Testing the use of case study teaching in a non-majors introductory biology class

学科：生物科学（61）这个项目的智力优势在于，它的案例研究是明确设计用于大型非专业生物入门课程的，在密西西比大学的课程（大约1600名学生/年）的选定部分中进行书面、实施和测试。使用案例研究方法对这部分学生的有效性是通过比较学生在课程成对部分的表现和满意度来确定的；其中一组采用授课法，另一组采用案例研究法。测量的因素包括学生：1)实际知识水平；2)吸收和应用所学知识的能力；3)概念理解；4)课程满意度；5)上课出勤率。所有部分都嵌入了相同的测试问题，包括案例研究和讲座。此外，讲习班正在为教师提供实施这种教学技术所需的培训，这对他们中的许多人来说都是新的。该建议的更广泛影响包括：1)核心课程课程的改进；2)为非专业生物课制定完整的案例研究大纲，供其他院校参考；3)教学方法受到研讨会影响的教师人数（澳大和邻近学术机构的教师）。

Discipline: Biological Sciences (61)The intellectual merits of this project are the case studies explicitly designed for use in large non-majors introductory biology courses bring written, implemented and tested in selected sections of a course (approximately 1600 students/year) at the University of Mississippi. The effectiveness of using a case study approach for this population of students is being determined by comparing student performance and satisfaction using paired sections of the course; one of the pair taught by the lecture method and the other using the case study approach. Factors being measured include student: 1) factual knowledge levels; 2) ability to assimilate and apply the learned information; 3) conceptual understanding; 4) satisfaction with the course; and 5) attendance in the class. Identical test questions are embedded in all sections, both those using case studies and those using lectures. In addition workshops are providing faculty the training needed to implement this pedagogical technique, new to many of them. The broader impacts of this proposal include: 1) improvement of a core curriculum course; 2) formation of an entire case study syllabus for non-majors' biology class made available to other institutions; and 3) the number of faculty whose teaching approach is being impacted by the workshops (faculty at UM and at neighboring academic institutions).