Case Methods in Teaching How case methods work Models for case teaching PBL or CBL? Planning your case teaching What students think about CM References and resources

Most of the literature on case- and problem-based learning emphasises the importance of collaborative problem solving. The sharing of ideas and pooling of knowledge is integral to the problem-solving process.

How then can this be applied to distance learning, where students and lecturers are separated from each other?

THE NATURE OF DISTANCE LEARNING

We used to speak about face-to-face learning and distance learning as two different 'modes' of study. 'Face-to-face' represents the traditional classroom-tutorial situation with lecturer and students meeting for two-way communication; 'distance' recognises the physical separation of participants in space and/or time (by geography or shiftwork). For many years students would enrol to study by one mode or the other and teaching methods and resources would be distinctly different.

It is becoming more common now for the two situations to be recognised as the two ends of a continuum, with many mixes inbetween. Students located on-campus might choose not to attend all face-to-face classes as other teaching media are available to them, while students in remote areas may receive tutoring with the rest of their study group via a telephone conference or engage their classmates in conversation in a computer chatroom.

However, it is still true to say that the teaching of distance students requires more forward planning, and more thought goes into designing ways for them to interact with the subject matter and communicate with their class. It can be easier for them to be left behind in their studies because they simply didn't understand something - you cannot see the looks on their faces and you may be too busy dealing with the knocks on your office door to provide a timely reply to their telephoned query.

It can be harder to design a case scenario that will engage the distant student and some process to enable them to share, discuss and pool their knowledge so that they can analyse, construct and confidently justify their conclusions.

BRIDGING THE GAP IN CASE METHODS

Now that computer technology is generally so accessible to us at university level, there is a lot that can be done with collaborative on-line learning. We use WebCT at the University of Tasmania to mediate our on-line learning, and this provides the facility for 'discussion rooms', where students can enter different discussion groups to contribute their ideas and read those of others. A problem or case posted onto the site can be the trigger for discussion and the lecturer can facilitate by checking up on the group from time to time, contributing to discussion or introducing new information. A nominated 'chair' of each discussion group can call on the lecturer for assistance or intervention if it is needed and at the end of the discussion time students can each construct their own conclusion to submit for assessment.

But there are ways of encouraging students to discuss a case or problem without the use of computer based discussion groups. We have already mentioned telephone conferencing and ordinary emailing. Or if students meet for occasional tutorials then these sessions can be used for problem-based group exercises. If students are studying vocational subjects whilst they are in employment then there is often good opportunity for them to use their work situation and even draw colleagues into discussion over a coffee.

The following list of suggestions is adapted from Taplin (2000)*:

*[Margaret Taplin used to be a lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Tasmania and has written extensively on teaching techniques for problem-solving.]