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

纪律：生物科学（61）这个项目的智力价值是明确设计用于大型非专业生物学入门课程的案例研究，在密西西比大学的一门课程（约1600名学生/年）的选定部分进行了书面、实施和测试。 使用案例研究方法的有效性，这一人口的学生正在确定通过比较学生的表现和满意度使用配对部分的课程;一对讲授的讲座方法和其他使用案例研究方法。衡量的因素包括学生：1）事实知识水平; 2）吸收和应用所学信息的能力; 3）概念理解; 4）对课程的满意度; 5）上课出勤率。相同的测试问题嵌入在所有部分，无论是那些使用案例研究和那些使用讲座。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是新的。这一建议的更广泛的影响包括：1）核心课程的改进; 2）形成一个完整的案例研究教学大纲，为非专业的生物课提供给其他机构;和3）教师的数量，其教学方法受到影响的研讨会（教师在UM和邻近的学术机构）。

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).