The Attitudes and Preferences of Undergraduate Students toward the Use of Case Studies as an Instructional Methodology
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Abstract
The increasing use of case studies as a learning strategy has been a trend in higher education since 1870. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of undergraduate students towards case studies and the types of case studies they preferred. A total of 16 undergraduate participants exposed to individual and group case studies participated in in-depth structured interviews that lasted between 10 to 20 minutes. The majority of the participants had an overall positive attitude towards case studies, and felt that they were an effective learning tool that increased learning. Students preferred to choose their own group members, and their experiences could be improved with shorter case studies, better online search engines for researching, and clearer explanations and examples by lecturers. Working in groups was the greatest challenge, followed by lengthy case studies and deadlines. They preferred a combination of an equivalent number of individual and group case studies, and found end-of the chapter case studies most beneficial, with an equivalent preference for homework and in-class case studies.
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