The case method has been used to teach law, business, and medicine. So why were these stories with an educational message not being used in the sciences?
That’s the question the teachers at the State University of New York at Buffalo asked themselves 15 years ago when they established what is known today as the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. Supported by the National Science Foundation and called a “gold mine” by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Center recently published the work of Wabash Associate Professor of Chemistry Ann Taylor.
“Using the College’s Coss Course Development funds, I went to a workshop at the University in May 2003 to learn more about effectively using case studies in my class, as well as how to write one,” Taylor says. Over the summer she completed the now-published draft of “The Case of the Tainted Tacos,” an interactive study that discusses some of the issues associated with the use of genetically modified plants, including ecological risks, resistance, and allergenicity. An advanced edition of the case covers the biochemistry of how genetically modified plants “work.”
“I’ve been using this material in various forms in courses over the past couple years,” Taylor says. Students evaluating the effectiveness of the case, and the case approach, in general, have given Taylor high marks.
The aim of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is to promote the development and dissemination of innovative materials and sound educational practices for case teaching in the sciences.
“The use of case studies holds great promise as a pedagogical technique for teaching science, particularly to undergraduates,” Center officials state, “because it humanizes science and well illustrates scientific methodology and values.”
Read more at: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/ projects/cases/case.html
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