Exploring the Bridge from Multimedia Cases to Classrooms: Evidence of Transfer

Abstract

This article reports findings from a follow-up study of teacher education students who utilized multimedia cases in coursework in preparation for teaching students with emotional/behavioral disorders. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained through multimedia case-based instruction were maintained following coursework with the cases and transferred to discussions of classroom practice. Research subjects included 16 students who agreed to participate in an online follow-up support group during the two semesters after their use of multimedia cases in their teacher education courses. The independent variable was testing condition (postinstruction versus follow-up Semester 1 versus follow up Semester 2). Dependent variables included the breadth of concept (nodes), the interconnectedness of concept (links), and the quality of content contained in concept maps completed at preinstruction, postinstruction, and two follow-up points in time. Results indicated that conceptual change occurred between preinstruction and the first follow-up phase, and these changes in conceptual knowledge were maintained during the follow-up period while participants were employed in schools. Qualitative data provide a rich understanding of the study findings by relating transfer of knowledge, skills, and attitudes to the prior case instruction and scaffolds embedded in the cases.

Facilitated versus non-facilitated online case discussions: comparing differences in problem space coverage

“…Furthermore, despite equal amounts of discussion, the content of the discussion was not equal across the sections, as indicated by differences in overall coverage of problem-finding and problem-solving space, as well as differences in those aspects of the case that students spent most of their time discussing (design solutions vs. project constraints). As noted earlier, novices tend to spend significant time and effort interpreting problem situations/constraints (Fitzgerald et al 2011;Ng and Tan 2006;Perez and Emery 1995;Rowland 1992;Hmelo-Silver et al 2002). Yet they often fail to define the problem adequately and may fail to develop workable solutions.…”

“…In fact, in this study, this result seems to suggest that students in the NF2 discussion may have been overly concerned about the project constraints and perhaps unable to move forward to consider potential solutions. Findings from previous research (Fitzgerald et al 2011;Kim and Hannafin 2008) suggest that while experts are able to quickly filter through the details of a situation to narrow the problem space and determine key elements (Ertmer et al 2008), novices tend not to do this on their own. As noted by Fitzgerald et al (2011), ''novices expend significant time and effort in interpreting situations, tend to focus on irrelevant information, and fail to identify problems adequately or to develop solutions'' (p. 3).…”

“…Findings from previous research (Fitzgerald et al 2011;Kim and Hannafin 2008) suggest that while experts are able to quickly filter through the details of a situation to narrow the problem space and determine key elements (Ertmer et al 2008), novices tend not to do this on their own. As noted by Fitzgerald et al (2011), ''novices expend significant time and effort in interpreting situations, tend to focus on irrelevant information, and fail to identify problems adequately or to develop solutions'' (p. 3). However, Ertmer et al (2009) scaffolds, introduced by the instructor, can enable novice instructional designers to shift their focus from case details/constraints to the more critical elements of the problem situation (i.e., the design challenges and solutions).…”

Using Analytics to Transform a Problem-Based Case Library: An Educational Design Research Approach

“…Further, given that a case library database is meant to replicate networked memories, the nodes and connections of concept maps potentially could serve as a proxy representation of the desired interconnectedness of indices and memories described by CBR. Prior research has also demonstrated the connection between using concept maps to assess differences in case library design (Fitzgerald et al, 2009(Fitzgerald et al, , 2011.…”

Using a Flipped Classroom Approach to Support Problem-Based Learning

“…While scaffolding may reference a more knowledge peer or instructor, research has also shown technology to be effective in scaffolding student problem-solving. For instance, hypermedia (Saye and Brush 2002), question prompts (Clark et al 2007;Noroozi et al 2013), cases (Boshuizen et al 2012;Fitzgerald et al 2011) have been shown to support student learning on factors such as collaboration, conceptual change, and procedural knowledge.…”