in their repertoire of PI tools and methods, it has been long understood that experimental designs can be difficult to implement due to impediments resulting from the complex nature of the organizational settings. However, the utilization of case study research has proven to be an effective alternative to aid in the identification of strengths and opportunities for the improvement of organizational procedures, policies, processes, or programs. Case study research helps managers and practitioners make sense of real world problems. This article presents a summary of steps in the design of case study research and provides examples of how these methods have been used within organizational settings. Implications for PI practitioners are provided.     

论《马克思主义基本原理概论》的案例教学

《马克思主义基本原理概论》应引入案例教学,因为案例教学善于培养学生的创新能力、解决实际问题能力和独立思考习惯等。该课程案例教学的主要环节包括：选择合适的案例、进行案例课堂教学、教学评价等。不过,案例教学也有自身的局限,要注意结合其他教学方法作补充。     

Online case-based discussions: examining coverage of the afforded problem space

Case studies hold great potential for engaging students in disciplinary content. However, little is known about the extent to which students actually cover the problem space afforded by a particular case study. In this research, we compared the problem space afforded by an instructional design case study with the actual content covered by 16 graduate students participating in an online case discussion. In addition, we examined prompts used by two instructors to both widen and deepen that coverage. Results showed that 86 % of the afforded problem space was covered during the week-long discussion, although problem-space components were not covered equally. To keep students focused on relevant case details, the instructors used a variety of prompts, accounting for 15 % of the total postings. Implications for research and practice are discussed including ways to use case mapping as both a teaching and analysis tool.     

Interdisciplinary In‐service at the University: a participatory case‐based model for professional development

Abstract

The Participatory Case‐Based Model for Professional Development is an in‐service model which is useful across the human service disciplines (social work, occupational therapy, public health, special education, early childhood and family education). In the model, participants enrolled in a graduate course engage in dialogue and perspective‐taking, through case analysis and case writing. Using grounded theory and inductive data analyses, the major effects of this professional development model were studied. These effects included: (1) gaining new knowledge; (2) ‘really seeing’ from multiple perspectives; and (3) developing a sense of support, renewal and networking across various professions. Connections to the selected professional development literature —; problem‐based learning, case process and effects, and the practical argument model — offered affirmations and challenges to the Participatory Case‐Based Model for Professional Development     

案例教学法在管理学教学中的应用探析

案例教学法是一种行之有效的教学方法,在管理学教学中运用案例教学法有利于激发学生的学习热情,提高他们的学习主动性,增强分析问题和解决问题的能力,提高他们的实际管理水平。管理学案例教学法的实施大致包括课前准备、学生参与分析讨论、教师总结三个环节。在实施过程中应该注意三个方面的问题。     

行政管理类课程教学案例设计方法刍议

相对于传统的授课方法,案例教学在行政管理类课程的教学中日益发挥着重要的作用。但我国高校目前的案例教学还存在一些亟待解决的问题,突出表现在案例库建设滞后,规模偏小,可供选择的案例较少,针对性不强,难以激发学生的思考等方面。提高案例教学效果需要从案例设计这一首要环节着手。     

Case studies of teaching problem solving

Summary Some important results that relate to classroom learning and teaching of problem solving emerge from these case studies. These are now summarized as follows. In terms of the students' potential learning experiences of problem solving, it was found that the students were mainly witnessing their teachers' demonstrations of using rules or algorithms for solution to problems. Repeated practice of solving the sorts of problems that occur in examinations was also emphatically included as part of the learning experience. The students were not exposed to a range of strategies that could possibly be used to solve the same problems. There was no explicit teaching of important problem solving skills such as translation skills (comprehending, analyzing, interpreting, and defining a given problem) and linkage skills (concept relatedness between two concepts or using cues from the problem statements to associate ideas, concepts, diagrams, etc. from memory). When teachers solve problems they use, in general, several strategies to solve the same class of problems and they are very careful and explicit about translating problem statements, making relevant linkages and checking. These absences in the teachers' teaching of problem solving (and hence in the students' range of learning experiences) are particularly interesting because they are part of the teachers' own repertoire of skills. Accordingly, it may not be too difficult to get teachers to include them in their teaching. This would mean that the students' range of learning experiences for problem solving would be very much strengthened.     

Optimization problems in elementary geometry

Optimization, a principle of nature and engineering design, in real life problems is normally achieved by using numerical methods. In this article we concentrate on some optimization problems in elementary geometry and Newtonian mechanics. These include Heron’s problem, Fermat’s principle, Brachistochrone problems, Fagano’s problem, geodesics on the surface of a parallelepiped, Fermat/Steiner problem, Kakeya problem and the isoperimetric problem. Some of these are very old and historically famous problems, a few of which are still unresolved. Close connection between Euclidean geometry and Newtonian mechanics is revealed by the methods used to solve some of these problems. Examples are included to show how some problems of analysis or algebra can be solved by using the results of these geometrical optimization problems.     

Conceptual change using multiple interpretive perspectives: Two case studies in secondary school chemistry

Conceptual change is predominantlydescribed as a rational process; however, researchersare beginning to explore alternative explanations forwhy some students learn but others given the sameopportunities do not. New perspectives include socialand motivational factors, ontological issues,modelling ability, intellectual development and thequestion of whether conceptual change is revolutionaryor evolutionary. This paper argues that conceptualchange is best understood when multiple perspectivesare used to interpret chemistry learning. Case studiesof two apparently similar students are used to showthat personal factors and differing interests andpurposes for studying science can significantlyinfluence learning outcomes. The case studies supportan argument that high scores on achievement tests areunreliable indicators of conceptual learning andrecommend that teachers and researchers pay moreattention to qualitative indicators of learning suchas students' conceptual status, modelling level andintellectual position. The findings suggest thatteachers and curriculum developers should take intoaccount the qualitative differences that studies suchas this identify.     

Network Structure Expert System and Operation Optimization

It is propsed that double level programming technique may be adopted in synthesis strategy ,Optimi-zation of heat exchanger network sturctural configuration (the master problem )may be solved at the upper level ,leaving the rest operaing conditions (the slave problem)being optimized at the lower level ,With the uniqueness in mind,an HEN synthesis expert system may be employed to address both the logical constraints and the global operation parameters‘ optimization using enhanced sequential number optimization theory,Case studies demonstrate that the synthesis strategy proposed can effectively simplify both the problem-solving and the synthesis process,The validity of the strategy recommended is evidenced by case studies‘ results compared.     

Teaching Literature: the Oxford Education Research Group Project

abstract

Employers seek communication, problem‐solving and teamworking skills in graduates. The need for the last factor derives from an increasing use of teams to manage organisations and to solve problems. The use of analyses of personality styles to understand teamwork grows, and the models of Belbin and Margerison and Lewis (the latter based on the Myers‐Briggs analysis of personality type) are used particularly and illustrate the approach. Most programmes which develop personal skills in graduates include development of inter‐personal skills but appear to under‐use the insights of personality typing. There is a case for redressing this balance. Unstructured group work is of less use than it might be. Dangers to be overcome include stereotyping and superficiality. Other implications for higher education appear in the selection of students, understanding student learning and teaching methods, and the relative inability of institutions to use ideas and insights generated by research.     

Excluding Primary School Children – The Outcomes Six Years On

This article reports and discusses a study which followed up, through case records, 726 children excluded permanently, indefinitely or for fixed–term periods in 1993/4 in 10 LEAs. The outcomes at secondary level in 1998/9 were found to be moderately poor with the problems intensifying for half the sample. Forty six per cent had further primary school exclusions and 36 per cent received exclusions in their secondary education. Looked–after children and those with special educational needs fared worse and achieved less. Case studies showed the kinds of commitment and support that can work even with very difficult cases.     

Monitoring learning-disabled students in mainstream science classes

While science classes are believed to be interactive learning environments, offering varied ways for students to learn, some experts believe that learning disabled (LD) students should be monitored closely in such settings because of difficulties adjusting to the social, behavioral, and academic demands. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether LD fourth and sixth graders show difficulties adjusting to the demands of their mainstream science classes and to investigate two means of assessing LD students’ functioning in these classes: paired questionnaires for teachers and students and a science curriculum-based assessment (CBA). Subjects include 31 fourth graders (9 LD) and 38 sixth graders (13 LD). Results show that the LD students had significant weaknesses on some subtests of the science CBA relative to their peers; additionally, they rated themselves and were rated by their teachers significantly more negatively than their Non-LD peers. These results suggest the potential value of monitoring LD students in mainstream science classes. Case studies of LD students reveal mismatches in the perception of the student and teacher regarding the student’s adjustment and classroom habits. Examination of these case studies is used to suggest ways in which the collaboration of student and teacher as well as regular and special education teachers might aid the student.     

Knowing your students in large diverse classes: a phenomenographic case study

The problem which this paper addresses is the difficulty of knowing students in large diverse classes in pedagogically useful ways. The paper discusses how the phenomenographic methodology can be employed to address this problem. It describes how phenomenographic studies and their results can enable teachers to ‘know their students’ at a collective level in terms of a set of qualitatively distinct idealised types rather than at a personal level of individuals with their particular characteristics, and demonstrates the pedagogical utility of this kind of knowing. The means used to describe the approach and to demonstrate its utility when teaching large classes is to present, as a case study, a phenomenographic investigation into the learning practices among students in a large, diverse cohort of entrants to an engineering programme in South Africa. General principles are drawn from the case study and are discussed as they apply to the teaching of large classes.