"Cases are stories with a message. They are not simply narratives for entertainment. They are stories to educate" (Herreid, 1997, p. 92). By this definition, a case study is two things: a story and a strategy to drive learning. Although the story typically comes from a narrative purposefully written for the classroom, such as the case…

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month's issue describes a way of building a library of student-produced videos to use in the flipped classroom.

Three years ago, the "National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science" (NCCSTS) was inspired to merge the case study and flipped classroom approaches. The resulting project aimed to create the materials required to teach a flipped course in introductory biology by assigning videos as homework and case studies in the classroom. Three…

Studying physics for nonphysics majors at college level is usually a process of learning new problem-solving skills and sometimes seems a frustrating experience. In an attempt to provide students with more learning resources, online homework was required to supplement the instruction. This study reveals the role of the online homework assignments…

Creative exercises (CEs) are a form of assessment in which students are given a prompt and asked to write down as many distinct, correct, and relevant facts about the prompt as they can. Students receive credit for each fact that they include that is related to the prompt and distinct from the other facts they list. With CEs, students have an…

The author and colleagues have designed an Exploration Center to supplement lecture-oriented teaching in large introductory physics courses. At the center, students perform hands-on homework problems derived from lecture demonstrations. The style of exploration problems is conceptual and open ended. Methods are discussed for integrating…

This case explores the aggressive mimicry behavior of "femmes fatales" fireflies--female fireflies in the genus Photuris that mimic the flash pattern of females in the genus Photinus to lure Photinus males to their death. The case features entries in an old field notebook as well as a series of handouts that the instructor presents to students for…

College science teachers know that students get the most out of class if they have completed the assigned reading. To reinforce this expectation, we ask our introductory physics students to submit a question they had about the reading. In this paper we describe the rationale and logistics of this assignment. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

A homework problem that can be graded quickly, involve students in problem solving, and provide feedback on their problem-solving ability is described. A two-part homework problem is assigned: part one stated in the usual manner, and part two consisting of a description with segments left blank for students to fill in. (Author/JN)

Instructors can use interactive Java applets to present science in a concrete and meaningful manner to nonscience majors. This article shows how applets can take the place of laboratory work and gives examples and benefits of using applets. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Latent image processing is a method which reveals hidden ink when marked with a special pen. Using multiple-choice items with commercially available latent image transfers can provide immediate feedback on take-home quizzes. Students benefitted from formative evaluation and were challenged to search for alternative solutions and explain unexpected…