73

Learning Objective #1: describe the multiple uses and benefits of using case studies as a learning strategy.

Learning Objective #2: construct a case study with a set of questions that require higher-level cognitive skills.

---

In line with the National League for Nursing recommendations for transforming education, many nurse educators use case studies as a teaching/evaluation strategy. Case studies are excellent for teaching clinical reasoning and promoting critical thinking. Their value in transforming education is that they provide the contextual learning that is essential for students in practice disciplines. However, one cannot assume that case studies always require critical thinking. Case studies and their accompanying questions must be carefully crafted in order to achieve that goal. Research shows that teachers ask mostly low-level discussion questions in the classroom, and it is probably safe to assume that many write low-level questions for their case studies as well. Even a cursory examination of commercial test banks and textbooks will reveal that despite the inclusion of cases and scenarios, the accompanying questions more often than not require only recall or comprehension. This session will briefly describe critical- and higher-level thinking, their importance for nursing students, and the benefits of using them. Examples of cases with low-level and higher-level questions will be used to demonstrate that cases/scenarios facilitate critical thinking only if the accompanying questions are constructed to do so. Most of the session will be spent in learning how to recognize and write case studies that promote high-level thinking. Opportunity for practice and interaction with content will be provided. This session will answer the following questions: 1. What are critical thinking and higher-level thinking? 2. What are the various ways to use case studies/scenarios in teaching and evaluation? 3. What are the benefits of using case studies/scenarios as a learning strategy? 4. What is the process of constructing a case study? 5. How can the case itself be constructed to facilitate critical thinking? 6. How do you write questions that require higher-level or critical thinking skills?