example of case study in education

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Case studies.

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Case studies are stories that are used as a teaching tool to show the application of a theory or concept to real situations. Dependent on the goal they are meant to fulfill, cases can be fact-driven and deductive where there is a correct answer, or they can be context driven where multiple solutions are possible. Various disciplines have employed case studies, including humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, law, business, and medicine. Good cases generally have the following features: they tell a good story, are recent, include dialogue, create empathy with the main characters, are relevant to the reader, serve a teaching function, require a dilemma to be solved, and have generality.

Instructors can create their own cases or can find cases that already exist. The following are some things to keep in mind when creating a case:

• What do you want students to learn from the discussion of the case?
• What do they already know that applies to the case?
• What are the issues that may be raised in discussion?
• How will the case and discussion be introduced?
• What preparation is expected of students? (Do they need to read the case ahead of time? Do research? Write anything?)
• What directions do you need to provide students regarding what they are supposed to do and accomplish?
• Do you need to divide students into groups or will they discuss as the whole class?
• Are you going to use role-playing or facilitators or record keepers? If so, how?
• What are the opening questions?
• How much time is needed for students to discuss the case?
• What concepts are to be applied/extracted during the discussion?
• How will you evaluate students?

To find other cases that already exist, try the following websites:

• The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science , University of Buffalo. SUNY-Buffalo maintains this set of links to other case studies on the web in disciplines ranging from engineering and ethics to sociology and business
• A Journal of Teaching Cases in Public Administration and Public Policy , University of Washington

For more information:

• World Association for Case Method Research and Application

Book Review :  Teaching and the Case Method , 3rd ed., vols. 1 and 2, by Louis Barnes, C. Roland (Chris) Christensen, and Abby Hansen. Harvard Business School Press, 1994; 333 pp. (vol 1), 412 pp. (vol 2).

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Making Learning Relevant With Case Studies

The open-ended problems presented in case studies give students work that feels connected to their lives.

To prepare students for jobs that haven’t been created yet, we need to teach them how to be great problem solvers so that they’ll be ready for anything. One way to do this is by teaching content and skills using real-world case studies, a learning model that’s focused on reflection during the problem-solving process. It’s similar to project-based learning, but PBL is more focused on students creating a product.

Case studies have been used for years by businesses, law and medical schools, physicians on rounds, and artists critiquing work. Like other forms of problem-based learning, case studies can be accessible for every age group, both in one subject and in interdisciplinary work.

You can get started with case studies by tackling relatable questions like these with your students:

• How can we limit food waste in the cafeteria?
• How can we get our school to recycle and compost waste? (Or, if you want to be more complex, how can our school reduce its carbon footprint?)
• How can we improve school attendance?
• How can we reduce the number of people who get sick at school during cold and flu season?

Addressing questions like these leads students to identify topics they need to learn more about. In researching the first question, for example, students may see that they need to research food chains and nutrition. Students often ask, reasonably, why they need to learn something, or when they’ll use their knowledge in the future. Learning is most successful for students when the content and skills they’re studying are relevant, and case studies offer one way to create that sense of relevance.

Teaching With Case Studies

Ultimately, a case study is simply an interesting problem with many correct answers. What does case study work look like in classrooms? Teachers generally start by having students read the case or watch a video that summarizes the case. Students then work in small groups or individually to solve the case study. Teachers set milestones defining what students should accomplish to help them manage their time.

During the case study learning process, student assessment of learning should be focused on reflection. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick’s Learning and Leading With Habits of Mind gives several examples of what this reflection can look like in a classroom: 

Journaling: At the end of each work period, have students write an entry summarizing what they worked on, what worked well, what didn’t, and why. Sentence starters and clear rubrics or guidelines will help students be successful. At the end of a case study project, as Costa and Kallick write, it’s helpful to have students “select significant learnings, envision how they could apply these learnings to future situations, and commit to an action plan to consciously modify their behaviors.”

Interviews: While working on a case study, students can interview each other about their progress and learning. Teachers can interview students individually or in small groups to assess their learning process and their progress.

Student discussion: Discussions can be unstructured—students can talk about what they worked on that day in a think-pair-share or as a full class—or structured, using Socratic seminars or fishbowl discussions. If your class is tackling a case study in small groups, create a second set of small groups with a representative from each of the case study groups so that the groups can share their learning.

4 Tips for Setting Up a Case Study

1. Identify a problem to investigate: This should be something accessible and relevant to students’ lives. The problem should also be challenging and complex enough to yield multiple solutions with many layers.

2. Give context: Think of this step as a movie preview or book summary. Hook the learners to help them understand just enough about the problem to want to learn more.

3. Have a clear rubric: Giving structure to your definition of quality group work and products will lead to stronger end products. You may be able to have your learners help build these definitions.

4. Provide structures for presenting solutions: The amount of scaffolding you build in depends on your students’ skill level and development. A case study product can be something like several pieces of evidence of students collaborating to solve the case study, and ultimately presenting their solution with a detailed slide deck or an essay—you can scaffold this by providing specified headings for the sections of the essay.

Problem-Based Teaching Resources

There are many high-quality, peer-reviewed resources that are open source and easily accessible online.

• The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo built an online collection of more than 800 cases that cover topics ranging from biochemistry to economics. There are resources for middle and high school students.
• Models of Excellence , a project maintained by EL Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has examples of great problem- and project-based tasks—and corresponding exemplary student work—for grades pre-K to 12.
• The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning at Purdue University is an open-source journal that publishes examples of problem-based learning in K–12 and post-secondary classrooms.
• The Tech Edvocate has a list of websites and tools related to problem-based learning.

In their book Problems as Possibilities , Linda Torp and Sara Sage write that at the elementary school level, students particularly appreciate how they feel that they are taken seriously when solving case studies. At the middle school level, “researchers stress the importance of relating middle school curriculum to issues of student concern and interest.” And high schoolers, they write, find the case study method “beneficial in preparing them for their future.”

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Case Study in Education Research

Introduction, general overview and foundational texts of the late 20th century.

• Conceptualisations and Definitions of Case Study
• Case Study and Theoretical Grounding
• Choosing Cases
• Methodology, Method, Genre, or Approach
• Case Study: Quality and Generalizability
• Multiple Case Studies
• Exemplary Case Studies and Example Case Studies
• Criticism, Defense, and Debate around Case Study

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Case Study in Education Research by Lorna Hamilton LAST REVIEWED: 21 April 2021 LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2018 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0201

It is important to distinguish between case study as a teaching methodology and case study as an approach, genre, or method in educational research. The use of case study as teaching method highlights the ways in which the essential qualities of the case—richness of real-world data and lived experiences—can help learners gain insights into a different world and can bring learning to life. The use of case study in this way has been around for about a hundred years or more. Case study use in educational research, meanwhile, emerged particularly strongly in the 1970s and 1980s in the United Kingdom and the United States as a means of harnessing the richness and depth of understanding of individuals, groups, and institutions; their beliefs and perceptions; their interactions; and their challenges and issues. Writers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, advocated the use of case study as a form that teacher-researchers could use as they focused on the richness and intensity of their own practices. In addition, academic writers and postgraduate students embraced case study as a means of providing structure and depth to educational projects. However, as educational research has developed, so has debate on the quality and usefulness of case study as well as the problems surrounding the lack of generalizability when dealing with single or even multiple cases. The question of how to define and support case study work has formed the basis for innumerable books and discursive articles, starting with Robert Yin’s original book on case study ( Yin 1984 , cited under General Overview and Foundational Texts of the Late 20th Century ) to the myriad authors who attempt to bring something new to the realm of case study in educational research in the 21st century.

This section briefly considers the ways in which case study research has developed over the last forty to fifty years in educational research usage and reflects on whether the field has finally come of age, respected by creators and consumers of research. Case study has its roots in anthropological studies in which a strong ethnographic approach to the study of peoples and culture encouraged researchers to identify and investigate key individuals and groups by trying to understand the lived world of such people from their points of view. Although ethnography has emphasized the role of researcher as immersive and engaged with the lived world of participants via participant observation, evolving approaches to case study in education has been about the richness and depth of understanding that can be gained through involvement in the case by drawing on diverse perspectives and diverse forms of data collection. Embracing case study as a means of entering these lived worlds in educational research projects, was encouraged in the 1970s and 1980s by researchers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, who provided a helpful impetus for case study work in education ( Stenhouse 1980 ). Stenhouse wrestled with the use of case study as ethnography because ethnographers traditionally had been unfamiliar with the peoples they were investigating, whereas educational researchers often worked in situations that were inherently familiar. Stenhouse also emphasized the need for evidence of rigorous processes and decisions in order to encourage robust practice and accountability to the wider field by allowing others to judge the quality of work through transparency of processes. Yin 1984 , the first book focused wholly on case study in research, gave a brief and basic outline of case study and associated practices. Various authors followed this approach, striving to engage more deeply in the significance of case study in the social sciences. Key among these are Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 , along with Yin 1984 , who established powerful groundings for case study work. Additionally, evidence of the increasing popularity of case study can be found in a broad range of generic research methods texts, but these often do not have much scope for the extensive discussion of case study found in case study–specific books. Yin’s books and numerous editions provide a developing or evolving notion of case study with more detailed accounts of the possible purposes of case study, followed by Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 who wrestled with alternative ways of looking at purposes and the positioning of case study within potential disciplinary modes. The authors referenced in this section are often characterized as the foundational authors on this subject and may have published various editions of their work, cited elsewhere in this article, based on their shifting ideas or emphases.

Merriam, S. B. 1988. Case study research in education: A qualitative approach . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This is Merriam’s initial text on case study and is eminently accessible. The author establishes and reinforces various key features of case study; demonstrates support for positioning the case within a subject domain, e.g., psychology, sociology, etc.; and further shapes the case according to its purpose or intent.

Stake, R. E. 1995. The art of case study research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Stake is a very readable author, accessible and yet engaging with complex topics. The author establishes his key forms of case study: intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Stake brings the reader through the process of conceptualizing the case, carrying it out, and analyzing the data. The author uses authentic examples to help readers understand and appreciate the nuances of an interpretive approach to case study.

Stenhouse, L. 1980. The study of samples and the study of cases. British Educational Research Journal 6:1–6.

DOI: 10.1080/0141192800060101

A key article in which Stenhouse sets out his stand on case study work. Those interested in the evolution of case study use in educational research should consider this article and the insights given.

Yin, R. K. 1984. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . Beverley Hills, CA: SAGE.

This preliminary text from Yin was very basic. However, it may be of interest in comparison with later books because Yin shows the ways in which case study as an approach or method in research has evolved in relation to detailed discussions of purpose, as well as the practicalities of working through the research process.

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Case studies

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Improving students' mental health in Bangladesh

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An online career portal strengthens career guidance among secondary students in India and helps them plan for future educational and work opportunities (India)

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Improving adolescents’ learning in violence-affected areas through blended in-person and online learning opportunities - Communities in Harmony for Children and Adolescents (Mexico)

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Scaling up quality early childhood education in India by investing in ongoing professional development for officials at the state, district and local levels (India)

Strengthening early childhood education in the national education plan and budget in Lesotho to help children succeed in primary and beyond (Lesotho)

Enhancing play-based learning through supportive supervision (Nigeria)

Learning social and emotional skills in pre-school creates brighter futures for children (North Macedonia)

How developing minimum standards increased access to pre-primary education (Rwanda)

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Southeast Asia primary learning metrics: Assessing the learning outcomes of grade 5 students (Southeast Asia)

Minimising learning gaps among early-grade learners (Sri Lanka)

Assessing early learning (West and Central Africa)

Primary education / Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

Improving child and adolescent health and nutrition through policy advocacy (Argentina)

Online diagnostic testing and interactive tutoring (Bulgaria)

Supporting the socio-emotional learning and psychological wellbeing of children through a whole-school approach (China)

Engaging parents to overcome reading poverty (India)

Integrated school health and wellness ensure better learning for students (India)

Instruction tailored to students’ learning levels improves literacy (Indonesia)

A whole-school approach to improve learning, safety and wellbeing (Jamaica)

Multi-sectoral programme to improve the nutrition of school-aged adolescents (Malawi)

Parents on the frontlines of early grade reading and math (Nigeria)

Training, inspiring and motivating early grade teachers to strengthen children’s skills in literacy and numeracy (Sierra Leone) Life skills and citizenship education through Experiential Learning Objects Bank (State of Palestine)

Curriculum reform to meet the individual needs of students (Uzbekistan)

Improving early grade reading and numeracy through ‘Catch-Up,’ a remedial learning programme (Zambia)

Reimagine Education / Digital learning

Education 2.0: skills-based education and digital learning (Egypt)

Empowering adolescents through co-creation of innovative digital solutions (Indonesia)

Virtual instructional leadership course (Jamaica)

Learning Bridges accelerates learning for over 600,000 students (Jordan)

Unleashing the potential of youth through the Youth Learning Passport (Jordan)

Lessons learned from the launch of the Learning Passport Shkollat.org (Kosovo)

Opening up the frontiers of digital learning with the Learning Passport (Lao PDR)

Building teachers’ confidence and capacity to provide online learning (Maldives)

Mauritania’s first digital learning program: Akelius Digital French Course (Mauritania)

Mitigating learning loss and strengthening foundational skills through the Learning Passport (Mexico)

Expanding digital learning opportunities and connectivity for all learners (Tajikistan)

For COVID-19 education case studies, please click here and filter by area of work (Education) and type (Case Study / Field Notes).

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Research Guides

Case Studies

Dee Degner; Amani Gashan; and Natalia Ramirez Casalvolone

Description

Creswell and Poth (2018) define case study as a strategy that involves the study of an issue explored through one or more cases within a bounded system (i.e., a setting or a context), a methodology, a type of design in qualitative research, or an object of study, as well as a product of the inquiry.

Flyvbjerg (2011) defines case study as an intensive analysis of an individual unit (as a person or community) stressing developmental factors in relation to the environment. Case study methodology aims to describe one or more cases in depth. It examines how something may be occurring in a given case or cases and typically uses multiple data sources to gather information. Creswell and Poth also argue that the use of different sources of information is to provide depth to the case description. Case study methodology aims to describe one or more cases in depth. It examines how something may be occurring in a given case or cases and typically uses multiple data sources to gather the information. This is the first step of data analysis in a qualitative case study. Following this, researchers must decide whether there is a case study to analyze, determine the boundaries of their case study and its context, decide whether they wish to use single or multiple case studies, and explore approaches to analyzing themes and articulating findings. Creswell and Poth (2018) are an ideal resource for defining case study, learning about its parts, and executing case study methodology.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research: choosing among five approaches (4th ed.) . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Flyvbjerg, B. (2011). Case study. In N. K. Denzin, & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 301-316 ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Key Research Books and Articles on Case Study Methodology

Ashley, L. D. (2017). Case study research. In R. Coe, M. Waring, L. Hedges & J. Arthur (Eds), Research methods & methodologies in education (2nd ed., pp. 114-121). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This edited text discusses several research methods in education. Dr. Laura Day Ashley, a professor at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, contributes a chapter on case study research. Using research on how private and public schools impact education in developing countries, she describes case studies and gives an example.

Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. Qualitative Report, 13 (4), 544-559.  http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1573&context=tqr

The authors of this study presented an account of the qualitative case study methodology that can provide beneficial tools for researchers to explore any phenomenon under study within its context. The aim of this study was to guide novice researchers in understanding the required information for the design and implementation of any qualitative case study research project. This paper offers an account of the types of case study designs along with practical recommendations to determine the case under study, write the research questions, develop propositions, and bind the case. It also includes a discussion of data resources and the triangulation procedure in case study research.

Creswell, J. W. & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research: choosing among five approaches (4th ed.) . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

The authors are both recognized academics in the field of qualitative research; Dr. Creswell has authored many articles and 26 books on topics such as mixed-methods research, qualitative research, and research design, and Dr. Poth has written more than 30 peer reviewed journal articles and was a guest co-editor at the International Journal of Qualitative Methods. The book thoroughly reviews and compares five qualitative and inquiry designs, including research, phenomenological research, grounded theory research, ethnographic research, and case study research. Chapter 4, which is titled Five Qualitative Approaches, gives a thorough description and explanation of what a case study research contemplates. It discusses its definition and origins, its features, the types of case study procedures to follow when doing a case study, and the challenges faced during case study development. In the appendix, on page 119, the authors offer an example of a case study and a question that can be used for discussion. The entire book has pertinent information for both novice and experienced researchers in qualitative research. It covers all parts of the research process, from posing a framework to data collection, data analysis, and writing up.

Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative research from start to finish . New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Yin is the CEO of an applied research firm. He has authored numerous articles in many fields, including education. He also authored Case Study Research, which is now in its Sixth Edition. This book uses three approaches (practical, inductive, and adaptive) to highlight many important aspects of Qualitative Research. He provides a definition of case study and references how case study differs from other types of research.

Recent Dissertations Using Case Study Methodology

Clapp, F. N. (2017). Teachers’ and researchers’ beliefs of learning and the use of learning progressions (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 10261732)

This study from Colorado State University was designed to identify the beliefs and discourse that both the Learning Progressions (LP) developers and the intended LP implementers held around student learning, teaching, and learning progressions. The study’s research questions were examined through the use of an instrumental case study. The researchers were deliberate in applying theory and study phenomena in their context, as it investigated teachers’ practices in the context of their respective classrooms.

Applying theory to the study phenomena, this study provided insight into the relationship between LP models and teachers’ perceptions about how students learn content in a particular context. The data was collected using interviews with teachers who participated in a year-long teacher-in-residence program. Researchers and content experts who conceptualized the LP were also interviewed to study the impact that it had on participants’ perceptions of the LP and any teacher reported changes in their respective classrooms. The findings of this study inform literature on both science teacher professional development and LP’s theory to practice.

Ruiz, A. M. (2011). Teachers and English language learners experiencing the secondary mainstream classroom: A case study (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 3471646)

This study from Georgia State University answered the following questions: 1) How does a secondary mainstream teacher experience the phenomenon of the inclusion of ELLs in a mainstream content area classroom? 2) How do ELLs experience the phenomenon of inclusion within the secondary mainstream content area classrooms? 3) How do the points of interaction between the secondary mainstream teacher, the English language learners, the content and the context shape the experiences of the inclusive classroom?

To comprehend the socio-constructivist learning theory which guided the design of this study, one must begin with understanding the epistemological stance of constructionism. Constructionism is seated within an interpretivist paradigm which asserts that reality does exist outside the realm of human interpretation; rather, it is human interpretation which makes meaning of this reality. The researcher applied Denzin and Lincoln’s (2004) bricoleur approach to this study, as it offered them the opportunity “to piece together a set of representations that is fitted to the specifics of this complex situation in an overlapping series of events” (p. 4). The researcher stated that his worldview shaped his research questions which called for a single case study research design.

Smith, P. H. (2000). Community as resource for minority language learning: A case study of Spanish-English dual-language schooling (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 304578045)

The author studied a school where a dual language (Spanish- English) program was being developed. He focused on the role of the community and the students’ acquisition of Spanish. Through a case study design, his theoretical framework was contemplated under the fields of language planning, language revitalization, and funds of knowledge. The author believed that minority language (Spanish) acquisition could be supported by incorporating local language resources, and in this way undermine the strong influence of the English language. To analyze his data, he went through a triangulation process of participant observation in classrooms, literacy instruction, teacher, parent and community interviews, and document and archival analysis. Findings showed that minority language resources are less often incorporated in the curriculum than those of the language majority. Thus the study suggested that these types of programs should include the funds of knowledge and available resources of the language minority communities.

Internet Resources

Graham R Gibbs. (2012, October 24). Types of Case Study. Parts 1-3 on Case Studies .

This series of videos by Graham R. Gibbs at the University of Huddersfield effectively explains case studies. Some of Gibbs’ books on qualitative research include Qualitative Data Analysis: Explorations with NVivo (2002) and Analyzing Qualitative Data (2018).

Graham R Gibbs. (2012, October 24). Types of Case Study. Part 1 on Case Studies . Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gQfoq7c4UE4

The first part of this series is an attempt to define case studies. Dr. Gibbs argued that it is a contemporary study of one person, one event, or one company. This contemporary phenomenon cab be studied in its social life context by using multiple sources of evidence.

When completing a case study, we either examine what affects our case and what effect it has on others, or we study the relationship between “the case” and between the other factors. In a typical case study approach,  you choose one site to do your work and then you collect information by talking to people, using observations, interviews, or focus groups at that location. Case study is typically descriptive, meaning “you write what you see”, but it could also be exploratory or explanatory.

Types of Case Study:

• Individual case study: One single person
• Set of individual case studies: Looking at three single practices
• Community studies: Many people in one community
• Social group studies: The case representing social phenomenon “how something is defined in a social position”
• Studies of organizations and institutions: The study of “election, ford, or fielding”
• Studies of events, roles, and relationships: Family relationships

Graham R Gibbs. (2012, October 24). Planning a case study. Part 2 on Case Studies . Retrieved from https://youtu.be/o1JEtXkFAr4

The second part of this series explains how to plan a case study. Dr. Gibbs argues that when planning to conduct a case study, we should think about the conceptual framework, research questions, research design, sampling/replication strategy, methods and instruments, and analysis of data.

For any type of research, a good source of inspiration could be either from personal experiences or from talking with people about a certain topic that we can adopt.

The Conceptual Framework: Displays the important features of a case study; shows the relationships between the features; makes assumptions explicit; is selective, iterative, and based on theory; takes account of previous research; includes personal orientations, and includes overlap and inconsistency.

Research questions should:

• Be consistent with your conceptual framework.
• Cover conceptual framework.
• Be structured and focused.
• Be answerable.
• Form a basis for data collection.

Graham R Gibbs. (2012, October 24). Replication or Single Cases. Part 3 of 3 on Case Studies . https://youtu.be/b5CYZRyOlys

In the final part of the three videos of case study, Dr. Gibbs examines case study designs and variations that are possible. He also discusses replication strategies which help give the studies reliability and test to see if they can be generalized. Dr. Gibbs highlights the methods and instruments used, how to analyze the data, and concludes with problems of validity you may encounter and common pitfalls of case study research. In summary, case studies can involve gathering a lot of data and you can start analyzing the data while collecting and going through it.

shirlanne84. (2014). Different types of case study </. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tWsnvYs9Brs

In this short video (1.49 min.), three kinds of case studies (exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory) are described, as well as rationales for using them. These rationales are as follows:

• Exploratory: If you know nothing about the case.
• Descriptive: When you write what you see, you are describing the situation.
• Explanatory: When you try to understand why things are happening, then you explain them.

Shuttleworth, M. (2008, Apr. 1). Case study research design [website]. Retrieved Feb 20, 2018 from https://explorable.com/case-study-research-design

This is a useful website that provides a guide to almost all of the research methods. It offers a clear explanation about what a case study is, the argument for and against the case study research design, how to design and conduct a case study, and how to analyze the results. This source provides a journey from the introduction of case study until the analysis of your data.

Case Studies Copyright © 2019 by Dee Degner; Amani Gashan; and Natalia Ramirez Casalvolone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Case-based learning.

Case-based learning (CBL) is an established approach used across disciplines where students apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios, promoting higher levels of cognition (see Bloom’s Taxonomy ). In CBL classrooms, students typically work in groups on case studies, stories involving one or more characters and/or scenarios.  The cases present a disciplinary problem or problems for which students devise solutions under the guidance of the instructor. CBL has a strong history of successful implementation in medical, law, and business schools, and is increasingly used within undergraduate education, particularly within pre-professional majors and the sciences (Herreid, 1994). This method involves guided inquiry and is grounded in constructivism whereby students form new meanings by interacting with their knowledge and the environment (Lee, 2012).

There are a number of benefits to using CBL in the classroom. In a review of the literature, Williams (2005) describes how CBL: utilizes collaborative learning, facilitates the integration of learning, develops students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn, encourages learner self-reflection and critical reflection, allows for scientific inquiry, integrates knowledge and practice, and supports the development of a variety of learning skills.

CBL has several defining characteristics, including versatility, storytelling power, and efficient self-guided learning.  In a systematic analysis of 104 articles in health professions education, CBL was found to be utilized in courses with less than 50 to over 1000 students (Thistlethwaite et al., 2012). In these classrooms, group sizes ranged from 1 to 30, with most consisting of 2 to 15 students.  Instructors varied in the proportion of time they implemented CBL in the classroom, ranging from one case spanning two hours of classroom time, to year-long case-based courses. These findings demonstrate that instructors use CBL in a variety of ways in their classrooms.

The stories that comprise the framework of case studies are also a key component to CBL’s effectiveness. Jonassen and Hernandez-Serrano (2002, p.66) describe how storytelling:

Is a method of negotiating and renegotiating meanings that allows us to enter into other’s realms of meaning through messages they utter in their stories,

Helps us find our place in a culture,

Allows us to explicate and to interpret, and

Facilitates the attainment of vicarious experience by helping us to distinguish the positive models to emulate from the negative model.

Neurochemically, listening to stories can activate oxytocin, a hormone that increases one’s sensitivity to social cues, resulting in more empathy, generosity, compassion and trustworthiness (Zak, 2013; Kosfeld et al., 2005). The stories within case studies serve as a means by which learners form new understandings through characters and/or scenarios.

CBL is often described in conjunction or in comparison with problem-based learning (PBL). While the lines are often confusingly blurred within the literature, in the most conservative of definitions, the features distinguishing the two approaches include that PBL involves open rather than guided inquiry, is less structured, and the instructor plays a more passive role. In PBL multiple solutions to the problem may exit, but the problem is often initially not well-defined. PBL also has a stronger emphasis on developing self-directed learning. The choice between implementing CBL versus PBL is highly dependent on the goals and context of the instruction.  For example, in a comparison of PBL and CBL approaches during a curricular shift at two medical schools, students and faculty preferred CBL to PBL (Srinivasan et al., 2007). Students perceived CBL to be a more efficient process and more clinically applicable. However, in another context, PBL might be the favored approach.

In a review of the effectiveness of CBL in health profession education, Thistlethwaite et al. (2012), found several benefits:

Students enjoyed the method and thought it enhanced their learning,

Instructors liked how CBL engaged students in learning,

CBL seemed to facilitate small group learning, but the authors could not distinguish between whether it was the case itself or the small group learning that occurred as facilitated by the case.

Other studies have also reported on the effectiveness of CBL in achieving learning outcomes (Bonney, 2015; Breslin, 2008; Herreid, 2013; Krain, 2016). These findings suggest that CBL is a vehicle of engagement for instruction, and facilitates an environment whereby students can construct knowledge.

Science – Students are given a scenario to which they apply their basic science knowledge and problem-solving skills to help them solve the case. One example within the biological sciences is two brothers who have a family history of a genetic illness. They each have mutations within a particular sequence in their DNA. Students work through the case and draw conclusions about the biological impacts of these mutations using basic science. Sample cases: You are Not the Mother of Your Children ; Organic Chemisty and Your Cellphone: Organic Light-Emitting Diodes ;   A Light on Physics: F-Number and Exposure Time

Medicine – Medical or pre-health students read about a patient presenting with specific symptoms. Students decide which questions are important to ask the patient in their medical history, how long they have experienced such symptoms, etc. The case unfolds and students use clinical reasoning, propose relevant tests, develop a differential diagnoses and a plan of treatment. Sample cases: The Case of the Crying Baby: Surgical vs. Medical Management ; The Plan: Ethics and Physician Assisted Suicide ; The Haemophilus Vaccine: A Victory for Immunologic Engineering

Public Health – A case study describes a pandemic of a deadly infectious disease. Students work through the case to identify Patient Zero, the person who was the first to spread the disease, and how that individual became infected.  Sample cases: The Protective Parent ; The Elusive Tuberculosis Case: The CDC and Andrew Speaker ; Credible Voice: WHO-Beijing and the SARS Crisis

Law – A case study presents a legal dilemma for which students use problem solving to decide the best way to advise and defend a client. Students are presented information that changes during the case.  Sample cases: Mortgage Crisis Call (abstract) ; The Case of the Unpaid Interns (abstract) ; Police-Community Dialogue (abstract)

Business – Students work on a case study that presents the history of a business success or failure. They apply business principles learned in the classroom and assess why the venture was successful or not. Sample cases: SELCO-Determining a path forward ; Project Masiluleke: Texting and Testing to Fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa ; Mayo Clinic: Design Thinking in Healthcare

Humanities - Students consider a case that presents a theater facing financial and management difficulties. They apply business and theater principles learned in the classroom to the case, working together to create solutions for the theater. Sample cases: David Geffen School of Drama

Recommendations

Finding and Writing Cases

Consider utilizing or adapting open access cases - The availability of open resources and databases containing cases that instructors can download makes this approach even more accessible in the classroom. Two examples of open databases are the Case Center on Public Leadership and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Case Program , which focus on government, leadership and public policy case studies.

• Consider writing original cases - In the event that an instructor is unable to find open access cases relevant to their course learning objectives, they may choose to write their own. See the following resources on case writing: Cooking with Betty Crocker: A Recipe for Case Writing ; The Way of Flesch: The Art of Writing Readable Cases ;   Twixt Fact and Fiction: A Case Writer’s Dilemma ; And All That Jazz: An Essay Extolling the Virtues of Writing Case Teaching Notes .

Implementing Cases

Take baby steps if new to CBL - While entire courses and curricula may involve case-based learning, instructors who desire to implement on a smaller-scale can integrate a single case into their class, and increase the number of cases utilized over time as desired.

Use cases in classes that are small, medium or large - Cases can be scaled to any course size. In large classes with stadium seating, students can work with peers nearby, while in small classes with more flexible seating arrangements, teams can move their chairs closer together. CBL can introduce more noise (and energy) in the classroom to which an instructor often quickly becomes accustomed. Further, students can be asked to work on cases outside of class, and wrap up discussion during the next class meeting.

Encourage collaborative work - Cases present an opportunity for students to work together to solve cases which the historical literature supports as beneficial to student learning (Bruffee, 1993). Allow students to work in groups to answer case questions.

Form diverse teams as feasible - When students work within diverse teams they can be exposed to a variety of perspectives that can help them solve the case. Depending on the context of the course, priorities, and the background information gathered about the students enrolled in the class, instructors may choose to organize student groups to allow for diversity in factors such as current course grades, gender, race/ethnicity, personality, among other items.  

Use stable teams as appropriate - If CBL is a large component of the course, a research-supported practice is to keep teams together long enough to go through the stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965).

Walk around to guide groups - In CBL instructors serve as facilitators of student learning. Walking around allows the instructor to monitor student progress as well as identify and support any groups that may be struggling. Teaching assistants can also play a valuable role in supporting groups.

Interrupt strategically - Only every so often, for conversation in large group discussion of the case, especially when students appear confused on key concepts. An effective practice to help students meet case learning goals is to guide them as a whole group when the class is ready. This may include selecting a few student groups to present answers to discussion questions to the entire class, asking the class a question relevant to the case using polling software, and/or performing a mini-lesson on an area that appears to be confusing among students.  

Assess student learning in multiple ways - Students can be assessed informally by asking groups to report back answers to various case questions. This practice also helps students stay on task, and keeps them accountable. Cases can also be included on exams using related scenarios where students are asked to apply their knowledge.

Barrows HS. (1996). Problem-based learning in medicine and beyond: a brief overview. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 68, 3-12.  

Bonney KM. (2015). Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 16(1): 21-28.

Breslin M, Buchanan, R. (2008) On the Case Study Method of Research and Teaching in Design.  Design Issues, 24(1), 36-40.

Bruffee KS. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and authority of knowledge. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.

Herreid CF. (2013). Start with a Story: The Case Study Method of Teaching College Science, edited by Clyde Freeman Herreid. Originally published in 2006 by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); reprinted by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) in 2013.

Herreid CH. (1994). Case studies in science: A novel method of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 23(4), 221–229.

Jonassen DH and Hernandez-Serrano J. (2002). Case-based reasoning and instructional design: Using stories to support problem solving. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 50(2), 65-77.  

Kosfeld M, Heinrichs M, Zak PJ, Fischbacher U, Fehr E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435, 673-676.

Krain M. (2016) Putting the learning in case learning? The effects of case-based approaches on student knowledge, attitudes, and engagement. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 27(2), 131-153.

Lee V. (2012). What is Inquiry-Guided Learning?  New Directions for Learning, 129:5-14.

Nkhoma M, Sriratanaviriyakul N. (2017). Using case method to enrich students’ learning outcomes. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(1):37-50.

Srinivasan et al. (2007). Comparing problem-based learning with case-based learning: Effects of a major curricular shift at two institutions. Academic Medicine, 82(1): 74-82.

Thistlethwaite JE et al. (2012). The effectiveness of case-based learning in health professional education. A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 23.  Medical Teacher, 34, e421-e444.

Tuckman B. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-99.

Williams B. (2005). Case-based learning - a review of the literature: is there scope for this educational paradigm in prehospital education? Emerg Med, 22, 577-581.

Zak, PJ (2013). How Stories Change the Brain. Retrieved from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain

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Case Study Compilation

The SEL Integration Approach  Case Study Compilation  was developed with and for educators who work in a K-12 school setting, including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, SEL Directors, teacher leaders, & school principals, to provide examples of practice related to three questions:

• What does it mean to focus on social-emotional development and the creation of positive learning environments?
• How can educators integrate their approaches to social, emotional, and academic development?
• What does it look, sound, and feel like when SEL is effectively embedded into all elements of the school day?

When read one at a time, the case studies offer snapshots of social-emotional learning in action; they describe daily routines, activities, and teachable moments within short vignettes. When read together, the case studies provide a unique picture of what it takes for a school to integrate social, emotional, and academic learning across grade levels, content areas, and other unique contexts.

The Case Study Compilation includes:

• Eleven case studies:  Each case study highlights educator ‘moves’ and strategies to embed social-emotional skills, mindsets, and competencies throughout the school day and within academics. They each  conclude with a reflection prompt that challenges readers to examine their own practice. The case studies are written from several different perspectives, including teachers in the classroom and in distance learning environments, a school counselor, and district leaders.
• Reflection Guide for Professional Learning:  The Reflection Guide offers an entry point for educators to think critically about their work with youth in order to strengthen their practice. School leaders or other partners may choose to use this Reflection Guide in a variety of contexts, including coaching conversations and staff professional development sessions.

View our accompanying Quick Reference Guide , Companion Guides , and Educator & School Leader Self-Reflection Tools .

“We must resist thinking in siloed terms when it comes to social-emotional learning (SEL), academics, and equity. Rather, these elements of our work as educators and partners go hand in hand.”

HEAD & HEART, TransformEd & ANet

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Methodology

• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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Educational Case Reports: Purpose, Style, and Format

• Published: 03 March 2022
• Volume 46 , pages 147–150, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

• Alan K. Louie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6762-1835 1 ,
• Richard Balon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6598-2242 2 ,
• Eugene V. Beresin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5627-7146 3 ,
• Anthony P. S. Guerrero   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2496-4934 4 ,
• Mary K. Morreale   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7921-0822 2 ,
• Rashi Aggarwal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9744-3638 5 ,
• John Coverdale   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9301-4687 6 &
• Adam M. Brenner   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7244-651X 7  

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Case reports continue to play a time-honored role in academic medicine, by communicating clinical findings and advancing medicine [ 1 ]. Though a less rigorous level of evidence, because they describe one case that later may prove to be anomalous or “one-off,” some cases nevertheless have led to significant discoveries. Other fields, including law, business, and education, utilize their versions of case reports, often termed case studies. Law students read legal cases, proceedings, judgements, and verdicts. Business journals publish detailed accounts of the success or failure of corporations. The most germane to medical education is the use of case studies in graduate schools of education. Examples include reports of the implementation of a new teaching method, interventions, or programs at a particular school and, more broadly, the effects of a change in educational policy or regulations.

In this editorial, we discuss case reports about medical education and reflect on lessons we might learn from the tradition of case studies in the field of education at large. To be clear, we are focusing on reports in medicine about educational methodologies, interventions, initiatives, policies, application of adult learning theory, and the like. These reports are not to be confused with clinical case reports that are meant to be educational. Several journals specializing in medical education accept educational case reports, commonly about innovations in teaching medical students or residents. For instance, educational case reports have a specified manuscript type in some journals (e.g., Teaching and Learning in Medicine ) , while several other medical education journals have manuscript categories that will consider manuscripts that are essentially educational case reports (e.g., Innovation Reports ). To the extent that the nature of traditional case reports in clinical medicine differs from that of case studies in the discipline of education, one might suggest that medical education case reports could borrow the most useful guidelines from each field.

Academic Psychiatry includes among its types of manuscripts Educational Case Reports, which previously were subsumed under the educational resources’ column [ 2 ]. From 2014 to 2021, the percentage of this manuscript type has averaged 12% of the total published articles of all types in the journal. The acceptance rate is similar to the rate for all peer-reviewed articles in the journal. The exact nature of the articles in this manuscript type has evolved over time, as have the associated instructions to the authors. In recent years, the editors have encouraged, through the editorial process and suggested revisions, educational case reports to follow the description in this editorial. In what follows, we attempt to clarify further their current purpose, style, and format.

The following text is found in the instructions for authors of Academic Psychiatry [ 3 ]:

Educational case reports are practical in nature and might analyze, descriptively or ethnographically, how a particular teaching practice was applied in a specific setting. Examples include unexpected and subtle discoveries made while developing an innovative teaching method, reforming a curriculum, or launching a new course. A holistic review process considers that case reports in education tend to be naturalistic and relatively lacking in empirical data, but outcome data are still expected, such as qualitative or quantitative participant feedback. Quality of data, novelty of the case, and topic significance will be considered.

Comparison with the Journal’s In Brief Report category will be valuable. Both Educational Case Reports and In Brief Reports might be used to describe a novel teaching intervention implemented at a single site or institution. The In Brief Report would be most appropriate when the authors wish to focus on statistical analysis of the outcome measures. By contrast, an Educational Case Report would be chosen when the authors believe that the primary goal of publication is to share lessons learned from the process of defining the need, creating the intervention, overcoming the challenges in implementation, or interpreting ambiguous outcomes. It is important that the authors identify which of these (or other) kinds of lessons their case report is meant to illustrate.

A number of educational case report manuscripts are rejected by Academic Psychiatry , unfortunately, due to a frequent misunderstanding that the main objective of publishing an educational case report is to disseminate and share a course curriculum, created by the authors, absent outcomes other than student satisfaction. Sharing of curricula is a worthy objective, sparing others the task of creating the same curriculum on their own, but it is not the purpose of this manuscript type. Dissemination of one’s curriculum might be better accomplished by submission to websites that have a review process for curricula and regularly post them (e.g., MedEdPortal [ 4 ] and the website of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training [ 5 ]). The authors may list these peer-reviewed postings on their curriculum vitae.

Academic Psychiatry has been publishing fewer and fewer case reports that present new curricula, for several reasons. First, page and space limitations prevent the inclusion of particulars necessary for the dissemination of a curriculum in detail. Second, the journal’s reviewers evaluate submissions on the basis of their expertise in medical education and not in the content area of the curriculum being described in the manuscript. For example, if an author wants to share a model curriculum for teaching emergency psychiatry, a curriculum reviewer would be needed to assess whether the content about emergency psychiatry was accurate, appropriate, and acceptable for wide dissemination. Academic Psychiatry , however, does not provide reviews in subspecialty content areas, like emergency psychiatry; reviewers instead are asked to assess manuscripts on the basis of what they impart to the reader about medical education. Educational case reports about an emergency psychiatry curriculum should describe lessons learned about education, like difficulties in implementing the curriculum, how students reacted to the teaching methodology, the use of simulation, and educational outcomes. The fact that the curriculum, in this example, is about emergency psychiatry is somewhat incidental to these tasks. Of course, the content of the curriculum is of importance, but it only needs to be described to the extent necessary to explicate the educational lessons and observed outcomes.

By definition, an educational case report is usually about one “subject” (or at most a few in a multiple case report) whose case is described and studied with rich details. Educational case reports often use methods that are more qualitative and descriptive, in contrast to surveys or trials, which collect more superficial quantitative data from large samples that are amenable to statistical analysis and generalizable to populations. Thus, an educational case report may be idiographic, or even ethnographic, in style in order to tell the story of its singular subject. Akin to most qualitative research, educational case reports are more naturalistic in design, highly influenced by the specific context or single setting. They are generally narrative in style, since they tell the story of why the authors made the educational intervention and how the process played out.

Here, we may find some divergence in style between case reports in education from those in clinical medicine, in which clinician authors might frame the report as quasi-experimental and hypothesis-driven. For instance, the clinician may use the subject as his or her own control, involving periods on a medication, then off the medication, and finally back on the medication, and correlating symptom changes with these periods. Symptom severity might be given numerical ratings represented with descriptive statistics. Despite the disadvantage of having only one subject, many clinical case reports have been written in this manner and have been valuable, leading to larger quantitative studies.

Authors of educational case reports may want to continue in this clinical case report style but should also feel free to infuse elements of style from qualitative research traditions. This approach is appropriate for educational case reports due to their greater complexity. In particular, the subject is generally not a person, as in clinical cases, but rather, the unit of study is more often an educational intervention (e.g., course, curriculum, initiative). In telling the “story” of an intervention, the authors need to define clearly its boundaries [ 6 ]. Unlike a person who has easily understood physical boundaries, educational interventions need borders drawn between the subject of the report and the context in which it is embedded. For instance, in studying educational outcomes, is one looking at the effects of a single exercise embedded in a session, of a session embedded in a course, or of a course embedded in a curriculum, and how does one separate the effects of each? Which is the subject—the exercise, the course, or the curriculum? These important questions might use qualitative methods by including the learners in a focus group and understanding how the teaching intervention was understood and potentially assimilated into practice.

Additionally, the context surrounding the educational intervention is usually complex in the academic world, with multiple learners and many uncontrollable and unpredictable influences, perhaps more so than in clinical settings with one patient and pure pharmacological treatments. This context may include details that are not content-specific: whether attendance is required and consequences exist for not attending; whether advance readings for a flipped classroom model are reviewed by learners; if faculty are given protected time or paid for teaching and the course is given protected hours of instruction by the administration; how grades are determined; and other details often omitted in descriptions of model curricula. These factors influence the quality and effectiveness of education, such that the same curriculum delivered in two different contexts may have quite different degrees of success or failure, and may help readers to decide whether to adapt a described educational intervention in their institution (e.g., depending on resources).

The qualitative part of an educational case report should interrogate the “how” and “why” of the case [ 7 ]. Many authors overemphasize the “what,” the content of the curriculum, and focus on whether the “what” was effective, usually with learner satisfaction surveys. While this formula has resulted in some perfectly useful case reports, we do not think it leverages the strengths and potential of an educational case report. More valuable are the “how” (e.g., learning process) and “why” (e.g., mechanisms of learning) questions with regard to learning processes and speculation about mechanisms and causation. Readers may find transferability of some of these processes and mechanisms to their context. Of note, the “how” may include unanticipated and/or unpreventable changes or challenges relating to the educational intervention, occurring during the period of study, which may lead to modification of the intervention midstream. In clinical trials, this occurrence is undesirable, because conditions of the trials will then change, but in an educational case report, describing such changes gives a sense of the forces impinging on the intervention and its ability to adapt to them, which offers lessons learned along the away and the attempts to redirect efforts.

Many educational case reports describe a new course or curriculum designed in response to an educational need or gap in knowledge, skills, or attitudes. The report should start with evidence of this need and gap based on review of the literature (or lack of evidence in the literature), current existing solutions and how they have failed to date, and the authors’ innovative answer. Next, the educational intervention may be outlined; the content of the intervention (e.g., topics, assignments) need not be fully specified but can be shared in an abbreviated form. Particular attention should be drawn to defining the boundaries of the intervention, as alluded to earlier, and its context, along with how it is innovative. Assessment and qualitative measures, and possibly quantitative methods, used should be described that establish the educational outcomes. If quantitative methods are used, their validity needs to be addressed. Study data are then presented along with a narrative of what happened during the study, from start to finish. This text should include how the intervention ran, observation of learning processes, barriers, modifications, and changes that were required and the reaction to them, educational outcomes, and final impact and scalability. Additionally, inclusion of student perspectives, perhaps more than simple comments from evaluations, should be considered. Lessons learned along the way, propositions about how and why the outcomes came to be, and questions raised with novel perspectives should be proposed and critically argued in the conclusion. Mentioning limitations and the potential existence of multiple explanations, unsettled ambiguities, and researcher bias is also important.

The issue of informed consent and ethics review should be addressed. The manuscript should indicate the conclusions of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) review of the case report study and data to be published (e.g., exempt from further review status, approved). The IRB can advise about whether informed consent for being in the study is necessary, and the release of the case report should be considered from both the faculty members and learners.

As mentioned earlier, educational case reports may benefit from a hybrid of the styles from clinical case reports and qualitative reports. Various standardized formats for clinical case reports have been published. An international group developed the CARE ( CA se RE ports) guidelines for clinical case reports [ 8 ], and it is useful for authors to be aware of these. Several tools are provided with the CARE guidelines for authors, including a checklist for writing clinical case reports. Listed are traditional elements like clinical findings, diagnostic tools, treatments, and follow-up and outcomes. Of note, the guidelines include prompts to incorporate instruments measuring treatment adherence and side effects, explaining alteration of the treatment plan, and presenting a rationale for the clinical conclusions. Also requested is the treatment perspective of the patient and obtaining the patient’s informed consent for release of the case report. The CARE guidelines are best suited for clinical case reports, but authors may wish to adapt some elements to educational case reports, such as using tools to measure compliance with and acceptance of the educational intervention, explaining changes in the curriculum during the study, and describing a rationale for educational conclusions and lessons learned.

Authors may want to also consider formats designed for presentation of qualitative research. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) enumerates 21 points that should be covered [ 9 ]. Educational case reports may illustrate outcomes with qualitative methods like focus groups, interviews with learners and faculty, observations of the learning process, and textual analysis [ 10 ], which would provide a higher level of evidence and iterative data analysis than afforded by the use of Likert-scale student satisfaction questionnaires. SRQR endorses increasing trustworthiness and credibility with conclusions based on triangulation from more than one data source and providing transparency about any author’s attributes that might have biased the data gathering, analysis, and transferability. The application of advanced design and methods in case study research, used in education at large, may be found elsewhere [ 7 ].

Educational case reports are an important manuscript type and have been wonderful contributions to Academic Psychiatry . Educational case reports have followed the tradition of clinical case reports in medicine, which have a long history and have sometimes become early progenitors of novel perspectives and discoveries about disease and treatment. We suggest that educational case reports may also benefit from borrowing from the tradition of case studies in the field of education at large, which are considered as a form of qualitative research. In other words, educational case reports in medicine can take advantage of a hybrid style, combining elements from both clinical case reports and qualitative research studies, in proportions determined by the author fitting for the case.

Qualitative approaches and methods are useful in dealing with the great complexity of educational interventions and the contexts in which they are implemented. Qualitative writing encourages telling the story of the intervention in rich and deep detail over the course of the study, developing propositions of how and why the intervention’s processes and outcomes unfolded as they did. Therefore, one consideration for education researchers and perhaps for psychiatry in general is greater attention to teaching qualitative methods, as these have a rich foundation and are particularly applicable to psychiatry as a field. As a foundation, the format might adapt the relevant elements of a clinical case report, as described in the CARE guidelines. Then, authors who want to elaborate on the qualitative research features of their report may add in more rigorous qualitative methodologies, paradigms, and reporting standards. We are delighted to continue the fine tradition of Academic Psychiatry publishing educational case reports, and we look forward to your submissions.

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Home » Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Table of Contents

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth examination and analysis of a particular phenomenon or case, such as an individual, organization, community, event, or situation.

It is a qualitative research approach that aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the case being studied. Case studies typically involve multiple sources of data, including interviews, observations, documents, and artifacts, which are analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, and grounded theory. The findings of a case study are often used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Types of Case Study

Types and Methods of Case Study are as follows:

Single-Case Study

A single-case study is an in-depth analysis of a single case. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand a specific phenomenon in detail.

For Example , A researcher might conduct a single-case study on a particular individual to understand their experiences with a particular health condition or a specific organization to explore their management practices. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a single-case study are often used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Multiple-Case Study

A multiple-case study involves the analysis of several cases that are similar in nature. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to identify similarities and differences between the cases.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a multiple-case study on several companies to explore the factors that contribute to their success or failure. The researcher collects data from each case, compares and contrasts the findings, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as comparative analysis or pattern-matching. The findings of a multiple-case study can be used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Exploratory Case Study

An exploratory case study is used to explore a new or understudied phenomenon. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to generate hypotheses or theories about the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an exploratory case study on a new technology to understand its potential impact on society. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as grounded theory or content analysis. The findings of an exploratory case study can be used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Descriptive Case Study

A descriptive case study is used to describe a particular phenomenon in detail. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to provide a comprehensive account of the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a descriptive case study on a particular community to understand its social and economic characteristics. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a descriptive case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Instrumental Case Study

An instrumental case study is used to understand a particular phenomenon that is instrumental in achieving a particular goal. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand the role of the phenomenon in achieving the goal.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an instrumental case study on a particular policy to understand its impact on achieving a particular goal, such as reducing poverty. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of an instrumental case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Case Study Data Collection Methods

Here are some common data collection methods for case studies:

Interviews involve asking questions to individuals who have knowledge or experience relevant to the case study. Interviews can be structured (where the same questions are asked to all participants) or unstructured (where the interviewer follows up on the responses with further questions). Interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing.

Observations

Observations involve watching and recording the behavior and activities of individuals or groups relevant to the case study. Observations can be participant (where the researcher actively participates in the activities) or non-participant (where the researcher observes from a distance). Observations can be recorded using notes, audio or video recordings, or photographs.

Documents can be used as a source of information for case studies. Documents can include reports, memos, emails, letters, and other written materials related to the case study. Documents can be collected from the case study participants or from public sources.

Surveys involve asking a set of questions to a sample of individuals relevant to the case study. Surveys can be administered in person, over the phone, through mail or email, or online. Surveys can be used to gather information on attitudes, opinions, or behaviors related to the case study.

Artifacts are physical objects relevant to the case study. Artifacts can include tools, equipment, products, or other objects that provide insights into the case study phenomenon.

How to conduct Case Study Research

Conducting a case study research involves several steps that need to be followed to ensure the quality and rigor of the study. Here are the steps to conduct case study research:

• Define the research questions: The first step in conducting a case study research is to define the research questions. The research questions should be specific, measurable, and relevant to the case study phenomenon under investigation.
• Select the case: The next step is to select the case or cases to be studied. The case should be relevant to the research questions and should provide rich and diverse data that can be used to answer the research questions.
• Collect data: Data can be collected using various methods, such as interviews, observations, documents, surveys, and artifacts. The data collection method should be selected based on the research questions and the nature of the case study phenomenon.
• Analyze the data: The data collected from the case study should be analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, or grounded theory. The analysis should be guided by the research questions and should aim to provide insights and conclusions relevant to the research questions.
• Draw conclusions: The conclusions drawn from the case study should be based on the data analysis and should be relevant to the research questions. The conclusions should be supported by evidence and should be clearly stated.
• Validate the findings: The findings of the case study should be validated by reviewing the data and the analysis with participants or other experts in the field. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Write the report: The final step is to write the report of the case study research. The report should provide a clear description of the case study phenomenon, the research questions, the data collection methods, the data analysis, the findings, and the conclusions. The report should be written in a clear and concise manner and should follow the guidelines for academic writing.

Examples of Case Study

Here are some examples of case study research:

• The Hawthorne Studies : Conducted between 1924 and 1932, the Hawthorne Studies were a series of case studies conducted by Elton Mayo and his colleagues to examine the impact of work environment on employee productivity. The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne Works plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago and included interviews, observations, and experiments.
• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Conducted in 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment was a case study conducted by Philip Zimbardo to examine the psychological effects of power and authority. The study involved simulating a prison environment and assigning participants to the role of guards or prisoners. The study was controversial due to the ethical issues it raised.
• The Challenger Disaster: The Challenger Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. The study included interviews, observations, and analysis of data to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.
• The Enron Scandal: The Enron Scandal was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Enron Corporation’s bankruptcy in 2001. The study included interviews, analysis of financial data, and review of documents to identify the accounting practices, corporate culture, and ethical issues that led to the company’s downfall.
• The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster : The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the nuclear accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011. The study included interviews, analysis of data, and review of documents to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.

Application of Case Study

Case studies have a wide range of applications across various fields and industries. Here are some examples:

Business and Management

Case studies are widely used in business and management to examine real-life situations and develop problem-solving skills. Case studies can help students and professionals to develop a deep understanding of business concepts, theories, and best practices.

Case studies are used in healthcare to examine patient care, treatment options, and outcomes. Case studies can help healthcare professionals to develop critical thinking skills, diagnose complex medical conditions, and develop effective treatment plans.

Case studies are used in education to examine teaching and learning practices. Case studies can help educators to develop effective teaching strategies, evaluate student progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Social Sciences

Case studies are widely used in social sciences to examine human behavior, social phenomena, and cultural practices. Case studies can help researchers to develop theories, test hypotheses, and gain insights into complex social issues.

Law and Ethics

Case studies are used in law and ethics to examine legal and ethical dilemmas. Case studies can help lawyers, policymakers, and ethical professionals to develop critical thinking skills, analyze complex cases, and make informed decisions.

Purpose of Case Study

The purpose of a case study is to provide a detailed analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. A case study is a qualitative research method that involves the in-depth exploration and analysis of a particular case, which can be an individual, group, organization, event, or community.

The primary purpose of a case study is to generate a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the case, including its history, context, and dynamics. Case studies can help researchers to identify and examine the underlying factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and detailed understanding of the case, which can inform future research, practice, or policy.

Case studies can also serve other purposes, including:

• Illustrating a theory or concept: Case studies can be used to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and frameworks, providing concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Developing hypotheses: Case studies can help to generate hypotheses about the causal relationships between different factors and outcomes, which can be tested through further research.
• Providing insight into complex issues: Case studies can provide insights into complex and multifaceted issues, which may be difficult to understand through other research methods.
• Informing practice or policy: Case studies can be used to inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.

Advantages of Case Study Research

There are several advantages of case study research, including:

• In-depth exploration: Case study research allows for a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. This can provide a comprehensive understanding of the case and its dynamics, which may not be possible through other research methods.
• Rich data: Case study research can generate rich and detailed data, including qualitative data such as interviews, observations, and documents. This can provide a nuanced understanding of the case and its complexity.
• Holistic perspective: Case study research allows for a holistic perspective of the case, taking into account the various factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the case.
• Theory development: Case study research can help to develop and refine theories and concepts by providing empirical evidence and concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Practical application: Case study research can inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.
• Contextualization: Case study research takes into account the specific context in which the case is situated, which can help to understand how the case is influenced by the social, cultural, and historical factors of its environment.

Limitations of Case Study Research

There are several limitations of case study research, including:

• Limited generalizability : Case studies are typically focused on a single case or a small number of cases, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The unique characteristics of the case may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, which may limit the external validity of the research.
• Biased sampling: Case studies may rely on purposive or convenience sampling, which can introduce bias into the sample selection process. This may limit the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the findings.
• Subjectivity: Case studies rely on the interpretation of the researcher, which can introduce subjectivity into the analysis. The researcher’s own biases, assumptions, and perspectives may influence the findings, which may limit the objectivity of the research.
• Limited control: Case studies are typically conducted in naturalistic settings, which limits the control that the researcher has over the environment and the variables being studied. This may limit the ability to establish causal relationships between variables.
• Time-consuming: Case studies can be time-consuming to conduct, as they typically involve a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific case. This may limit the feasibility of conducting multiple case studies or conducting case studies in a timely manner.
• Resource-intensive: Case studies may require significant resources, including time, funding, and expertise. This may limit the ability of researchers to conduct case studies in resource-constrained settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Using Case Study in Education Research

• Lorna Hamilton - University of Edinburgh, UK
• Connie Corbett-Whittier - Friends University, Topeka, Kansas
• Description

This book provides an accessible introduction to using case studies. It makes sense of literature in this area, and shows how to generate collaborations and communicate findings.

The authors bring together the practical and the theoretical, enabling readers to build expertise on the principles and practice of case study research, as well as engaging with possible theoretical frameworks. They also highlight the place of case study as a key component of educational research.

With the help of this book, graduate students, teacher educators and practitioner researchers will gain the confidence and skills needed to design and conduct a high quality case study.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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'Drawing on a wide range of their own and others' experiences, the authors offer a comprehensive and convincing account of the value of case study in educational research. What comes across - quite passionately - is the way in which a case study approach can bring to life some of the complexities, challenges and contradictions inherent in educational settings. The book is written in a clear and lively manner and should be an invaluable resource for those teachers and students who are incorporating a case study dimension into their research work' - Ian Menter, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Oxford

'This book is comprehensive in its coverage, yet detailed in its exposition of case study research. It is a highly interactive text with a critical edge and is a useful tool for teaching. It is of particular relevance to practitioner researchers, providing accessible guidance for reflective practice. It covers key matters such as: purposes, ethics, data analysis, technology, dissemination and communities for research. And it is a good read!' - Professor Anne Campbell, formerly of Leeds Metropolitan University

'This excellent book is a principled and theoretically informed guide to case study research design and methods for the collection, analysis and presentation of evidence' -Professor Andrew Pollard, Institute of Educaiton, University of London

This publication provides easy text, giving differing viewpoints to establish definitions for case study research. This book has been recommended to the Fd students to support projects of action research.

This has again been recommended for students on the Foundation Degree and Degree programmes as it is an easy text, providing differing viewpoints to establish definitions for case study research. Additionally recommended on the reading list for the BA programmes to provide a clearer insight into using Case Studies in preschool and school environments.

This is an excellent book - very clear

This text clearly discusses the case study approach and would be useful for both undergraduate and post graduate learners.

An easily accessible text, giving alternative points of view on what case study research actually is and how it might be interpreted at doctoral level.

This is a pleasant read with a number of useful group and individual tasks for students to engage with as they think through designing and doing a project. These tasks for useful not just for case studies but can be adapted as students consider other research designs.

Offers a good understanding of case study research in a clear and accessible manner. A perfect starting point for the researcher new to the case study method and will also offer the experienced researcher some useful tips and insights.

This text is clearly written and argues strongly for using case study in educational research, despite the challenges this approach faces in the dynamic world of shifting research paradigms. Step-by-step guidance from initial ideas through to the reality of undertaking case study in educational research is helpful

The book is written in a practical way, which gives a clear guide for undergraduate students especially for those who are using case study in education research. I will definitely add this book to recommended reading lists.

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Activity 6.12 Observation 2 p98

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Activity 6.20 Questionnaire 2 p110

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Original research article, affective learning in digital education—case studies of social networking systems, games for learning, and digital fabrication.

• Faculty of Education, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

Technological innovations, such as social networking systems, games for learning, and digital fabrication, are extending learning and interaction opportunities of people in educational and professional contexts. These technological transformations have the ability to deepen, enrich, and adaptively guide learning and interaction, but they also hold potential risks for neglecting people's affective learning processes—that is, learners' emotional experiences and expressions in learning. We argue that technologies and their usage in particular should be designed with the goal of enhancing learning and interaction that acknowledges both fundamental aspects of learning: cognitive and affective. In our empirical research, we have explored the possibility of using various types of emerging digital tools as individual and group support for cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning. We present four case studies of experiments dealing with social networking systems, programming with computer games, and “makers culture” and digital fabrication as examples of digital education. All these experiments investigate novel ways of technological integration in learning by focusing on their affective potential. In the first study, a social networking system was used in a higher education context for providing a forum for online learning. The second study demonstrates a Minecraft experiment as game-based learning in primary school education. Finally, the third and the fourth case study showcases examples of “maker” contexts and digital fabrication in early education and in secondary school. It is concluded that digital systems and tools can provide multiple opportunities for affective learning in different contexts within different age groups. As a pedagogical implication, scaffolding in both cognitive and affective learning processes is necessary in order to make the learning experience with emerging digital tools meaningful and engaging.

Introduction

Current technological transformations in society bring new abilities for sensing, adapting, and providing information to users within their environments ( Laru et al., 2015 ; Chang et al., 2018 ; Huang et al., 2019 ). This can, for example, deepen, enrich, and guide educational and professional interactions ( Rummel, 2018 ; Stracke and Tan, 2018 ). Technologies have already been used to improve participants' cognitive learning experiences, to create efficient and constructive communication, and to effectively use shared resources, as well as to find and build groups and communities ( Jeong and Hmelo-Silver, 2016 ).

However, research has also shown that technology can alter social interactions. For instance, technology can affect the self-disclosure and identity management of individuals ( Yee and Bailenson, 2007 ) as well as provide an arena for bullying (Santiago and Siklander, in review), thus running the risk of inhibiting productive social interactions or providing less than optimal support for them. In terms of group interactions and technologically enhanced collaborations in particular, challenges may relate to a cognitive load too excessive to efficiently handle content and task related activities simultaneously with social and technological factors ( Bruyckere et al., 2015 ; May and Elder, 2018 ; Pedro et al., 2018 ) or the lack of available important social cues for social information processing, particularly in text-based communications ( Kreijns et al., 2003 ; Walther, 2011 ; Terry and Cain, 2016 ). This discussion of technology's challenges is particularly relevant in bigger online learning communities and social networking systems, but also in small group collaboration ( Bodemer and Dehler, 2011 ; Davis, 2016 ), such as in the context of games for learning, digital fabrication, and “maker” education.

Social networking systems, games for learning, and digital fabrication (making) will be further examined in this paper with case study examples. These case examples are chosen with regard to their likely impact on learning and instruction in current and future educational designs ( Woolf, 2010 ; Chang et al., 2018 ; Huang et al., 2019 ). One of the main challenges that teachers face in the context of adopting contemporary technologies to support learning activities is the fact that professional knowledge and competencies are needed in both technology and pedagogy ( Valtonen et al., 2019 ). This means that in addition to technical aspects, it is important that teachers understand and consider the basic processes of how people learn as an individual and as part of collaborative group ( Häkkinen et al., 2017 ). Therefore, it is essential to explore and characterize learning and interaction processes, including cognitive and affective components, when digital tools and learning environments are implemented in educational contexts.

This paper is grounded in the premise that technologies should enhance the cognitive and affective learning processes in collaboration. Emotional experiences and expressions are recognized as an especially central part of successful collaborative learning ( Baker et al., 2013 ). The use of potential technological enhancements in collaboration necessitates an interdisciplinary understanding of the social factors and emotional dynamics influencing the learning and interaction processes. We argue that when the affective interactions are more thoroughly accounted for and enhanced through technology, they can have positive implications for cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful collaborations, thus contributing to better competence building, social equity, and participation in group workings ( Järvenoja and Järvelä, 2013 ; Isohätälä et al., 2017 ; Järvenoja et al., 2018 ).

Collaborative Learning as a Cognitive and Affective Learning Process

Collaborative learning is a specific type of learning and interaction process in which learners in a group share their overall learning process by negotiating their goals for learning and coordinating their mutual learning processes together ( Roschelle and Teasley, 1995 ). Since the process of collaborative learning consists of discussions, negotiations, and reflections on the task at hand, it has the potential to lead to deeper information processing than individuals would achieve alone ( Dillenbourg, 1999 ; Baker, 2015 ). The premise for successful collaborative learning is that group members are actively engaged in building, monitoring, and maintaining their shared learning processes on cognitive and affective levels ( Barron, 2003 ; Näykki et al., 2017b ; Isohätälä et al., 2019a ). This means that interpreting and understanding who you are working with, what is being worked on, and how your actions and emotions affect others is essential to obtain successful collaborative learning ( Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2011 ; Miyake and Kirschner, 2014 ). We follow the conceptualization that views successful collaborative learning as a combination of an outcome (deeper understanding and developed individual and group learning skills), and an experience (a student's own evaluation and interpretation of how [s]he succeeded) ( Baker, 2015 ).

In general, affective processes play an important role in individuals' learning as well as in groups' learning and interaction processes ( Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2011 ; Järvenoja et al., 2015 ; Polo et al., 2016 ; Isohätälä et al., 2019b ). Students' emotions, such as enjoyment, boredom, pride, and anxiety, are seen to affect achievement by influencing their involvement and attitude toward learning and learning environments (e.g., Pekrun et al., 2002 ; Boekaerts, 2003 , 2011 ; Pekrun and Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2012 ). These emotional experiences naturally have a great effect on how students and/or groups work on their task assignments. In our research, we have been particularly interested in the role of emotions as a part of groups' coordinated learning processes—how group members experience emotions and how they express their emotions in order to maintain and restore (when needed) a socio-emotionally secure atmosphere for learning and collaboration ( Näykki et al., 2014 ). This has been done by observing student groups' interaction processes to understand how emotions are expressed, reflected, and shaped by social interaction ( Baker et al., 2013 ; Isohätälä et al., 2017 ; Näykki et al., 2017a ).

We ground this study in the increasing empirical understanding of the multifaceted interaction processes involved in collaborative learning, integrating cognitive, and affective components as the core of collaboration ( Volet et al., 2009 ; Järvel et al., 2010 , 2013 ; Näykki et al., 2014 ; Ucan and Webb, 2015 ; Sobocinski et al., 2016 ; Isohätälä et al., 2019a ; Vuopala et al., 2019 ). In theory, collaborative learning requires group members to be aware of and to coordinate with their cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and emotional resources and efforts ( Hadwin et al., 2018 ). In practice, this involves students sharing their thinking and understanding, as well as showing verbally and behaviorally their commitment to the task and to the group ( Järvelä et al., 2016 ; Isohätälä et al., 2017 ).

How to Enhance Opportunities for Cognitive and Affective Learning Processes With Pedagogical Designs and Digital Tools

Prior research has suggested that students need a scaffolding to engage with and progress in active and effective collaborative learning ( Kirschner et al., 2006 ; Belland et al., 2013 ). In order to favor the emergence of productive interactions and thus to improve the quality of collaborative learning, different pedagogical models, and design approaches have been developed in collaborative learning research ( Hämäläinen and Häkkinen, 2010 ). One example of a strategy to enhance the process of collaboration is to structure learners' actions with the aid of scripted cooperation ( Fischer et al., 2013 ). Scripting is defined as “a set of instructions prescribing how students should perform in groups, how they should interact and collaborate and how they should solve the problem” ( Dillenbourg, 2002 , p. 63). In other words, scripts support collaborative processes by specifying, sequencing, and distributing the activities that learners are expected to engage in during collaboration ( Dillenbourg, 2002 ; Kollar et al., 2006 ). Scripts typically aim to smooth coordination and communication, but there are also scripts that aim to promote high-level socio-cognitive activities—e.g., explaining, arguing, and question asking ( Weinberger et al., 2005 ; Fischer et al., 2013 ; Tsovaltzi et al., 2017 )—or acknowledge and promote socio-emotional activities ( Näykki et al., 2017a ).

In addition to designing certain learning activities with the scripting approach, previous research in the field of technologically enhanced learning has demonstrated how technology can function as a tool for individuals' and groups' learning, allowing meaningful learning interactions to occur ( Jeong and Hmelo-Silver, 2016 ; Rosé et al., 2019 ). Recently, more generic digital tools such as social networking tools, games, or mobile phones have been increasingly popular among educators and instructional designers ( Ludvigsen and Mørch, 2010 ; Laru et al., 2015 ). Such tools are being progressively more used in educational contexts but are not usually specifically designed to help students to engage in cognitively effortful interaction such as problem solving, collaborative knowledge construction, or inquiry learning ( Gerjets and Hesse, 2004 ). Nor are these tools often designed for affectively meaningful interactions such as expression and reflection of emotional experiences ( Jones and Issroff, 2005 ; Jeong and Hmelo-Silver, 2016 ).

Altogether, these tools rarely offer specific instructional guidance concerning collaborative learning ( Kirschner et al., 2006 ). Instead, both generic and specific cognitive tools ( Kim and Reeves, 2007 ) typically provide an open problem space, where learners are left to their own devices. In such spaces, learners are free to choose (a) what activities to engage in with respect to the problem at hand and (b) how they want to perform those activities ( Kollar et al., 2007 ). Modern social networking systems, games for learning, and contexts for digital fabrication and making can be categorized into open problem spaces where learning is often supported without tightly structured socio-technological instructional design ( Laru et al., 2015 ; Hira and Hynes, 2018 ).

Case Examples in Digital Education

We present and explore four cases ( Table 1 ) involving social networking systems, games for learning, and digital fabrication where emergent and contemporary technologies are used to support collaborative learning in open problem spaces, especially focusing on cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning in groups. These emergent digital tools, with their respective socio-technical designs, were selected because they each represent different ways to provide opportunities for affective learning—for experiencing and expressing emotions as well as for supporting equal participation and a safe group atmosphere (cf. Baker et al., 2013 ). Traditionally all these technologies and activities have mainly been present in informal contexts as associated with social lives of the users, and thus, it can be assumed that this is one reason why they are able to access emotions in powerful ways. These technologies also hold the potential for learning in formal education as well, as a part of learning activities organized by educational institutions ( Pedro et al., 2018 ).

Table 1 . Summary of the case examples: social networking systems, games for learning, maker education, and digital fabrication.

CASE 1: Social Networking Systems for Supporting Equal Participation and Collaborative Argumentation

Social Networking Sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are widely used communication platforms worldwide because of easy access and unrestricted interactivity ( Bowman and Akcaoglu, 2014 ). They are mostly used for informal, everyday communication, but these platforms also offer possibilities to education by allowing idea sharing and a knowledge co-construction process ( Laru et al., 2012 ; Vuopala et al., 2016 ; Tsovaltzi et al., 2017 ) where learners are interacting and building new frameworks to extend the knowledge and understanding of each individual student ( Janssen et al., 2012 ). These productive interactional processes include sharing ideas, negotiating, asking thought-provoking questions, and providing justified arguments ( Vuopala et al., 2016 ). Studies have also shown that the use of SNS can be beneficial for learning purposes by, for example, fostering affective interactions in academic life, allowing students to share emotional experiences, and providing support for socio-emotional presence ( Pempek et al., 2009 ; Bennett, 2010 ; Ryan et al., 2011 ; Wodzicki et al., 2012 ; Bowman and Akcaoglu, 2014 ).

However, previous studies have proven that in SNS the level of knowledge co-construction and argumentation is often superficial, lacking solid arguments as well as affective interaction ( Bull et al., 2008 ; Dabbagh and Reo, 2011 ). Engaging in these cognitive and affective processes is not necessarily spontaneous, therefore, it is essential to support students' learning processes. One way to promote productive collaborative learning is through the use of pedagogical scripts that have been used for guiding learners to engage both in knowledge co-construction and in affective processes ( Dillenbourg, 2002 ; King, 2007 ; Fischer et al., 2013 ; Näykki et al., 2017a ; Wang et al., 2017 ).

This case study presents research in which Facebook was used as a platform for argumentation. Higher education students ( N = 88) from one German and two Finnish universities participated in a seven week long online course named “CSCL, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning” ( Puhl et al., 2017 ). The course included the following learning topics: scripting, motivation and emotions, and metacognition. Students worked in ten groups with four participants in each. The first phase of the course was orientation and introduction (1 week). The main aim of the orientation week was to allow group members to meet each other (online) and to create a safe group atmosphere. After the orientation phase, each small group had a 2 week period to discuss each presented topic (overall, 6 weeks) in their own closed Facebook group.

Small group collaboration was supported with a micro-script ( Weinberger et al., 2007 ; Noroozi et al., 2012 ), which guided learners into knowledge co-construction and argumentation. The study was particularly focused on exploring how different preassigned roles and sentence openers supported argumentation ( Weinberger et al., 2010 ) and contributed to the groups' affective interactions especially by encouraging students to participate equally and motivating the group atmosphere. The roles given to each student were especially designed to prompt not only productive argumentation but also socio-emotional processes. The roles assigned to the students were: captain (motivated the group members' participation), contributor (identified and elaborated pro-arguments), critic (identified and elaborated counter-arguments), and composer (constructed a synthesis of the pro- and counter-arguments). To support their enactment of the named role, the students were given specific sentence openers, such as: “Have you all understood what is meant by…” (captain), “My claim is…” (contributor), “Here is a different claim I think needs to be taken into account …” (critic) and “To combine previously mentioned perspectives it can be concluded…” (composer). The script was faded out as the course proceeded. During the first 2 weeks, both the roles as well as the sentence openers were used to guide productive collaboration. Next, only the roles were given as a script, without sentence openers. However, students got a different role compared to the first week. And after that, the whole script was faded out; it was expected that, by that time, the learners had internalized the script and were thus able to interact purposefully without external support ( Wecker and Fischer, 2011 ; Noroozi et al., 2017 ).

To reach an understanding of how the students interacted during the course, all discussion notes on Facebook were analyzed ( Puhl et al., 2017 ). This was done by categorizing the discussion notes according to their transactivity to the following categories: quick consensus building, integration-oriented consensus building and conflict-oriented consensus building and in terms of their epistemic dimension: coordination, own explanation, misconception, learning content ( Weinberger and Fischer, 2006 ). In general, students participated equally in the joint discussions according to the roles given to them, but the actual use of the sentence openers was more random. The main results indicated that, with this design, students engaged actively in argumentative knowledge co-construction, and that there were no significant differences in terms of the amount of activity between the differently scripted studying phases. All the assigned roles were treated as equally important in terms of both cognitive and affective aspects of learning even though they promoted different aspects of socio-emotional processes. However, during the course it came clear that the role of captain was especially crucial in promoting a good group atmosphere and keeping the motivation level high. The following examples from group discussions illustrate the captain's contributions:

“Thanks for your comments. These are all interesting thoughts. I agree with you that there is not a ‘one fits for all' solution. While regarding thought on ‘obligation’, well I agree that there is that component as well in any learning situation.”

“If you have some questions while you are reading, if something is unclear or something is just interesting, I'd like to encourage you to post something into the group that we can talk about it. So, enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a nice week.”

These examples illustrate how the captain encouraged group members to participate in joint discussions by giving positive feedback, and by making suggestions how to proceed. The results showed that the roles functioned also for affective level learning by, for example, managing the discourse, inducing conflicts through pro- and counter-arguments, and resolving the conflicts by bringing the different perspectives together. To conclude, in this case example, the roles assisted equal participation, feelings of belonging, and good working relationships between learners. The students' interaction was supportive, and arguments were well-structured. Furthermore, roles kept the discussion on task and there was no confusion about the responsibilities ( Bruyckere et al., 2015 ; May and Elder, 2018 ; Pedro et al., 2018 ).

This example of Facebook as a SNS shows how an actively used “everyday digital tool” provided easy access to and a familiar platform for productive collaborative learning. While students used Facebook regularly for informal communication, they actively followed study-related discussions at the same time. It was obvious that in this case informal and formal communication and collaboration supported each other. The students in this study were asked to follow a specific micro-script, and thus their opportunities for designing their own learning activities were rather limited. Another way to integrate informal and formal education and to provide more open opportunities for creative thinking and problem solving is the use of games for learning, as will be described in the following example.

CASE 2: Games for Learning as Supporting Students' Creativity, Problem Solving, and Programming Skills

Currently, there is an increasing interest in implementing games in an educational context ( Nebel et al., 2016 ; Qian and Clark, 2016 ). Connolly et al. (2012) found in their systematic literature review that playing computer games is linked to a range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioral, affective, and motivational impacts and outcomes. However, previous studies have shown that the game environment itself does not guarantee deep learning and meaningful learning experiences ( Lye and Koh, 2014 ; Mayer, 2015 ). The challenge is that many educational games follow simple designs that are only narrowly focused on academic content and provide drill and practice methods similar to worksheets or stress memorization of facts ( Qian and Clark, 2016 ).

Careful pedagogical design is needed in order to implement an educational game environment as a holistic problem-solving environment. For example, game design elements can provide opportunities for learners' self-expression, discovery, and control. These types of playing activities can create a learning environment that supports students' cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning, for example in terms of programming skills, creativity, problem solving ( Kazimoglu et al., 2012 ; Qian and Clark, 2016 ), and motivational engagement ( Bayliss, 2012 ; Zorn et al., 2013 ; Pellas, 2014 ).

This study was designed to integrate informal and formal learning activities for students in the context of an after-school Minecraft club. Minecraft is a multiplayer sandbox game designed around breaking and placing blocks. Unlike many other games, when played in its traditional settings, Minecraft does allow players the freedom to immerse themselves into their own narrative: to build, create, and explore. Minecraft, along with modification software (“mods”), has the tools for teaching and learning programming ( Zorn et al., 2013 ; Risberg, 2015 ; Nebel et al., 2016 ).

The participants in this case study were primary school students ( N = 16, 11 boys, 5 girls, 11 years old) who participated in the after-school Minecraft club ( Ruotsalainen et al., 2020 ). The club included eight 90-min sessions of face-to-face meetings as well as unlimited collaboration time in the virtual space between the meetings. Minecraft gameplay was based on a storyline wherein pirates tried to survive after a shipwreck, escape, and expand their territories to other islands. To be able to escape from the island, several main quests (tasks) had to be solved: tutorial (weeks 1–2), electrical power (week 3), area and volume calculations (week 4), survival of zombie apocalypse (week 5), European flags (week 6), programming (week 7), and a final meeting (week 8). The majority of these quests were ill-structured and challenging problems. Therefore, the designed structure included repetitive pedagogical phases with teacher scaffolding (described below), but also full access to all content at any time (but not guided and explained).

Each week followed a similar structure:

a) Introduction (club meeting), a basic introduction to the session's theme.

b) Guided in-game tour (club meeting) where the respective main quest was presented, trained, and materials were distributed. The Captain (teacher) provided scaffolding for pirate students.

c) Main Quest (club meeting; between meetings, students performed task(s), e.g., building structures or coding).

d) Reflection (club meeting), a group discussion at the end of each session to reflect on task design and game experiences.

e) Free to Play (gameplay between meetings), the phase where students were able to continue their existing activities or explore the game on their own.

f) Captain's Quest (gameplay between meetings), which was similar to the main quest, but tasks were voluntary for students.

g) Presentation(s) for Rewards (next club meeting), an activity where students presented what they had done in the main quest and the Captain's quest. After successfully completing quests, student pirates received rewards in the form of Minecraft objects. Without rewards, student pirates were not able to survive, form society on the island, build better houses, or complete (“win”) the game.

The tools that were designed for the club were the Minecraft game, island map, and three Minecraft modifications ( Figure 1 ). The game map was designed to include problem-based puzzles (quests) and a narrative about escaping from the deserted island after a shipwreck. Modifications enabled teachers to change Minecraft's 18 game rules, alter game content, redesign textures, and give players new abilities within the game ( Kuhn and Dikkers, 2015 ). While the island map provided context for game narrative and gameplay itself, modifications worked as an engine, which enabled real electrical power simulation (ElectricalAge), programming (ComputerCraft), and easy redesign of the learning experiences (WorldEdit) during the game. The three major structures were: a deserted island with a sunken ship (home for the students' characters), the hall of quests, which was a building on the island (main quests were presented here), and the science center located outside of the island (a place with free access to formal lessons and informal training). Collaborative learning was regarded as a fundamental element of the activity in Minecraft gameplay. Therefore, many structural elements were designed to support collaborative game experience; for example, border blocks forced students' avatars to live in a small area next to each other. However, there were no detailed structures or scaffolds designed as a support for collaboration. Students were inhabitants of the Minecraft world, where collaboration is necessary to survive. The following example explains how one student described his/her experienced reasons for collaboration in an interview that were conducted right after the each face to face meeting. In this example one student describes his actions in the main quest “survival of zombie apocalypse.”

“We all came together at the ‘hall of quests’, it was safe and we had time to make up a plan together since there were no zombies. All players were here and we discussed what to do to survive. Most of my friends helped me and I helped them to survive. We had to trust each other, to survive you do teamwork.”

Figure 1. (A) Island at the start of the game when students' ship has wrecked. (B) Island after students have created their society (game activity between club meetings, Captain's quests). (C) Hall of quests, which was the place for information sharing, reflection, and teleportation to the science center. (D) Science center (main quests were played here) with a view into the coding quest.

Overall, the Minecraft game in this study was designed so that knowledge acquisition was prompted (e.g., about electricity), skill acquisition was supported (e.g., programming and collaboration), and affective and motivational outcomes were rewarded (e.g., strategies to accomplish quests and reflections during the meetings). Degrees of freedom guaranteed that the original constructionist gameplay was available for more advanced players, which was needed to avoid frustration or domination during the game ( Connolly et al., 2012 ; Nebel et al., 2016 ). The students underlined in an interview how emotional the game playing experience was for them: “I usually do not really like these guys, but I am kind of sad that this experiment is over. I'm going to miss our village and society a lot. I am pretty sure I won't speak to half of the players anymore.”

To conclude, Minecraft is an example of a constructivist gaming experience in which players can play, modify the game, or even create their own games for learning ( Kafai and Burke, 2015 ). In this case study, the students modified the game. This type of gaming approach has a strong pedagogical connection with another contemporary digital education phenomena: “maker's culture,” making and digital fabrication. While Minecraft is about a block-based world of “digital making,” digital fabrication and making enables learners to design their own artifacts in the situated (unstructured and open-ended) problem solving contexts.

CASE 3: Digital Fabrication and Makers Education for Supporting Collaborative Learning

Making is a central concept in the maker education approach. In practice, making is “a class of activities focused on designing, building, modifying, and/or repurposing material objects, for playing or useful ends, oriented toward making a ‘product' that can be used, interact with, or demonstrated” ( Martin, 2015 , p. 31). Digital fabrication is a concept in parallel with making that is commonly used to describe a process of making physical objects by utilizing digital tools for designing. Digital fabrication activities can be conducted in the context of Fab Lab, that is, a technical prototyping platform “comprised of off-the-shelf, industrial-grade fabrication and electronics tools, wrapped in open source software” ( Fab Foundation, n.d. ).

The basic idea of maker culture and digital fabrication places the learner firmly at the center of the learning process with a focus on a connection to real-world issues and meaningful problems. In the context of digital fabrication and Fab Labs, complex, undefined, open-ended, and unstructured problem-solving activities are typical ( Halverson and Sheridan, 2014 ; Chan and Blikstein, 2018 ). Prior studies in educational contexts have found that maker culture activities hold great potential for developing a sense of personal agency, improving self-efficacy and self-esteem, and supporting learners in becoming an active member of a learning community ( Halverson and Sheridan, 2014 ; Chu et al., 2017 ; Hira and Hynes, 2018 ). Taylor (2016) has concluded that the activities in “makerspaces” can be transformed into classroom projects that match the goals of twenty-first-century education. In other words, the overall learning experience through making can be empowering and can nurture students' creativity and inventiveness among other twenty-first-century skills ( Blikstein, 2013 ; Iwata et al., 2019 ; Pitkänen et al., 2019 ).

This case study presents research that was conducted in an early education context ( Siklander et al., 2019 ). Four to 5 year-old children ( N = 16) took part in the making process in indoor and outdoor making environments: kindergarten, a forest, and Fab Lab facilities at the university ( https://www.oulu.fi/fablab/ ).

In this case study, a narrative was built about an owl, a hand puppet, who asked for the children's help. The topic for learning was healthy food, and the aim was that the children learn to identify healthy and unhealthy food and to create a healthy plate through making, playing, and discussions. The experiment followed the playful learning process ( Hyvönen, 2011 ; Hyvönen et al., 2016 ) and started with an orientation phase that aimed to support the children's activation of prior knowledge by creating a concept map about the topic of “good health.” In other words, the starting point for children's making activities was their own investigations of the concept and events closely connected with their living environments and personal experiences. After the orientation, the hand puppet owl asked for the children's assistance in creating a healthy plate. In the first making activity, children searched for and cut out figures representing healthy food and created a healthy plate by using the selected figures. Next, the owl asked the children to cook food in the nearby forest and to serve it to the forest animals. The children orienteered to the forest, collected items in accordance with the recipe, cooked the food, and laid the table on the ground. After feasting with the children, the owl asked children to feed all the forest animals. This challenging task requested children to prepare fabricated food.

The next phase of the experiment was conducted in the FabLab. The researchers' role ( Hyvönen, 2011 ) was to understand and support the children's cognitive, emotional, and social views on making activities, although the environment was technical, noisy, and adult sized. The aim was to provide an emotionally and physically safe atmosphere and to encourage children to interact, enjoy, and express themselves while working together. After using the different senses (e.g., the smell of burning wood diffusing from the laser cutter), and taking a look at the facilities, technological equipment, and displayed outcomes, the owl's request was discussed. First, a big plate out of plywood was laser cutted. Research assistants guided the activities, and they let each child test the steering device and press the buttons. The children watched the cutting process very intensely, and were delighted while the plate was done, wanting also to touch and smell it. Finally, each child chose his or her favorite Muumin character and laser cut it to take home.

The process ended with the elaboration phase, in which the photo-elicitation method was used ( Dockett et al., 2017 ) for reflecting on and discussing the entire process with the children. They chose photos which they felt were interesting and inspiring during the process; thus, these photos represent positive emotions. They chose photos taken from the forest trip and the FabLab activities. The most meaningful objects in the forest were the map, which facilitated orienteering, the recipe, which allowed them to find items and count them, and the fire, which they set for cooking. These elements combine affective and cognitive learning with physical actions. Children held the map each by each, and carefully looked at it and the path ahead ( Pictures 1 , 2 ).

Picture 1 . Children cooking according to the recipe. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of all depicted children for the publication of these images.

Picture 2 . Children at the FabLab presenting their ideas for the owl, other children, and adults around. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of all depicted children for the publication of these images.

The Fab Lab was regarded also as a meaningful makerspace. With its many technologies, it provided totally new experiences for the children. It was experienced as exciting and activated the children's collaboration, imagination, interest, and inspiration. During the experiment, the children's interaction was filled with humor and evolved in the process of thought bouncing.

In this case study, making activities and the playfulness of this process ( Hyvönen, 2011 ; Hyvönen et al., 2016 ) denoted affectivity in two ways: first, the process of making was designed to allow children to experience emotions such as curiosity, joy, agency, acceptance, and excitement, but also negative feelings such as impatience, frustration, and disappointment (see also Hyvönen and Kangas, 2007 ). Secondly, during the activities and interaction, children were able to learn to recognize, and regulate their emotions. This was evident particularly in collaborative situations when children had to wait their turns, or when they were together and excited to express their ideas. To conclude, it can be said that, for children, making is not a specific type of activity, but rather the natural way of playfully being and engaging in any activity, including their own emotions, other people, and playthings ( Duncan and Planes, 2015 ).

CASE 4. Supporting Fab Lab Facilitators to Develop Pedagogical Practices to Improve Learning in Digital Fabrication Activities

This case study was conducted also in the context of Fab Lab. The aim of this case study was to explore what technology experts should take into consideration in planning and facilitating students' learning processes in digital fabrication. This was done to provide research evidence about the design and implementation of digital fabrication activities. In practice, current undertakings in the local Fab Lab were explored from two perspectives: how current practices consider novice students' learning and how facilitators and teachers provide scaffolding in unstructured problem solving ( Pitkänen et al., 2019 ).

The local Fab Lab was established in 2015 (see https://www.oulu.fi/fablab/ ). Since then, Fab Lab has arranged different types of digital fabrication activities for school groups. The activities have typically included 2D and 3D design and manufacturing, prototyping with electronics, programming, and utilizing tools and machines to fabricate prototypes ( Georgiev et al., 2017 ; Iwata et al., 2019 ; Laru et al., 2019 ; Pitkänen et al., 2019 ).

In this case study (Iwata et al., in review), three schools participated in digital fabrication activities in Fab Lab ( Table 2 ). The school participants, in total 41 students (aged 12–15 years old) and five teachers, were from three secondary schools. The activities were facilitated by two technology experts (facilitators), who work in the Fab Lab. In order to understand the making and digital fabrication activities, the participants were observed during the practice, and interviews of 14 students, the five teachers, and the two facilitators were conducted both during and at the end of the activities. Furthermore, the perspectives of the two expert groups (school teachers and Fab Lab facilitators) were investigated with focus group interviews.

Table 2 . The three schools participating in digital fabrication activities.

The students worked on projects in teams with different design briefs and required conditions provided by facilitators and/or the teachers. All student projects were complex and required knowledge and skills in multiple subjects, such as mathematics, physics, and art (STEAM concept) ( Table 2 ). Yet, these projects were difficult for them to complete without collaborative problem solving. The following excerpt is from a teacher's interview:

“One girl said that in normal group activities in school, she would have taken like the whole control, but this one was so huge, and she realized that she couldn't do that. So, she had to delegate. That was precious that she had to trust the team and that she can't control everything.”

Based on the interviews six factors were identified which influenced students' learning in the Fab Lab:

1) The tasks were complex and multidisciplinary.

2) Computers and digital tools were used frequently.

3) Students' own roles and responsibilities were emphasized in the guidance given.

4) Opportunities for reflection were supported.

5) Trial and error was encouraged.

6) An appropriate range of flexibility was embraced with time frame.

The following example shows how the school teacher explained the digital fabrication activities:

“You go and just try and error and it doesn't even matter if you totally succeed or fail on the product.… the important thing is what kind of cognitive skills and how you reflect, what you learn in the process, and if you came back, what would you do better.”

However, not all students who participated in these digital fabrication activities had previous knowledge and experience in the field. Moreover, many of them were not used to applied work methods that require competencies such as self-regulation, self-efficacy, and persistence. Based on the results, there is a need for defining clear learning goals and instructions, which would help students to engage in unstructured, open-ended, problem-solving activities. Furthermore, the lack of structure in the activities made both the teachers and facilitators point out the need to scaffold learning. The following is an excerpt from the interview of a teacher which underlines this need:

“….I feel like that we should guide them more…. giving them more guidance in choosing appropriate tasks they want to learn, because sometimes the tasks they choose might be too demanding for them to learn in a limited period time.”

Based on the analysis of the observations and interviews, several suggestions can be provided for integrating instructional scaffolding in the activities, taking into consideration novice learning, and the nature of unstructured problem solving activities. The first two elements relate to developing pedagogical practices in the activities: we recommend that teachers consider cognitive and affective processes of learning as a base for activity design and provide instructional scaffolding to improve opportunities for cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning. The next two elements suggest designing the activities in collaboration to enhance the application of digital fabrication to formal education, recommending that we familiarize teachers with Fab Labs and digital fabrication activities and increase collaboration between Fab Lab facilitators and school teachers.

Discussion—How to Design Cognitively Effortful and Affectively Meaningful Learning

Case studies of SNS, games for learning, makers education, and digital fabrication showed different ways of organizing digital education and illustrated in particular how different types of pedagogical design and digital tools have been used to support cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning in groups. In other words, in addition to knowledge co-construction, argumentation, and problem solving, opportunities for positive affective learning processes were provided, such as experiencing and expressing emotions in learning.

The first example, SNS, presented a learning environment that is familiar for students as an everyday communication tool. It provided an interaction arena to discuss and debate the course topics with the support of a micro-script ( Noroozi et al., 2012 ). In terms of the cognitive and affective potential of SNS, it can be concluded that structured roles functioned as a support for affective interactions by managing the discourse, inducing and resolving conflicts, and assisting in creating equal participation and feelings of belonging between students ( Isohätälä et al., 2017 ). However, as this case study was tightly pre-structured with a specific micro-script, the following examples presented open-ended collaborative problem-solving spaces. The second case study, the Minecraft game environment, showed how a commercial game was further designed and implemented in a primary school after school club. This was an example of a constructivist game approach where learners played but also modified their own games ( Kafai and Burke, 2015 ). This study showed how game experience prompted students' knowledge acquisition as well as supported students' learning skills in terms of programming and collaboration. Furthermore, the study also indicated that the experience was highly emotionally engaging for the students, based on the students' descriptions of their emotional experiences of playing the game and the experiences they had when the game was over.

Minecraft is a block based world of “digital making”; digital fabrication and making enables a more thorough design experience to plan and fabricate students' own artifacts in the situated (unstructured and open-ended) problem solving contexts ( Halverson and Sheridan, 2014 ; Martin, 2015 ; Taylor, 2016 ). Two different examples that were selected to illustrate maker education and digital fabrication showed the making activities in practice. The example from an early education context showed young children making in several contexts, including outdoor, and indoor locations ( Siklander et al., 2019 ). These activities were observed to contribute to affectivity by allowing children to experience several different types of emotions while learning, such as curiosity, joy, and excitement, but also negative feelings such as impatience, frustration, and disappointment ( Hyvönen and Kangas, 2007 ). These emotional expressions were particularly visible in their collaborative situations. The last case example turned the focus toward the teachers' and facilitators' point of view, investigating how they see making activities and how they understand what kind of support students need from them during these activities. This study, through the design principles of the Fab Lab activities, characterized the important factors that help teachers and facilitators to engage and support students' learning, such as implementing complex tasks, using digital tools, highlighting students' own roles and responsibilities, providing opportunities for reflection, encouraging trial and error, and providing flexibility in the timeframe ( Blikstein, 2013 ; Georgiev et al., 2017 ; Hira and Hynes, 2018 ; Iwata et al., 2019 ). In addition to these principles, this study pointed out that adequate scaffolding is needed to improve opportunities for cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning. This is especially important in the situations where maker activities and digital fabrication procedures are introduced to novice makers, since they need to be familiarized with making culture as well as possibilities and tools for making ( Gerjets and Hesse, 2004 ; Blikstein, 2013 ; Chu et al., 2017 ). Fab Lab and maker education differ in the use of social networking tools and games for learning, because digital tools are part of the making process and the learning environment is situated in the physical fabrication laboratory instead of online context ( Kim and Reeves, 2007 ; Qian and Clark, 2016 ).

In general, SNS, digital gaming, and maker education have become increasingly interesting as a learning context in a modern education, mixing technological and creative skills, exploration and discovery, problem-solving and playfulness, as well as formal and informal education ( Connolly et al., 2012 ; Davies and West, 2014 ; Georgiev et al., 2017 ). These types of learning opportunities have the potential to impact current and future educational practices and pedagogy. However, when critically evaluating these learning contexts' opportunities for cognitive and affective learning, it can be noted that the implementation of digital tools and environments alone is not enough ( Gerjets and Hesse, 2004 ). Therefore, planning and facilitating learning activities in digital education requires knowledge of both technology and pedagogy ( Laru et al., 2015 ; Häkkinen et al., 2017 ; Valtonen et al., 2019 ). For example, when designing learning with digital tools, it is important that technologies are embedded into the environment and that their use is designed prior the activities but also facilitated during the learning activities ( Kirschner et al., 2006 ; Dillenbourg, 2013 ). This is the case especially in the maker education context where tools and devices for various kinds of fabrication need to be provided for the use of students with heterogeneous skills, knowledge, and aims ( Blikstein, 2013 ; Chan and Blikstein, 2018 ).

In addition to pre-structured and facilitated learning activities, more spontaneous collaborative activities are recommended. This means that students should be provided opportunities to engage in learning activities which places students' needs, interests, and experiences as the starting point for their explorations. This type of learner-centered approach creates a learning environment that is built around creativity and allows personal emotional experiences, such as fun and enjoyment ( Hyvönen and Kangas, 2007 ; Hyvönen, 2011 ; Hyvönen et al., 2014 ). A sound learning environment also guides and supports students' interest and promotes their active involvement in learning ( Baker, 2015 ; Järvelä et al., 2016 ; Hadwin et al., 2018 ). In order to support learning activities in the ways described above, pedagogically sound practices will need to be established, and teachers' professional development will need to focus more on using technology to improve learning—not just on changing teachers' attitudes and abilities in more general ways ( Davies and West, 2014 ). To conclude, we agree with Lowyck ( 2014 , p. 15), who argues that “both learning theories and technology are empty concepts, when not connected to actors such as instructional designers, teachers and learners.” He continues with the image of teachers and learners as co-designers, which is well-aligned with the case studies presented in this paper, by claiming that “…they are co-designer of learning processes, which affect knowledge-construction, and management as well as products that result from collaboration in distributed knowledge environments.” Finally, this paper reinforces the idea suggested by Roschelle (2003) that we should focus on rich pedagogical practices and simple digital tools. In the context of the four case studies described in this paper, we can summarize that applying digital tools for education is meaningful when the aim is to provide opportunities for interactions and sharing ideas and thus increase students' opportunities to turn an active mind to multiple contexts.

This paper introduced studies that implemented the exploratory case approach and thus it can be criticized due to the lack of generalizability of the results. As case descriptions afford details and context specific illustrations, the possibility to draw general conclusions is limited ( Stake, 1995 ; Yin, 2013 ). In these case studies a various different types of methods were used. For example, discussion notes from Facebook group discussions were analyzed, interviews after the each face to face meeting during the Minecraft experiment were conducted, and photo elicitation interviews as a method in a Fab Lab working was used as well as observations and teacher and student interviews were done during a second Fab lab experiment. All these case studies and related data collections illustrate participants' experiences during the digital learning. As research of affective learning in digital education emerges, a key direction for future studies is to explore how tools and technologies support affective learning and interaction, but also how different types of pedagogical designs can scaffold affective learning ( Näykki et al., 2017a ). Design studies could explore and develop tools and design principles to support the use of social media tools in learning, the design and use of games for learning, and the involvement of makers and digital fabrication activities in educational settings. The current study provides interesting research questions based on our observations of the case studies to be explored in the future studies. For example, it can be explored how to design tools to support affective learning in gaming or making contexts where learning designs are not usually the main focus of the activity. The contexts of the cases were unstructured or open problem spaces, although special pedagogical designs were implemented. However, much remains to be understood regarding the types and configurations of technological and pedagogical support that best promote cognitive and affective processes of collaborative learning.

The results obtained from these case studies are applicable to formal education, such as early childhood education, primary school education, teacher education, and in-service training, but also to informal learning contexts, such as game designing and Fab Lab facilitation. Engagement in creative making activities, productive group work, and seamless use of technology are essential twenty-first-century skills needed in all fields of work and in life in general. Teachers at all educational levels have an especially crucial role in developing these skills in their students, and therefore future teachers have to be offered opportunities to experience and learn within various collaborative environments.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated for this study will not be made publicly available Studies involving human subjects.

Ethics Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin.

Additional Requirements

Written informed consent was obtained from all adult participants and the parents of non-adult participants for the purposes of research participation. The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript can be made available by the authors, from request, to any qualified researcher.

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (316129) and Nordplus Horizontal (NPHZ-2018/10123).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords: affective learning, collaborative learning, digital education, digital fabrication, maker education, social networking systems

Citation: Näykki P, Laru J, Vuopala E, Siklander P and Järvelä S (2019) Affective Learning in Digital Education—Case Studies of Social Networking Systems, Games for Learning, and Digital Fabrication. Front. Educ. 4:128. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2019.00128

Received: 03 June 2019; Accepted: 16 October 2019; Published: 01 November 2019.

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Copyright © 2019 Näykki, Laru, Vuopala, Siklander and Järvelä. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Piia Näykki, piia.naykki@oulu.fi

This article is part of the Research Topic

Affective Learning in Digital Education

4 Case Studies: Schools Use Connections to Give Every Student a Reason to Attend

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Students who feel connected to school are more likely to attend and perform well, and less likely to misbehave and feel sad and hopeless. There are even health benefits well into adulthood linked to a strong connection to school as an adolescent.

But schools are confronting a range of problems that stem at least in part from a lack of connection—perhaps most visibly: stubborn, nationwide increases in chronic absenteeism .

As they try to boost attendance and keep students engaged, some schools are turning to strategies built around the idea of connectedness. They’ve taken steps to more deliberately cultivate trusting relationships among students and adults in the building. They’ve tried to boost students’ participation in extracurricular activities to ensure they have a place at school where they feel as if they belong. And they’ve collected student feedback on what they’re learning and responded accordingly.

The work lines up with school connectedness strategies the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said are effective at reducing unhealthy behaviors and strengthening students’ engagement.

Here’s how two high schools and two school districts are putting student connectedness at the center of their improvement efforts.

Dive into each case study:

• Making 9th graders feel seen and heard
• Probing why some students feel they don’t belong
• Making relationships part of an early-warning system
• Using connections to battle chronic absenteeism

A Chicago school wants 9th graders to feel seen and heard

Thomas Kelly College Preparatory, Chicago

Educators at Thomas Kelly College Preparatory have homed in on freshman year as a key time to make sure students have a strong connection to the Chicago high school.

“If you’re a 9th grader, nothing is more important to you than belonging,” said Grace Gunderson, a counselor at the 1,700-student school who leads its newly formed freshman success team. “If we can get those kids involved in band or, ‘Hey, I play on the soccer team,’ or, ‘Hey, I always eat lunch in Ms. Gunderson’s office,’ now they have a connection. They have a reason to keep coming to school.”

Kelly’s efforts began with hearing from students. In the first iteration of a survey called Elevate that the school now administers to all students quarterly, students said they didn’t think teachers cared about them, they thought classes were boring, and they didn’t think what they were learning was relevant to what they wanted to do in life, Principal Raul Magdaleno said.

With that insight, school staff—led by the five-member freshman success team—deployed a range of initiatives, both large and small, to foster belonging. They worked on making sure students had a relationship with a trusted adult, that more were participating in extracurricular activities, that the school building was inviting, and that students knew their opinions mattered.

One effort was a “Freshman Cafe,” a spring event last year where nearly all the school’s 500 freshmen sat down one-on-one with an adult for five to 10 minutes and discussed how the school year had gone, asked questions about sophomore year, reviewed attendance and grades and set goals for the remainder of the year, and talked about clubs they could join. Staff members ranging from the dean to security guards participated.

Before the current freshman class arrived at Kelly last summer, the school started sending regular communications to incoming 9th graders introducing them to the school and staff members, held community-building activities for incoming freshmen run by college mentors through a “Freshman Connection” program, and hosted an outdoor “Freshman Fiesta” with snacks and swag, where students had the chance to meet teachers.

It’s definitely still a work in progress. But I think the students understand now that we want their feedback, we genuinely want to know what they think, and they feel as if their opinions are valued.

And once the school year began, the freshman success team made sure an adult would regularly check in with students flagged as high risk in the Chicago schools’ “Risk and Opportunity” framework, which uses 8th grade attendance and grades to predict students’ likelihood of success in high school.

The school relied on teachers and other staff members in the building who volunteered to do these check-ins as well as college-age mentors working through a community group, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, “just so they have somebody else aside from their teachers that’s talking to them, that shows them that they care, that they’re interested in their experience,” said Griselda Esparza, an assistant principal at Kelly.

In classrooms, after students said they thought classes were boring and disconnected, Kelly made this year the year of “meaningful work,” with teachers starting to rethink their instruction to make it more “culturally relevant and rigorous,” Magdaleno said.

Teachers have started working in their professional learning communities to examine whether what they’re teaching is personally relevant to students and connected to life outside the classroom. They’re also focused on whether students have opportunities to make choices about what they’re learning.

“It’s definitely still a work in progress,” Gunderson said. “But I think the students understand now that we want their feedback, we genuinely want to know what they think, and they feel as if their opinions are valued.”

A New York district probes why some students feel they don’t belong

Arlington Central School District, New York

When the Arlington Central school district in New York surveyed students after their return to campus from pandemic closures, staff discovered that older students, students of color, and students in special education felt a weaker sense of belonging at school.

So, staff from the 7,800-student district started speaking with students from those populations to get to the bottom of the problem.

In focus groups, students told staff that books they read in class weren’t relevant and that they weren’t hearing enough viewpoints in history classes. Students who weren’t athletes or musicians said they had no way to connect to their school community.

“We learned a lot, and that helped us prioritize,” said Daisy Rodriguez, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

A first response was holding high school activity fairs, bringing information to students about clubs they could join rather than having them seek it out on their own. More informally, administrators sat with kids in the cafeteria to talk to them about their interests and potential clubs to add to the school’s roster.

Working with department coordinators, the district conducted curriculum audits, looking at the texts students were assigned and exploring whether they could swap in more relevant and current selections. And the high school added career and technical education offerings.

High school students also sit on curriculum teams, Rodriguez said. “They give us immediate feedback on programs and resources that we’re thinking about and if it makes sense to them,” she said.

At the district’s middle schools, Arlington last year established regular advisory periods, with groups of students assigned to the same adviser all three years so they can form stronger connections and don’t have to hit reset every fall. The time is set aside for regular check-ins and social-emotional learning.

We know that when kids feel like they belong in school, they have better attendance, they have better academic achievement, and just greater social-emotional support.

“Students have reported that they do feel that it’s helpful for them because they actually have a space that they can go to and talk about things that they can’t talk about necessarily in other settings,” Rodriguez said.

The district wants older students to lead more of these sessions in coming years, and it would ultimately like to bring advisory periods to the high school.

At the elementary level, students now have daily morning meetings, a time set aside for social-emotional learning and work on communication skills.

So far, the district has seen some positive results—a reduction in chronic absenteeism that Rodriguez attributes at least in part to the district’s work on connectedness.

“We know that when kids feel like they belong in school, they have better attendance, they have better academic achievement, and just greater social-emotional support,” she said.

A New Mexico high school makes relationships part of its early-warning system

Manzano High School, Albuquerque, N.M.

Manzano High School in Albuquerque, N.M., relies on a dedicated advisory time so students build strong connections with staff who can then spot warning signs that a student might be falling behind.

The 30-minute advisory period that happens every Monday isn’t new to the 1,300-student high school. What’s new about it is that, over the past couple of years, advisers have been expected to check in with their advisees and, using the school’s student-information system, review their grades, attendance, and behavior over the prior week.

If a student is struggling, the adviser fills out a referral form and sends it to one of the school’s five student-success teams, each of which includes an academic counselor. That team starts working with the student to identify a root cause of their challenges and potential solutions.

The advisory period’s conversion to a key component of Manzano’s early warning, or student success, system has involved training for staff members on becoming deliberate listeners and lunch-and-learn sessions on building relationships with students, said Jeanie Stark, the school’s student-success systems coordinator.

“When you’re listening to the students, it’s listening to what they’re saying and maybe even listening to a little bit beyond that to get to that root cause,” she said. “And you may or may not respond right away.”

It’s still a work in progress. The school has work to do to ensure all advisers are using the student-success system as the framework for conversations with students, Principal Rachel Vigil said.

Attendance has improved this year, and the number of students requiring student-success-team referrals has been dropping, Stark said. But a more immediate sign that the check-ins and related work have been successful is feedback from students.

Last spring, Manzano staff interviewed students whom advisers had referred to a student-success team. Of all the help they’d received, the regular check-ins were the most meaningful and helpful, the students said.

“Students were saying, ‘We do better when we have people doing those one-on-one check-ins,’” Vigil said. “Just, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ It doesn’t even have to be academic.”

Grades and attendance data are readily available through the student-information system, Stark said, but students “want a lot of communication. They want that teacher to talk to them, and they want them to tell them how they’re doing.”

Now, the Albuquerque district wants to spread Manzano’s work. It’s working with other high schools in the city to craft their own student-success systems, and some of Albuquerque’s middle schools are figuring out what a student-success system looks like for younger students, said Sheri Jett, Albuquerque’s associate superintendent for school climate and supports, a new position.

Working with the student-survey company Panorama, Albuquerque has also begun conducting regular student surveys on students’ skills, habits, and mindset. Manzano staff hope these surveys will provide them with even more student feedback they can use to tailor their student-success system.

In Washington state, a district uses connections to battle chronic absenteeism

Tacoma Public Schools, Washington state

The Tacoma, Wash., school district’s work over the past two years to cut chronic absenteeism has revolved around strategies to strengthen students’ bonds to peers and trusted adults while using student and family feedback as a guide.

“We believe the relationship is the intervention,” said Laura Allen, the director of the 28,000-student district’s whole-child department , the hub for much of the school system’s student-wellness work.

With a grant from Washington’s state education agency, Tacoma two years ago hired a district attendance and engagement counselor to lead work on boosting attendance. As part of that work, the district surveyed students and families to find out why kids attend school and why they miss it.

“The No. 1 reason why kids said they come to school was to see their friends,” Allen said. “It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to do well academically, but that friendship connection was first and foremost.”

With that knowledge in hand, schools worked on creating new clubs that could provide more students opportunities to spend time with friends and foster a sense of belonging.

District data showed that Indigenous and LGBTQ+ students were more likely to attend school irregularly, so staff helped create new affinity groups aimed at giving students from those populations a place to “feel seen and heard,” said Jimmy Gere, the attendance and engagement counselor.

Some schools formed attendance clubs to build connections with students at risk of being chronically absent and work through problems that could keep them from coming to school.

Newly formed building attendance teams—sometimes existing teams that expanded their focus to include attendance—took inventories of their schools’ existing interventions for at-risk students, held listening sessions with students and staff, and took school-specific steps to address attendance challenges.

Tacoma also began working with two community organizations that provide mentors who regularly meet with students during school hours, checking in with them and working with them on social-emotional skills.

These experiences show students that “good things happen at school, whether it’s with your teachers or staff that are there every day or community partners that are set up to deliver their services within the school,” Gere said.

And one new initiative provides younger students with a safe way to get to school while giving older students a paid internship and course credit.

The Walking School Bus is an organized group of students who walk to school together each day, led by a high school student route leader or Tacoma educator, stopping at established points to pick up more students. It was a response to feedback from parents who said their kids didn’t have a safe way to get to school, presenting a barrier to attendance.

Younger students build relationships with high school students, and high school students gain a service-learning opportunity—one of the CDC’s identified strategies for building school connectedness.

“There’s an element of mentorship because elementary kids love high school kids,” Gere said.

Tacoma has seen attendance inch up since it started these initiatives. Average daily attendance has been 88.3 percent so far this year, up from 85.6 percent in 2021-22, before these initiatives began, district data show. But it’s still early, and future funding for some of the work is uncertain as the state attendance grant comes to a close alongside other federal COVID-relief money.

Still, Tacoma will be able to carry on much of the work based on building connections, Allen said. For students, she said, “it is all about making sure that they know that they’re seen and that they’re loved.”

VIDEO: How Schools Can Harness the Power of Relationships

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Student Case Study

Delving into student case studies offers invaluable insights into educational methodologies and student behaviors. This guide, complete with detailed case study examples , is designed to help educators, researchers, and students understand the nuances of creating and analyzing case studies in an educational context. By exploring various case study examples, you will gain the tools and knowledge necessary to effectively interpret and apply these studies, enhancing both teaching and learning experiences in diverse academic settings.

What is a Student Case Study? – Meaning A student case study is an in-depth analysis of a student or a group of students to understand various educational, psychological, or social aspects. It involves collecting detailed information through observations, interviews, and reviewing records, to form a comprehensive picture. The goal of a case study analysis is to unravel the complexities of real-life situations that students encounter, making it a valuable tool in educational research. In a case study summary, key findings are presented, often leading to actionable insights. Educators and researchers use these studies to develop strategies for improving learning environments. Additionally, a case study essay allows students to demonstrate their understanding by discussing the analysis and implications of the case study, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills.

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Schools especially those that offers degree in medicine, law, public policy and public health teaches students to learn how to conduct a case study. Some students say they love case studies . For what reason? Case studies offer real world challenges. They help in preparing the students how to deal with their future careers. They are considered to be the vehicle for theories and concepts that enables you to be good at giving detailed discussions and even debates. Case studies are useful not just in the field of education, but also in adhering to the arising issues in business, politics and other organizations.

Student Case Study Format

Case Study Title : Clear and descriptive title reflecting the focus of the case study. Student’s Name : Name of the student the case study is about. Prepared by : Name of the person or group preparing the case study. School Name : Name of the school or educational institution. Date : Date of completion or submission.

Introduction

Background Information : Briefly describe the student’s background, including age, grade level, and relevant personal or academic history. Purpose of the Case Study : State the reason for conducting this case study, such as understanding a particular behavior, learning difficulty, or achievement.

Case Description

Situation or Challenge : Detail the specific situation, challenge, or condition that the student is facing. Observations and Evidence : Include observations from teachers, parents, or the students themselves, along with any relevant academic or behavioral records.

Problem Analysis : Analyze the situation or challenge, identifying potential causes or contributing factors. Impact on Learning : Discuss how the situation affects the student’s learning or behavior in school.

Intervention Strategies

Action Taken : Describe any interventions or strategies implemented to address the situation. This could include educational plans, counseling, or specific teaching strategies. Results of Intervention : Detail the outcome of these interventions, including any changes in the student’s behavior or academic performance.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary of Findings : Summarize the key insights gained from the case study. Recommendations : Offer suggestions for future actions or strategies to further support the student. This might include recommendations for teachers, parents, or the student themselves.

Best Example of Student Case Study

Overcoming Reading Challenges: A Case Study of Emily Clark, Grade 3 Prepared by: Laura Simmons, Special Education Teacher Sunset Elementary School Date: May 12, 2024   Emily Clark, an 8-year-old student in the third grade at Sunset Elementary School, has been facing significant challenges with reading and comprehension since the first grade. Known for her enthusiasm and creativity, Emily’s struggles with reading tasks have been persistent and noticeable. The primary purpose of this case study is to analyze Emily’s reading difficulties, implement targeted interventions, and assess their effectiveness.   Emily exhibits difficulty in decoding words, reading fluently, and understanding text, as observed by her teachers since first grade. Her reluctance to read aloud and frustration with reading tasks have been consistently noted. Assessments indicate that her reading level is significantly below the expected standard for her grade. Parental feedback has also highlighted Emily’s struggles with reading-related homework.   Analysis of Emily’s situation suggests a potential learning disability in reading, possibly dyslexia. This is evidenced by her consistent difficulty with word recognition and comprehension. These challenges have impacted not only her reading skills but also her confidence and participation in class activities, especially those involving reading.   To address these challenges, an individualized education plan (IEP) was developed. This included specialized reading instruction focusing on phonemic awareness and decoding skills, multisensory learning approaches, and regular sessions with a reading specialist. Over a period of six months, Emily demonstrated significant improvements. She engaged more confidently in reading activities, and her reading assessment scores showed notable progress.   In conclusion, the intervention strategies implemented for Emily have been effective. Her case highlights the importance of early identification and the implementation of tailored educational strategies for students with similar challenges. It is recommended that Emily continues to receive specialized instruction and regular monitoring. Adjustments to her IEP should be made as necessary to ensure ongoing progress. Additionally, fostering a positive reading environment at home is also recommended.

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Case Study Definition

A case study is defined as a research methodology that allows you to conduct an intensive study about a particular person, group of people, community, or some unit in which the researcher could provide an in-depth data in relation to the variables. Case studies can examine a phenomena in the natural setting. This increases your ability to understand why the subjects act such. You may be able to describe how this method allows every researcher to take a specific topic to narrow it down making it into a manageable research question. The researcher gain an in-depth understanding about the subject matter through collecting qualitative research and quantitative research datasets about the phenomenon.

Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies

If a researcher is interested to study about a phenomenon, he or she will be assigned to a single-case study that will allow him or her to gain an understanding about the phenomenon. Multiple-case study would allow a researcher to understand the case as a group through comparing them based on the embedded similarities and differences. However, the volume of data in case studies will be difficult to organize and the process of analysis and strategies needs to be carefully decided upon. Reporting of findings could also be challenging at times especially when you are ought to follow for word limits.

Example of Case Study

Nurses’ pediatric pain management practices.

One of the authors of this paper (AT) has used a case study approach to explore nurses’ pediatric pain management practices. This involved collecting several datasets:

Observational data to gain a picture about actual pain management practices.

Questionnaire data about nurses’ knowledge about pediatric pain management practices and how well they felt they managed pain in children.

Questionnaire data about how critical nurses perceived pain management tasks to be.

These datasets were analyzed separately and then compared and demonstrated that nurses’ level of theoretical did not impact on the quality of their pain management practices. Nor did individual nurse’s perceptions of how critical a task was effect the likelihood of them carrying out this task in practice. There was also a difference in self-reported and observed practices; actual (observed) practices did not confirm to best practice guidelines, whereas self-reported practices tended to.

How do you Write a Case Study for Students?

1. choose an interesting and relevant topic:.

Select a topic that is relevant to your course and interesting to your audience. It should be specific and focused, allowing for in-depth analysis.

2. Conduct Thorough Research :

Gather information from reputable sources such as books, scholarly articles, interviews, and reliable websites. Ensure you have a good understanding of the topic before proceeding.

3. Identify the Problem or Research Question:

Clearly define the problem or research question your case study aims to address. Be specific about the issues you want to explore and analyze.

4. Introduce the Case:

Provide background information about the subject, including relevant historical, social, or organizational context. Explain why the case is important and what makes it unique.

5. Describe the Methods Used:

Explain the methods you used to collect data. This could include interviews, surveys, observations, or analysis of existing documents. Justify your choice of methods.

6. Present the Findings:

Present the data and findings in a clear and organized manner. Use charts, graphs, and tables if applicable. Include direct quotes from interviews or other sources to support your points.

7. Analytical Interpretation:

Analyze the data and discuss the patterns, trends, or relationships you observed. Relate your findings back to the research question. Use relevant theories or concepts to support your analysis.

8. Discuss Limitations:

Acknowledge any limitations in your study, such as constraints in data collection or research methods. Addressing limitations shows a critical awareness of your study’s scope.

9. Propose Solutions or Recommendations:

If your case study revolves around a problem, propose practical solutions or recommendations based on your analysis. Support your suggestions with evidence from your findings.

10. Write a Conclusion:

Summarize the key points of your case study. Restate the importance of the topic and your findings. Discuss the implications of your study for the broader field.

What are the objectives of a Student Case Study?

1. learning and understanding:.

• To deepen students’ understanding of a particular concept, theory, or topic within their field of study.
• To provide real-world context and practical applications for theoretical knowledge.

2. Problem-Solving Skills:

• To enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities by analyzing complex issues or scenarios.
• To encourage students to apply their knowledge to real-life situations and develop solutions.

3. Research and Analysis:

• To develop research skills, including data collection, data analysis , and the ability to draw meaningful conclusions from information.
• To improve analytical skills in interpreting data and making evidence-based decisions.

4. Communication Skills:

• To improve written and oral communication skills by requiring students to present their findings in a clear, organized, and coherent manner.
• To enhance the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively to both academic and non-academic audiences.

5. Ethical Considerations:

To promote awareness of ethical issues related to research and decision-making, such as participant rights, privacy, and responsible conduct.

6. Interdisciplinary Learning:

To encourage cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary thinking, allowing students to apply knowledge from multiple areas to address a problem or issue.

7. Professional Development:

• To prepare students for future careers by exposing them to real-world situations and challenges they may encounter in their chosen profession.
• To develop professional skills, such as teamwork, time management, and project management.

8. Reflection and Self-Assessment:

• To prompt students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in research and analysis.
• To foster self-assessment and a commitment to ongoing improvement.

9. Promoting Innovation:

• To inspire creativity and innovation in finding solutions to complex problems or challenges.
• To encourage students to think outside the box and explore new approaches.

10. Building a Portfolio:

To provide students with tangible evidence of their academic and problem-solving abilities that can be included in their academic or professional portfolios.

What are the Elements of a Case Study?

A case study typically includes an introduction, background information, presentation of the main issue or problem, analysis, solutions or interventions, and a conclusion. It often incorporates supporting data and references.

How Long is a Case Study?

The length of a case study can vary, but it generally ranges from 500 to 1500 words. This length allows for a detailed examination of the subject while maintaining conciseness and focus.

How Big Should a Case Study Be?

The size of a case study should be sufficient to comprehensively cover the topic, typically around 2 to 5 pages. This size allows for depth in analysis while remaining concise and readable.

What Makes a Good Case Study?

A good case study is clear, concise, and well-structured, focusing on a relevant and interesting issue. It should offer insightful analysis, practical solutions, and demonstrate real-world applications or implications.

Case studies bring people into the real world to allow themselves engage in different fields such as in business examples, politics, health related aspect where each individuals could find an avenue to make difficult decisions. It serves to provide framework for analysis and evaluation of the different societal issues. This is one of the best way to focus on what really matters, to discuss about issues and to know what can we do about it.

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Case Studies in IPE

The development and implementation of case studies are central to IPE, designed to prepare future professionals in the art and science of collaborative practice. IPE case studies differ from other types of case studies that are used in professional education for various purposes, such as testing one’s knowledge of particular human conditions related to specific professions. In the field of speech, language and hearing sciences, the focus of professional preparation includes nine core areas, referred to as the “Big Nine” required for ASHA certification for speech-language pathologists. For details on the nine areas of study, see ASHA 2020 SLP Certification Standard IV-C .

Case studies developed for IPE center on the integration of interprofessional competencies within each student’s professional development, rather than specific content knowledge in their disciplines. Over the last decade, research and development in IPE and IPP continue to inform the spectrum of health, education and human services professions. The emergence of interprofessionalism as a unique and unifying set of knowledge and skills across disciplines provides a basis for the structure and implementation of case studies that are designed for the purpose of advancing interprofessional competencies within and across disciplines. Interprofessional resources in several disciplines identify four parameters to consider in the design, discussion, competency assessment and sample bank of IPE case studies including the following:

• Design and development of IPE case studies
• Discussion questions for IPE cases
• IPE competency development assessment
• Sample bank of IPE case studies

Each of the above parameters of IPE case studies are highlighted below, with application to speech, language and hearing sciences.

Design and Develop IPE Case Studies

The design of case studies to provide discussion experiences for IPE events requires attention to outcomes. Faculty determine the goals of the discussion for students, and build case studies accordingly. In SLHS, a starting point to frame case studies is to select one or more of the nine areas of study in speech-language pathology or audiology. The next consideration are the IPEC competencies in broad areas defined and described in detail in the IPEC Core Competencies for Collaborative Practice, 2016 Updates . Guidelines for developing IPE Case studies structured with an eye to student outcomes are further discussed in ASHA’s eBook on IPE and IPP in CSD , specifically in Chapter 2.

IPE Competency Assessment

Mastery of IPE skills require continued practice. In SLHS, we have used the IPEC Competency Self-Assessment Tool, available from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education for students to gauge their own development of IPE competencies. To date, we have implemented the IPEC Competency Self-Assessment at the beginning and end of each IPE event so that students may reference their strengths and areas for further development related to communication, teamwork, understanding of diverse professions, family partnerships, and more. Research to advance and validate IPE competency assessment is available from the Interprofessionalism Assessment Collaborative .

Discussion Questions for IPE Cases

In order to guide the discussion so that students build skills for collaborative practice, reflection questions for case studies need to lead toward identifying improved coordination and outcomes for the families and individuals at the center of the professional team. For example, three reflections to guide discussions are: (See ASHA’s eBook on IPE and IPP in CSD , Chapter 1).

• Identify key opportunities to improve care in the specific case;
• Consider factors of quality, outcome, or cost; and
• Identify strategies to improve for the family, individuals, team and institution.

Additionally, considerations of cultural and linguistic diversity provide a lens for students to apply.

Sample Bank of IPE Case Studies

Case studies are a main component of IPE events in which students and pre-professionals collaborate with each other to provide the highest quality client care. There are a variety of disorders represented within IPE case study models which focus on ASHA’s Big Nine. Two case studies developed by SLHS, based on ASHA guidelines, are provided for here downloading and adaptation:

• Young Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Adolescent in Transition

In each of the above case studies, multiple focus areas were addressed including family cultural and linguistic diversity, bilingual language learning, Autism Spectrum Disorder, hearing needs, school inclusion. Additional resources for finding and developing IPE case studies are available in Chapter 1 of ASHA’s eBook on IPE and IPP in CSD .

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