Case-based strategies

2. Case studies

You can create case studies to demonstrate concepts and principles and that require students to make decisions similar to those that would be made in real-world situations.

Use representative case studies to engage learners in applying their skills to solve realistic problems. For forecasters, these skills might include data selection, interpretation, and analysis, as well as decision-making and/or communication skills. A case study can be short and isolate one part of the forecast process, or it can be more complex and ask learners to perform each step of the process using a complete data set. Using multiple cases can help to reveal key variables in the situations learners will confront on the job.

Example:

First, review the ingredients of severe convection through an online resource or a live session. Then, present a case that asks learners to analyze data to anticipate the likelihood that severe convection will result, and to make 12-hour, 4-hour, and 1-hour area forecasts, as well as a nowcast for an urban center.

Numerous activities and resources in Moodle provide the opportunities to display data, have learners comment on them or make decisions, and provide feedback on those decisions.

Forum, which is extensively discussed in Unit 3, might be used a case study because allows sharing images in attachments, and exchanging comments and feedback in posts. Similarly Wiki, Lesson, or Quiz each provide ways for interacting with case study data and information. Database or Folder can be used to share large amounts of data. A Book can be used to create a case demonstration, followed by another activity for questions and feedback. A Lesson can be used to combine the benefits of a Book and Quiz at the same time.