Professional Documents
Culture Documents
to Improve Learning
Department of Health
Professions
College of Health & Public
Affairs
Case-based Learning
The effectiveness of case-based instruction in education is
supported by a significant body of research
Teaching health science students how to work in teams in the
classroom with members of varying experience and skill levels
offers valuable real-life simulated learning which will better
prepare them for the healthcare workplace
Students with strong critical thinking skills make better clinical
decisions
Focus shifts towards higher order processing skills rather than
merely content
How can we assess context-specific critical learning?
How can technology mediate this?
case-based learning
problem-based learning
team-based learning
collaborative learning
web-based instruction (WebCT, Blackboard)
other
paper-based
word
powerpoint
wimba
animations
immersive (second-life, active worlds)
mannequins
standardized patients
role-plays (students)
Program Decision-Making
Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate proficiency with scientific content
Demonstrate critical thinking skills in critically evaluating context-specific data
for relevance, consistency, and fidelity
Demonstrate proficient decision-making skills to determine the best diagnosis
and treatment for simulated patient
Demonstrate proficiency with integration of scientific content to identify the
etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment for patient
Demonstrate information fluency by retrieving, interpreting, and critically
evaluating published literature for most relevant evidence-based scientific studies
Articulate clinical expertise by communicating the risks and benefits for different
courses of action to treat patients
FALL
SUMMER
SPRING
Coursework
Online
Pathophysiology HSC 4550
Medical Pharmacology 1 HSC 4148
Online
Pathophysiology HSC 4550
Medical Pharmacology 2 HSC 4149
Pathology/Pharmacology PHT 5306
450 students
150 students
80 students
680 students
f2f
f2f
450 students
150 students
45 students
35 students
680 students
Online
Online
f2f
150 students
Online
150 students
WebCT Limitations
How can you assess critical thinking and decision making skills
in WebCT environment?
How can you implement critical thinking exercises in large
online classes?
How can you grade asynchronous activities with large online
classes?
How can you conduct group collaborative work with textbased synchronous chatrooms?
MyCaseSpace
11 +/- 2% (p<0.001)
19 +/- 3% (p<0.001)
31 +/- 4% (p<0.001)
Group II:
Group III:
(n=200)
Group IV:
*
*
*
Group II:
Group III:
character
Group IV:
strongly
agree
agree
or
disagree
strongly
disagree
Initial history
5%
8%
Diagnosis
Additional history
23%
45%
Differential
diagnosis
Treatments 92%
54%
52%
30%
62%
Laboratory &
diagnostics
classroom paper-based
videoconferencing
classroom response systems
immersive environment
other
Inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional
Team-based Cooperative Active learning
Synchronous interactions
Group discussions with Q&A
Virtual Grand Rounds
16 +/- 6%
18 +/- 8%
Group III:
8%
Pathophysiology (n=25)
26 +/-
44 +/-
RESULTS:
Students prefer computer simulated case studies for convenient access,
collaboration, and varied attributes
Cases can be designed with multi-nodal decision points to enhance interactive
experience
Improvements in student critical thinking and decision-making skills are observed in
cases which are relevant and realistic cases compared to challenging and engaging
attributes
Most significant improvements observed in cases with basic science and clinical
aspects
Computer-simulated case scenarios can be developed for any discipline using this
system and these case-building concepts
Contact:
David Segal, PhD