Start With a Story: The Case Method of Teaching College Science

483 Pages·2006·3.999 MB·English

by  Clyde Freeman Herreid

Start

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The Case Study Method of
Teaching College Science

Start

W
SS ttoorryy
ITH A
The Case Study Method of
Teaching College Science
Edited by Clyde Freeman Herreid
Arlington, Virginia
Claire Reinburg, Director
Judy Cusick, Senior Editor
J. Andrew Cocke, Associate Editor
Betty Smith, Associate Editor
Robin Allan, Book Acquisitions Coordinator
ART AND DESIGN, Will Thomas, Jr., Director
PRINTING AND PRODUCTION, Catherine Lorrain, Director
Nguyet Tran, Assistant Production Manager
Jack Parker, Electronic Prepress Technician
NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Gerald F. Wheeler, Executive Director
David Beacom, Publisher
Copyright © 2007 by the National Science Teachers Association.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
09 08 07 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herreid, Clyde Freeman.
Start with a story: the case study method of teaching college science / by Clyde Freeman Herreid.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-933531-06-9
1. Science--Study and teaching (Higher)--United States. 2. Science--Study and teaching--Case studies.
3. Teachers--Training of--Case studies. I. Title.
Q183.3.A1H44 2006
507.1’173--dc22
2006027392
NSTA is committed to publishing quality materials that promote the best in inquiry-based science education. However,
conditions of actual use may vary and the safety procedures and practices described in this book are intended to serve only
as a guide. Additional precautionary measures may be required. NSTA and the author(s) do not warrant or represent
that the procedure and practices in this book meet any safety code or standard or federal, state, or local regulations. NSTA
and the author(s) disclaim any liability for personal injury or damage to property arising out of or relating to the use of
this book, including any recommendations, instructions, or materials contained therein.
Permission is granted in advance for photocopying brief excerpts for one-time use in a classroom or workshop.
Permissions requests for coursepacks, textbooks, electronic reproduction, and other commercial uses should
be directed to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; fax [phone]; www.
copyright.com.
This material is based upon work supported by NSF under Grants #0341279, #0618570, and #9752799 and a
Higher Education Reform Grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and editor and do not necessarily reflect the
views of NSF or The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Contents
F ...................................................................................................................................xii
OREWORD
I ............................................................................................................................xiii
NTRODUCTION
S I: T C C : W N N A ...........................................1
ECTION HE ASE FOR ASES E EED A EW PPROACH
Chapter 1 Chicken Little, Paul Revere, and Winston Churchill Look at
Science Literacy .................................................................................................3
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 2 The Maiden and the Witch: The Crippling Undergraduate Experience .........15
Clyde Freeman Herreid

Chapter 3 Saint Anthony and the Chicken Poop: An Essay on the Power of
Storytelling in the Teaching of Science ...........................................................19
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 4 Storyteller’s Box: Opening the Doors to Science Case Studies .......................25
Clyde Freeman Herreid

S II: W A C S ? .................................................................................27
ECTION HAT RE ASE TUDIES

Chapter 5 Case Studies in Science: A Novel Method of Science Education ....................29
Clyde Freeman Herreid

Chapter 6 What Is a Case? Bringing to Science Education the Established Teaching Tool
of Law and Medicine .......................................................................................41
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 7 What Makes a Good Case? Some Basic Rules of Good Storytelling
Help Teachers Generate Excitement in the Classroom ...................................45
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 8 The Business End of Cases ..............................................................................49
Clyde Freeman Herreid
S III: T C S ....................................................................................53
ECTION YPES OF ASE TUDIES
Chapter 9 Sorting Potatoes for Miss Bonner: Bringing Order to Case Study Methodology
Through a Classification System .....................................................................55
Clyde Freeman Herreid
START WITH A STORY THE CASE STUDY METHOD OF TEACHING COLLEGE SCIENCE v
S IV: H T W C S : A O .....................................61
ECTION OW TO EACH ITH ASE TUDIES N VERVIEW

Chapter 10 Can Case Studies Be Used to Teach Critical Thinking? ...................................63
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 11 Naming Names: The Greatest Secret in Leading a Discussion Is
Using Students’ Names ....................................................................................67
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 12 Opening Day: Getting Started in a Cooperative Classroom ...........................71
Frank J. Dinan
Chapter 13 Using Students as Critics in Faculty Development .........................................75
Clyde Freeman Herreid and Arnold I. Kozak
S V: W C D : T C M .......................................83
ECTION HOLE LASS ISCUSSION HE LASSICAL ETHOD
Chapter 14 Using Novels as Bases for Case Studies: Michael Crichton’s State of Fear
and Global Warming .......................................................................................85
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 15 Journal Articles as Case Studies: The New England Journal of Medicine on
Breast Cancer: Promoting Critical Thinking in Science ..................................89
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 16 Bad Blood: A Case Study of the Tuskegee Syphilis Project .............................99
Ann W. Fourtner, Charles R. Fourtner, and Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 17 Case Study Teaching in Science: A Dilemma Case on “Animal Rights” .........111
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 18 Is There Life on Mars? Debating the Existence of Extraterrestrial Life
in a Classroom Dilemma Case ...........................................................................119
Bruce C. Allen and Clyde Freeman Herreid
S VI: S G M : A O ........................................................125
ECTION MALL ROUP ETHODS N VERVIEW
Chapter 19 Why Isn’t Cooperative Learning Used to Teach Science? ..............................127
Clyde Freeman Herreid

Chapter 20 The Bee and the Groundhog: Lessons in Cooperative Learning—
Troubles With Groups ....................................................................................137
Clyde Freeman Herreid
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NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Chapter 21 I Never Knew Joe Paterno: An Essay on Teamwork and Love .......................141
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 22 The Pima Experience: Three Easy Pieces .......................................................147
Clyde Freeman Herreid

S VII: P -B L ..............................................................................151
ECTION ROBLEM ASED EARNING
Chapter 23 The Death of Problem-Based Learning? .......................................................153
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 24 AIDS and the Duesberg Phenomenon ...........................................................157
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 25 The Petition: A Global Warming Case Study .................................................161
Bruce C. Allen and Clyde Freeman Herreid
S VIII: I C M .........................................................................167
ECTION NTERRUPTED ASE ETHOD
Chapter 26 The Interrupted Case Method .......................................................................169
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 27 Mom Always Liked You Best: Examining the Hypothesis of
Parental Favoritism .........................................................................................171
Clyde Freeman Herreid
S IX: I D M ..............................................................................179
ECTION NTIMATE EBATE ETHOD

Chapter 28 The Intimate Debate Method: Should Marijuana Be Legalized for
Medicinal Purposes? ........................................................................................181
Clyde Freeman Herreid and Kristie DuRei
S X: T -B L ......................................................................................187
ECTION EAM ASED EARNING
Chapter 29 Larry Finally Wrote His Book: Team-Based Learning Has Its Bible ..............189
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 30 Using Case Studies in Science—And Still “Covering the Content” ................195
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 31 An Application of Team Learning in Dental Education .................................205
Frank A. Scannapieco and Clyde Freeman Herreid
START WITH A STORY THE CASE STUDY METHOD OF TEACHING COLLEGE SCIENCE vii
Chapter 32 Of Mammoths and Men: A Case Study in Extinction ....................................211
Nancy A. Schiller and Clyde Freeman Herreid
S XI: L C M ....................................................................................219
ECTION ARGE LASS ETHODS
Chapter 33 “Clicker” Cases: Introducing Case Study Teaching Into Large Classrooms ..221
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 34 The Case of the Druid Dracula: A Directed “Clicker” Case Study on
DNA Fingerprinting ........................................................................................227
Peggy Brickman
S XII: I C S M ...............................................................237
ECTION NDIVIDUAL ASE TUDY ETHODS
Chapter 35 Dialogues as Case Studies—A Discussion on Human Cloning: Creating Drama
and Controversy in the Science Classroom ....................................................239
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 36 Student Paper on the Atlantic Salmon Controversy .......................................247
Helena Bokobza
S XIII: H C M .................................................................................251
ECTION YBRID ASE ETHODS

Chapter 37 Alien Evolution—A Futuristic Case Study: The Return of
the Cambrian Explosion .................................................................................253
Shoshana Tobias and Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 38 What to Do About Mother: Investigating Fetal Tissue
Research and the Effects of Parkinson’s Disease ...........................................265
Ann W. Fourtner, Charles R. Fourtner, and Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 39 The Galapagos: A Natural Laboratory for the Study of Evolution ...............271
Nancy A. Schiller and Clyde F. Herreid
Chapter 40 Structured Controversy—A Case Study Strategy:
DNA Fingerprinting in the Courts .................................................................285
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 41 A Word to the Wise? Advising Freshmen .......................................................295
Jessica Dudek, Nigel Marriner, and Clyde Freeman Herreid
S XIV: T D C M ......................................................................299
ECTION HE IRECTED ASE ETHOD
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NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Chapter 42 The Directed Case Method: Teaching Concept and
Process in a Content-Rich Course .................................................................301
William H. Cliff and Leslie Nesbitt Curtin
Chapter 43 Little Mito: The Story of the Origins of a Cell ..............................................307
Stephanie Vail and Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 44 The Death of Baby Pierre: A Genetic Mystery ..............................................313
Clyde Freeman Herreid

Chapter 45 The Case of the Dividing Cell: Mitosis and Meiosis in the Cellular Court ....319
Clyde Freeman Herreid
S XV: H N T W C S ..................................................331
ECTION OW OT TO EACH ITH ASE TUDIES

Chapter 46 Return to Mars: How Not to Teach a Case Study ..........................................333
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 47 Why a “Case-Based” Course Failed: An Analysis of an Ill-Fated Experiment ...339
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 48 DON’T! What Not to Do When Teaching Case Studies ...............................343
Clyde Freeman Herreid
S XVI: H T W C S ...................................................................349
ECTION OW O RITE ASE TUDIES
Chapter 49 Case Studies and the Media ............................................................................351
Frank J. Dinan
Chapter 50 Cooking With Betty Crocker: A Recipe for Case Study Writing ...................355
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 51 Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right? How Much Information Should
We Put Into a Case Study? ..............................................................................361
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 52 The Way of Flesch: The Art of Writing Readable Cases ................................365
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 53 Twixt Fact and Fiction: A Case Writer’s Dilemma .........................................371
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Chapter 54 An Open or Shut Case? Contrasting Approaches to Case Study Design .......375
William H. Cliff and Leslie M. Nesbitt

S W S
TART ITH A TORY THE CASE STUDY METHOD OF TEACHING COLLEGE SCIENCE IX