Case Studies – Engagement in Engineering Education

To support students in active learning through struggling with, and making judgments regarding, complex material.

Students engage with and evaluate an authentic or real-life “case” that inherently presents underlying concepts relevant to the lecture material.

Boehrer’s theory of knowledge & action

Students tend to experience productive struggle while working through a complex case, which can promote stronger learning outcomes.
Case study activities can be designed for individual or collaborative learning environments and are adaptable to different group sizes.
Case method promotes active learning by prompting students to engage directly with lecture material.
Case method can support students’ motivation to learn theory, apply theory, use evidence, and identify limitations of theory.
Case method supports higher-order cognitive skills such as analysis and evaluation.

In developing a case-based lesson plan, consider what students should learn from the case. What are the key issues? What should students already know?
Decide whether students will work individually or collaboratively. If collaboratively, consider group size.
Devise clear guidelines and parameters to introduce students to the case activity. Be sure to clarify how much time they will have and what their deliverables will be. Consider whether students should present their results to their classmates and/or facilitate a discussion regarding their material.
Select authentic, appropriate case material that corresponds to lecture concepts. Verify that case information is accurate.
Consider how students will be evaluated for their engagement in the case activity.