Home

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS)

NCCSTS

The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) at SUNY-Buffalo is to promote the development and dissemination of materials and practices for case teaching in the sciences. 

Click on the links below to learn more about-

  • a bibliography of case studies,
  • faculty perceptions on the benefit of teaching case studies, and
  • research articles

Below is a sample work flow showing how to navigate the NCCSTS case collection. Enjoy!

1. Start at the NCCSTS homepage ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ ). Then click on Case Collection (red arrow, upper right).

nccsts_front_page.png

national study for case study teaching in science

2. Clicking on Case Collection takes you to the Keyword Search page. As shown below use the dropdown arrows to narrow your search parameters. As an example I chose Organic Chemistry under Subject Heading.

nccsts_keyword_search.png

national study for case study teaching in science

3. Below is a partial list (6/25) of case studies categorized under the Subject Heading choice, Organic Chemistry.

nccsts_search_results.png

national study for case study teaching in science

4. Click on a case study. I chose The Case of the Missing Bees (not shown in the partial list above). Below is a partial screenshot of the case study description. To download the case study click on the DOWNLOAD CASE icon (red arrow, upper right).

nccsts_download_case.png

national study for case study teaching in science

5. Below is the the top of the first page of the case study, The Case of the Missing Bees .

nccsts_case_front_page.png

national study for case study teaching in science

6. And of course make sure to review and adhere to the Permitted and Standard Uses and Permissions ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/uses/ ).

nccsts_uses.png

national study for case study teaching in science

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

Case study title: The Case of the Missing Bees: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Colony Collapse Disorder

Case study authors: Jeffri C. Bohlscheid and Frank J. Dinan

View videos, articles, presentations, research papers, and other resources of interest to STEM Teacher Leaders.  

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

  • Case Studies

This website provides access to an award-winning collection of peer-reviewed case studies. The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science also offers a five-day summer workshop and a two-day fall conference to train faculty in the case method of teaching science. In addition, they are actively engaged in educational research to assess the impact of the case method on student learning.

National Center for case study teaching in science

Method assessment.

WHAT DO WE KNOW about case study teaching? The use of problem-based learning (one form of case study teaching) in medical schools has received close scrutiny from researchers. As the use of case-based teaching more broadly increases in undergraduate college and K-12 classrooms, a significant body of literature is beginning to accumulate on the assessment of the method and other active learning pedagogies.

Research Articles

Faculty perceptions on the benefits of case teaching.

We surveyed over 100 science teachers we had trained over a year-and-a-half-long period. One of the things we asked them was what they thought the benefits of case-based teaching were for their students. Here’s what they had to say.

Cases and Critical Thinking

When we teach, we want our students to learn more than just a collection of facts – we also want them to become better critical thinkers. We believe that carefully constructed cases can provide pedagogical tools that teach not only content knowledge, but also critical thinking skills. We are currently engaged in an NSF-funded study that is looking at whether cases can be used to improve students' critical thinking skills.

© 1999-2024 National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo. All Rights Reserved.

national study for case study teaching in science

#R6266 National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

Case studies are an excellent source.  I signed up!  Can't wait to incorporate them into my curriculum.

national study for case study teaching in science

I have been using a number of case studies from this collection in my second-year nursing pathophysiology course for a number of years.  I often add additional questions to tie in concepts from first year A&P.  The next step is to introduce case studies into first year A&P and there are so many good ones to choose from!

Sometimes there are different versions of a case study directed at different grade levels.

national study for case study teaching in science

This is an unbelievable resource.  You can join their email listserv to receive notice when new cases are added.  The range of topics is incredible.  I've used cases in Anatomy, Physiology and General Biology. 

national study for case study teaching in science

Many, many, many case studies. Just sign up

national study for case study teaching in science

To add comments, you must log in or register.

  • Publications
  • Conferences & Events
  • Professional Learning
  • Science Standards
  • Awards & Competitions
  • Daily Do Lesson Plans
  • Free Resources
  • American Rescue Plan
  • For Preservice Teachers
  • NCCSTS Case Collection
  • Partner Jobs in Education
  • Interactive eBooks+
  • Digital Catalog
  • Regional Product Representatives
  • e-Newsletters
  • Bestselling Books
  • Latest Books
  • Popular Book Series
  • Prospective Authors
  • Web Seminars
  • Exhibits & Sponsorship
  • Conference Reviewers
  • National Conference • Denver 24
  • Leaders Institute 2024
  • National Conference • New Orleans 24
  • Submit a Proposal
  • Latest Resources
  • Professional Learning Units & Courses
  • For Districts
  • Online Course Providers
  • Schools & Districts
  • College Professors & Students
  • The Standards
  • Teachers and Admin
  • eCYBERMISSION
  • Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision
  • Junior Science & Humanities Symposium
  • Teaching Awards
  • Climate Change
  • Earth & Space Science
  • New Science Teachers
  • Early Childhood
  • Middle School
  • High School
  • Postsecondary
  • Informal Education
  • Journal Articles
  • Lesson Plans
  • e-newsletters
  • Science & Children
  • Science Scope
  • The Science Teacher
  • Journal of College Sci. Teaching
  • Connected Science Learning
  • NSTA Reports
  • Next-Gen Navigator
  • Science Update
  • Teacher Tip Tuesday
  • Trans. Sci. Learning

MyNSTA Community

  • My Collections

NCCSTS Case Studies

Permitted Uses

The National Science Teaching Association holds the copyright for all of the cases and accompanying materials in its collection. Use of our case materials must conform to our policies and restrictions, which are detailed in this document.

Please Note

We do not allow re-posting of the cases in our collection on a publicly accessible website.

We expressly forbid copying, re-posting, re-publishing, or otherwise re-duplicating the answer keys and teaching notes to our cases. As part of that, website reproduction of our notes and answer keys is prohibited in  all  instances. Please refer to the section titled "Limitations and Restrictions" below for more information.

Violations of this policy will be investigated and vigorously pursued.

  

Permissions

As the copyright holder, the National Science Teaching Association encourages educational, not-for-profit use of our cases by individual instructors. Instructors may use our cases in their classrooms according to “fair use” guidelines without contacting us for permission. This includes modifying a case to fit your course or to "personalize" a case for your students. Whenever using one of our cases, you must acknowledge the author(s) and cite the National Science Teaching Association as the source.

There are times, however, when formal written permission is necessary. The rest of this document is intended to clarify our distinction between “standard usage,” which does not require formal permission, and “non-standard usage,” which does.

Standard Usage

Standard usage of case study material means that you do not need to contact us for permission. In order to fall into this category, each of the following conditions is necessary. Usage must be:

Educational

In print format, or on a password-protected website on your school's intranet or on a course management system, which only the teacher and students can access

Failure to meet any of these conditions means that the usage is “non-standard.”

The following are typical examples of standard usage.

A high school teacher finds a suitable case. He changes the names of the characters and the location to make the case more interesting to his students. In a suitable place, he notes that the case has been modified from the original, and adds an acknowledgment to the original source and authors. He then prints out copies of the case for the 90 students in the four sections of his AP bio class.

A college instructor finds a case that will work quite well for her A&P course. She recognizes that the case has probably been used by other instructors and that it is possible that students might have posted answers to the questions on the Internet. Since students will be evaluated on the basis of the responses to the questions in this case, she goes to Google and does some quick searches for the questions that appear in the case. She then alters the questions somewhat to make it more difficult for students to plagiarize and to make it easier for her to catch any that do. After suitably acknowledging the source of the case and the fact that it has been modified, she then prints out copies, and her teaching assistants distribute and lead discussions of that material during their various labs or recitations.

Non-Standard Usage

If any of the four conditions above is not met, then your usage is considered to be “non-standard.” Non-standard usage requires our formal permission before you proceed with your plans. Generally speaking, any reproduction that is either electronic in format, commercially based, or involves bound material or more than 100 impressions, is considered non-standard and is not authorized without our express written permission. Common examples of non-standard usage include inclusion of material in a commercial textbook, or reproduction of cases in a course or lab manual prepared by a college bookstore.

To request permission, please supply the following information to  [email protected] .

Your name, title, institution, and email address

Whether your intended use is commercial or not-for profit

Titles of cases in which you are interested

How you intend to use the material

We will contact you within five business days to let you know whether your request was approved or if additional information is needed.

Limitations and Restrictions

We strictly control access to the teaching notes and answer keys for our cases. Re-publication of any kind, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. The only allowable use of our notes and answer keys is by individual teachers who may print or download a single copy of these materials to prepare for use of a case in their classrooms. Website reproduction of our notes and answer keys is prohibited in  all  instances. Any exception to these guidelines requires prior written approval.

Copyright for the case studies on our website is held by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). Images on our site that are not owned by NSTA are either licensed, used with direct permission from their sources, believed to be in the public domain, or incorporated into our material according to “fair use” guidelines. Proprietary third-party images that appear according to “editorial usage” generally have their sources acknowledged in a credit statement at the bottom of the page on which they appear. Licensed images that have been used strictly for design purposes may be acknowledged, depending on licensing requirements. If you wish to use such an image in addition to our textual content in a manner that goes beyond “fair use,” please visit the original source and contact the owner directly.

If you still have questions, contact our permissions manager at  [email protected] .

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

  • Publications
  • Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

  • Advanced Search
  • Journal List
  • J Microbiol Biol Educ
  • v.15(2); 2014 Dec

Cautionary Tales: Ethics and Case Studies in Science

Ethical concerns are normally avoided in science classrooms in spite of the fact that many of our discoveries impinge directly on personal and societal values. We should not leave the ethical problems for another day, but deal with them using realistic case studies that challenge students at their ethical core. In this article we illustrate how case studies can be used to teach STEM students principles of ethics.

INTRODUCTION

Americans consider morality the most essential part of self ( 11 ).

This may be true of other cultures as well. All societies have elaborate rules of conduct that are often codified into law. Some of these imperatives seem hardwired. Human infants younger than a year and a half will look longer at visual displays showing violations of social rules ( 2 ). It is part of our primate heritage; individuals are punished if they stray far from acceptable behavior. Capuchin monkeys will reject a reward if they think they are being treated unfairly; they have a clear sense of right and wrong which depends on the social situation ( 3 ). Aesop would agree—he penned many a story where animals behaved badly and paid the penalty.

If morality and ethics are so central to our beings, what are our responsibilities as STEM educators to pass along the standards of society? And if we accept this challenge, what is the best way to instruct our youthful comrades in their quest for knowledge? I argue in this article that we should accept this obligation and that case study teaching is an ideal way to deliver the message.

Case-study teaching has a long and honorable lineage ( 4 ). In academic circles we find it used 100 years ago in Harvard Law School. The instructor would bring in a true criminal or civil case that had been adjudicated and conduct a class discussion with future lawyers, asking them to justify the rationale for the final decision—challenging them every step of the way. This provided students a real-world problem as part of their training for a real world ahead. The method was soon adopted by the Harvard Business School and various schools across the country, where it is now the standard. Medical schools have their own version of the method called Problem-Based Learning. Again the idea was to use real world problems to train physicians, but in this case students work in small groups to analyze patient problems and provide diagnoses. The idea of using similar strategies to teach basic sciences to undergraduates is largely due to the efforts of faculty at the University of Delaware and the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, where there are hundreds of cases now published http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ .

Research has shown that minorities and women undergraduates respond well to cases ( 5 , 8 ). Among this group, cases have been shown to increase students’ understanding of science by encouraging them to make connections between science concepts and situations they may encounter in their lives ( 7 ). In addition, the case method promotes the internalization of learning and the development of analytical and decision-making skills, as well as proficiency in oral communication and teamwork ( 6 ). The method, moreover, is a flexible teaching tool. Cases can take many different forms and be taught in many different ways, ranging from the classical discussion method used in business and law schools, to the arguably strongest approaches, Problem-Based Learning and the Interrupted Case Method, with their emphasis on small-group, cooperative learning strategies ( 4 ).

The method seems ideal for teaching ethics to STEM students. We have plenty of precedents to guide us. We have legal ethics, business ethics, medical ethics, bioethics, geoethics, environmental ethics, teaching ethics, research ethics, engineering ethics, and so on. And, of course, there are religious ethics, with each faith describing canons of behavior not to be breached. Some of them are commonly held community values, such as “thou shalt not steal, lie, or cheat.” Others are more specific, such as the research tenet, “thou should replicate experiments.” While some of these “rules” are so entrenched that they are tantamount to absolutes, others are more fragile and malleable; they are subject to the changing moral landscape. Policies about smoking in public places have rapidly shifted ( 12 ). Decrees against interracial marriage, once laws of the land, are now anachronisms, as are statues against same-sex marriage ( 1 , 10 ). Such shifts in the moral topography offer wonderful opportunities for case studies as they challenge students at their central core of beliefs. There are hundreds of these case studies now available for teachers in repositories such as the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu ), where you can find moral dilemmas depicted in cases on evolution, genetic engineering, nutrition, euthanasia, cloning, and organic farming.

Case studies can be used to show students acceptable standards of behavior within a given profession—the do’s and don’ts—and the disastrous consequences that can occur if the rules are not obeyed. We learn of breaches of research ethics such as fraud, plagiarism, and sloppy book-keeping that ruin careers. We come to know cautionary tales, like Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who misrepresented the medical histories of 12 patients and claimed that his research results showed that vaccinations caused autism. He was eventually discredited and Britain stripped him of his medical license. Unfortunately, this sensational allegation has resulted in thousands of people refusing to have their children vaccinated, with a subsequent striking rise in measles.

In the past, these stories were neglected in the STEM classroom. Questions of right or wrong belonged elsewhere—in the home, in a philosophy class, in a church or tabernacle. In the science classroom we learned how to make petroleum, shoot rockets, synthesize drugs, manipulate DNA, and clone animals, not whether we should do so. Then came the Second World War. The academic community ran squarely into two striking examples of the deep entanglement of science and ethics. Suddenly, there was a public debate about whether Truman’s decision to drop the atom bomb on Japan with the loss of millions of lives was ethical. The sensational trials of generals and scientists implicated in the atrocities at the Nazi concentration camps came to light during the Nuremberg Trials and patient bills of rights were drafted. Today our IRB committees and other ethical bodies monitor our experimental protocols involving research into issues of genetic engineering, stem cell research, three-parent embryos, etc. So my argument is that we should not ignore these disputes in the science classroom; this is where the technology is coming from—the STEM laboratories and the people in charge.

This is especially true as scientists have gained technological expertise; we see more clearly than ever how science and technological decisions can wreak havoc in our lives. Think about science in the courtroom, the public policy decisions on health and insurance, the intrusion of listening devices and the tracking of our e-mails and phone calls, the science of warfare and the use of chemical weapons and drones, the use of chemical fertilizers and organic farming, and possible designer babies. Very little that we humans do is not filled with moral or ethical conundrums. No more should we eschew these quandaries in our classrooms. When we discuss DNA genomes, we should not only speak of how the technology can be used to track potential criminals, but also how it can lead to social and personal dilemmas when we identify parentage, plot evolutionary lineages, discover genetically modified food, and detect mutations that might lead to lethal disease and the loss of insurance. How better to deal with such contentious matters than to use case studies? Case studies are stories with an educational message, and as such they are perfect vehicles to integrate science with societal and policy issues. They are ideal because of their interdisciplinary nature. They deal with real issues that students will face in the future. And people love stories.

RESOURCES FOR ETHICS CASES

There are several STEM case repositories in the world; arguably the largest is the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, with over 500 case studies published over the past 25 years. Its greatest strength is in the fields of biology and health-related professions. Over 100 cases are catalogued as having ethical issues, ranging in suitability from middle school student classes to faculty seminars.

We seldom find pure instances of ethical transgressions, where issues of fraud, fabrication, or plagiarism are discussed. Rather, ethical issues are more apt to be a sidebar to the main thrust of a case concentrated on a health or environmental problem. And even in these cases, an individual may not be wrestling with problems involving societal standards. Instead, they grapple with whether it is prudent to make one decision versus another. It may be as simple as whether or not to have an operation or whether it is healthy to use drugs to lose weight.

Let me give you a flavor of the kinds of issues and cases that are available:

Personal dilemma

Often such cases involve medical issues, as we see in “A Right to Her Genes” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=316&id=316 ). In this true story, students examine the case of a woman, Michelle, with a family predisposition to cancer, who is considering genetic testing. The woman wishes to get some information to confirm this predisposition from a reluctant aunt so that she can better decide whether to remove her breasts and/or ovaries prophylactically. The aunt is illiterate and poor and had previously been estranged from the rest of the family. A genetic counselor is involved to help educate the aunt and hopefully obtain consent to get a DNA sample from her. Michelle must decide for herself what course of action she should take.

In “Spirituality and Health Care: A Request for Prayer” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=434&id=434 ), a fourth-year medical student making hospital rounds with an attending physician is asked by a family member of a patient to pray with her. The case allows medical students to explore issues related to patients’ religious beliefs as they think through how they might respond to different expectations and requests they may receive from patients and their families in their professional career.

Social ethics

These are cases where protagonists must decide how they will respond to evolving social standards. “SNPs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, and That’s What People Are Made Of” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=337&id=337 ) deals with questions of genome privacy. Students work together to research six lobbying groups’ views in this area and then present their insights before a mock meeting of a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee voting on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. In working through the case, students learn about single nucleotide polymorphisms, common molecular biology techniques, and current legislation governing genome privacy.

“A Case of Cheating?” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=399&id=399 ) involves two international students who are accused of cheating at the end of the semester, and the teacher must decide how to handle the accusation so that all students see that justice is done. The case raises cultural questions in the context of the use of peer evaluation and cooperative learning strategies.

Medical ethics

Patient rights are a common concern in medical cases, whether they are the central issue of the case or a sidebar to teaching students about a particular disease syndrome. It is the central theme of the infamous “Bad Blood” case involving black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, in the 1920s ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=371&id=371 ). They had contracted syphilis, and public health officials studying the progress of the debilitating disease originally did not have an effective treatment. Twenty years later, the antibiotic penicillin was discovered, yet treatment was withheld to maintain the integrity of the study, whose purpose was to follow the progression of the disease. The study was immediately stopped when this transgression was made public.

Often there are competing concerns, as when a person is confronted with a decision where their personal morality may be at odds with the decrees of a society or institution. “The Plan: Ethics and Physician Assisted Suicide” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=436&id=436 ) is based on an article published in 1991 in the New England Journal of Medicine in which Dr. Timothy E. Quill described his care for a patient suffering from acute leukemia, including how he prescribed a lethal dose of barbiturates knowing that the woman intended to commit suicide. As a consequence of the article’s publication, a grand jury was convened to consider a charge of manslaughter against Dr. Quill. Students read the case and then, as part of a classroom-simulated trial, discuss physician-assisted suicide in terms of fundamental medical ethics principles.

Research ethics

Courses in experimental design are frequently part of psychology curricula. They seldom are part of the typical undergraduate programs in other STEM fields, although there is an excellent resource in the text Research Ethics ( 9 ). Apparently, students in STEM disciplines are supposed to absorb the proper canons of behavior by observation and osmosis.

“A Rush to Judgment” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=250&id=250 ) deals with a typical psychological experiment, where a faculty professor is inattentive to his student assistants, one of whom is misrepresenting the results of an experiment. Another student is confronted with a moral dilemma of whether to report this infraction at a potential cost to herself. Involved in the case is a consideration of proper research protocol when dealing with human participants: informed consent, freedom from harm, freedom from coercion, anonymity, and confidentiality. Students are referred to the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

“How a Cancer Trial Ended in Betrayal” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=233&id=233 ) begins with a quote from a news item.

Birmingham, Alabama —After Bob Lange spent 8 weeks rubbing an experimental cream, BCX-34, from a prominent biotech company BioCryst on the fiery patches on his body, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham told him the drug was defeating the killer inside him. He felt grateful. “I believed it,” he recalls. “I actually thought I might be cured.” But it was a lie. The drug had no effect on Lange’s rare and potentially fatal skin cancer. And the two key people testing the drug knew it. Lange and 21 other patients were victims of fraud—a scheme made possible by the close tie between the university and the state’s most prominent biotech company. — The Baltimore Sun , June 24, 2001

The authors of this fascinating case state that the learning objectives are to learn the basics of scientific research in a clinical trial; to learn the principles of the scientific method; and to consider the ethical issues involved in clinical trials. Ethical potholes litter the road when universities travel with businesses, and millions of dollars and fame are at stake.

Socio-environmental ethics

Conflicting concerns are the norm when dealing with the environmental problems that beset our world. They not only involve scientific principles, but invariably policy and hurly burly politics as well.

“One Glass for Two People: A Case of Water Use Rights in the Eastern United States” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=603&id=603 ) focuses on the growing issue of water use. Approximately 1.3 million people in North and South Carolina depend on the Catawba-Wateree River for water and electricity. The river is also important for recreation and real estate development. To meet growing water demands, elected officials in Concord and Kannapolis, NC, petitioned their state government to approve an inter-basin transfer of 25 million gallons of water a day from the Catawba River. Other towns in North Carolina and South Carolina that are part of the Catawba-Wateree watershed fought this request for water transfer. For this exercise, students are divided into teams that take the role of different stakeholders trying to negotiate a settlement to this lawsuit. In the course of the debate, students address fundamental legal, ethical, and environmental questions about water use.

“Ecotourism: Who Benefits?” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=359&id=359 ) critically examines the costs and the benefits of visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas. Although ecotourism has among its goals to provide funds for ecological conservation as well as economic benefit and empowerment to local communities, it can result in the exploitation of the natural resources (and communities) it seeks to protect. Students assess ecotourism in Costa Rica by considering the viewpoints of a displaced landowner, banana plantation worker, environmentalist, state official, U.S. trade representative, and national park employee.

Legal ethics

“The Slippery Slope of Litigating Geologic Hazards” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=385&id=385 ) is based on a lawsuit brought against the County of Los Angeles by homeowners suing over damage to their homes in the wake of the Portuguese Bend Landslide. It teaches students principles of landslide movement while illustrating the difficulties involved with litigation resulting from natural hazards. Students first read a newspaper article based on the actual events and then receive details about the geologic setting and landslide characteristics. They are then asked to evaluate the possible causes of the disaster and the responsibilities involved.

“The Sad But True Case of Earl Washington: DNA Analysis and the Criminal Justice System” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=725&id=725 ) recounts how, in 1983, Earl Washington “confessed” to a violent crime that he did not commit and was sentenced to death row. After spending 17 years in prison for something he did not do, Earl was released in 2001 after his innocence was proven through the use of modern DNA technology. The case guides students through the wrongful incarceration of Earl and explores the biological mechanisms behind DNA profiling and the ethical issues involved.

“Complexity in Conservation: The Legal and Ethical Case of a Bird-Eating Cat and its Human Killer” ( http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=664&id=664 ) presents the true story of a Texas man who killed a cat that was killing piping plovers, a type of endangered bird species, and was prosecuted for it. In Texas, it is a crime to kill an animal that “belongs to another,” and there was evidence that another person was feeding the cat, which otherwise appeared to be feral. Students engage in a role-playing activity as jurors; they discuss the case and collectively decide whether the cat killer should be acquitted or convicted. This role-playing coupled with follow-up discussions helps students examine and articulate their own views on a controversial environmental issue and gain a better understanding about the complex interdisciplinary nature of conservation science and practice.

There are plenty of ethical issues in every science classroom to discuss; they are not in short supply. They are hovering around every scientific study that reaches the public eye. Pick any news item with science as its theme and there will be the central question that is often not spoken: should we be doing this research at all, not only because of its economic cost, but because of the social, environmental, or health costs? Surely this should be always a pivotal question in the minds of all citizens. It is sometimes asserted that scientific discovery cannot or should not be stopped—that all knowledge is good. But even if we accept that premise, it seems worthwhile to consider the consequences of our actions. Where else to start than in our classrooms?

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Nos. DUE-0341279, DUE-0618570, DUE-0920264, and DUE-1323355. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

national study for case study teaching in science

Evidence Review of the Adverse Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination and Intramuscular Vaccine Administration

Vaccines are a public health success story, as they have prevented or lessened the effects of many infectious diseases. To address concerns around potential vaccine injuries, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which provide compensation to those who assert that they were injured by routine vaccines or medical countermeasures, respectively. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have contributed to the scientific basis for VICP compensation decisions for decades.

HRSA asked the National Academies to convene an expert committee to review the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence about the relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and specific adverse events, as well as intramuscular administration of vaccines and shoulder injuries. This report outlines the committee findings and conclusions.

Read Full Description

  • Digital Resource: Evidence Review of the Adverse Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination
  • Digital Resource: Evidence Review of Shoulder Injuries from Intramuscular Administration of Vaccines
  • Press Release

Recent News

national study for case study teaching in science

Rohr Named U.S. Winner of Frontiers Planet Prize

national study for case study teaching in science

NAS Launches Science and Innovation Fund for Ukraine

national study for case study teaching in science

Science Academies Issue Statements to Inform G7 Talks

national study for case study teaching in science

Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM

  • Load More...

X

IOE - Faculty of Education and Society

  • Departments and centres
  • Innovation and enterprise
  • Teacher Education College

Menu

Latin American decolonial studies

20 May 2024, 2:00 pm–5:00 pm

Time lapse of exhibition. Image: Unsplash.

Join this event to hear speakers explore the emergence of Latin American decolonial studies across various historical periods and locations, and its influence on social theories and practices in fields such as art education, science, data and contemporary creative practices and theories.

This event is free.

Event Information

Availability.

Attendees will have the chance to explore conceptualisations of hierarchies of knowledges and practices, and overlaps and differences between post- and de- colonial thinking, as well as consider how Latin American decolonial studies can contribute to their everyday academic practices.

Speakers from different disciplines will first discuss the significance and complexities embedded in Latin American decolonial praxis through case studies and ongoing debates. Then, attendees will be asked to reflect on their academic practices and consider how Latin American decolonial studies can contribute to their everyday academic practices.

  • Dr Pablo Soffia: UCL-UK, History 
  • Dr Haira Gandolfi: University of Cambridge-UK, Faculty of Education
  • Dr Letícia Perani: Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora-Brazil, Instituto de Artes e Design

This in-person event will be particularly useful for researchers interested in decolonial approaches to history, art and design, science and media.

To register, please email < [email protected] >

Related links

  • UCL Knowledge Lab
  • Research in Media Arts and Play
  • Culture, Communication and Media

Related News

Related events, related case studies, related research projects, press and media enquiries.

UCL Media Relations +44 (0)7747 565 056

IMAGES

  1. (PDF) National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

    national study for case study teaching in science

  2. Scout Archives

    national study for case study teaching in science

  3. [Solved] NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE 3. What

    national study for case study teaching in science

  4. Solved NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

    national study for case study teaching in science

  5. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS)

    national study for case study teaching in science

  6. Solved NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

    national study for case study teaching in science

VIDEO

  1. IESE Open Day: What would you do?

  2. Team Learning: Cooperative Learning in the Science Classroom

  3. Exploring Science

  4. Proper Deal Analysis and a Case Study. TEACHING TUESDAYS!

  5. Writing Case Study Teaching Notes

  6. My Lead Gen Secret Clickbank Case Study Day #19

COMMENTS

  1. NCCSTS Case Studies

    The NCCSTS Case Collection, created and curated by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, on behalf of the University at Buffalo, contains over a thousand peer-reviewed case studies on a variety of topics in all areas of science. ... National Science Teaching Association 405 E Laburnum Avenue Ste 3 Richmond, VA 23222 (T) 703. ...

  2. NCCSTS Case Collection Teaching Resources Publications

    Start with a Story: The Case Study Method of Teaching College Science. Edited by Clyde Freeman Herreid. Originally published in 2006 by NSTA Press; reprinted by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) in 2013. Collection of 40+ essays examining every aspect of the case study method and its use in the science classroom.

  3. All Case Studies

    Case Study. Medication Safety Management. By Hilary Anderson, Shannon Mommsen, Sara Khan, Abir O. Kanaan, Karyn Sullivan, Paul Belliveau. Case Study. Conservation Concerns. ... National Science Teaching Association 405 E Laburnum Avenue Ste 3 Richmond, VA 23222 (T) 703.524.3646 (F) 703.243.7177

  4. Teaching with Case Studies Collection

    The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is to promote the nationwide application of active learning techniques to the teaching of science, with a particular emphasis on case studies and problem-based learning.There are over 300 peer reviewed case studies listed iin all areas of science. Web Page.

  5. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS)

    The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) at SUNY-Buffalo is to promote the development and dissemination of materials and practices for case teaching in the sciences. Click on the links below to learn more about-. Below is a sample work flow showing how to navigate the NCCSTS case collection.

  6. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

    The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is an extensive collection of over 850 case studies focusing on various areas of science and society. Many cases, available for free on the site, come with resources for teaching the material (such as slideshows, PDFs, supporting materials, and videos), though some don't.

  7. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

    The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science also offers a five-day summer workshop and a two-day fall conference to train faculty in the case method of teaching science. In addition, they are actively engaged in educational research to assess the impact of the case method on student learning.

  8. Method Assessment

    Method Assessment. WHAT DO WE KNOW about case study teaching? The use of problem-based learning (one form of case study teaching) in medical schools has received close scrutiny from researchers. As the use of case-based teaching more broadly increases in undergraduate college and K-12 classrooms, a significant body of literature is beginning to ...

  9. PDF NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE Pandemic ...

    Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Origi-nally published March 31, 2020. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work.

  10. PDF NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE The Power of ...

    NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE "The Power of a Test" by Kieffer, Piecuch, Vallianatos, & Wojiski Page 4 Stage 2b Quantitative PCR To amplify, detect and quantify the virus-specific sequence in a sample PCR amplification using cDNA gener-ated in Stage 2a as template. Three fluorescent primer probe sets are used to

  11. national case study science

    The NCCSTS Case Collection, created and curated by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, on behalf of the University at Buffalo, contains nearly a thousand peer-reviewed case studies on a variety of topics in all areas of science.... The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is to promote the nationwide application of active learning techniques to ...

  12. Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions

    Studies have shown that working in groups during completion of case studies significantly improves student perceptions of learning and may increase performance on assessment questions, and that the use of clickers can increase student engagement in case study activities, particularly among non-science majors, women, and freshmen ( 7, 21, 22 ).

  13. PDF NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE Proper ...

    Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Originally published April 15, 2020. ... NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE "Proper Preparation" by Benjamin C. Davis Page 2. Questions. 1. Outline the basic life cycle of a virus, specifically ...

  14. PDF ver2 Bibliography on Case Study Teaching in Science

    This updated, retitled, and reorganized version of the bibliography provides references to journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, and dissertations, beginning with background information on the case method followed by sections on writing cases, teaching with cases, facilitating case discussions, assessing student case work ...

  15. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

    Description. One of the primary goals of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science is to develop and maintain a nationally accessible refereed collection of exemplary case studies in all areas of science for use at the undergraduate, graduate, and high school level. We have been working toward this goal for over 10 years and our ...

  16. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

    The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo is to promote the development and dissemination of materials and practices for case teaching in ...

  17. PDF Poison Ivy: Taking the Itch Out of the Rash

    NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE "Poison Ivy" by Rosemary H. Ford Page 2 Part II - The Mystery of the Blisters Unfolds In the phone conversation with her mother, Julie wanted some sympathy and good advice, but her mother merely laughed. "Julie," her mother explained, "You probably brushed against poison ivy

  18. Value of Case-Based Learning within STEM Courses: Is It the Method or

    The final iteration of the case study authored by Wilson et al. was peer reviewed and published by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. The case study included a short story about an individual who, through diet and lack of exercise, proceeded through the stages of insulin resistance and pre-diabetes and eventually developed ...

  19. Case Studies Subscription

    Case Studies Subscription. $30.00 Annual Subscription. Add to Cart Renew. Add to Wish List. Add to Collection. Login or Create a Free Account. Case studies have a long history in business, law, and medical education. Their use in science education, however, is relatively recent. In our years of working with the method, we have found it to be a ...

  20. NCCSTS Case Studies FAQ

    As a reminder, a case study subscription is for the individual teacher. We do not offer one account for a team/department/school. Each teacher needs to register for their own account, even if the school pays for the subscription. ... National Science Teaching Association 405 E Laburnum Avenue Ste 3 Richmond, VA 23222 (T) 703.524.3646 (F) 703. ...

  21. NCCSTS Case Studies Guidelines

    Instructors may use our cases in their classrooms according to "fair use" guidelines without contacting us for permission. This includes modifying a case to fit your course or to "personalize" a case for your students. Whenever using one of our cases, you must acknowledge the author (s) and cite the National Science Teaching Association as ...

  22. Cautionary Tales: Ethics and Case Studies in Science

    There are several STEM case repositories in the world; arguably the largest is the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, with over 500 case studies published over the past 25 years. Its greatest strength is in the fields of biology and health-related professions.

  23. New Comprehensive Review Examines Potential Harms of COVID-19

    The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are the nation's pre-eminent source of high-quality, objective advice on science, engineering, and health matters. Top experts participate in our projects, activities, and studies to examine and assemble evidence-based findings to address some of society's greatest challenges.

  24. Latin American decolonial studies

    Join this event to hear speakers explore the emergence of Latin American decolonial studies across various historical periods and locations, and its influence on social theories and practices in fields such as art education, science, data and contemporary creative practices and theories. This event is free. Event Information

  25. PDF NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE A New York ...

    NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE "A New York State of Mind" by Jewell and Brix Page 3 First, Alex needed to understand how to interpret the data. He discovered that the median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID 50) is a method to determine the titer or amount of infectious viral particles present in a known volume