JoinAll Case Studies
The cases alone are freely accessible. A subscription is required for access to teaching notes and answer keys.
In keyword search, list the criteria you would like to find cases. Multiple criteria can be listed separated by commas (i.e. directed, high school)
Educational levels are defined as follows: Elementary, Middle, High School, College
Types of cases are defined as follows: Analysis/Issues, Clicker, Debate, Intimate Debate, Demonstration, Dilemma/Decision, Directed, Discussion, Interrupted, Jig-saw, Journal Article, Laboratory, Student Presentations, Mini-case, Problem-Based Learning, Public Hearing, Role-Play, Trial, Flipped, Game
By Beth A. Carle
This decision case study is based on the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan that began on March 11, 2011 and examines its status through September 2013. The seven parts of the case were originally developed for delivery over two 75-minute cla...
By Fred B. Schnee, Andrea Bixler
Many biology courses are designed to develop student understanding and application of the scientific method, but few seriously examine the various ethical questions associated with scientific research. This interdisciplinary case study presents three...
By Joshua D. Hartman, Jack F. Eichler
This problem-based case study presents recent advancements in the development and application of technologies geared towards harnessing sunlight for the production of hydrogen from water. A PowerPoint presentation introduces the topic with a New York...
By Eric Ribbens
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is an invasive plant that can be very hard to eliminate. This PowerPoint-driven case study briefly describes this plant and asks students to identify possible solutions for its control when a homeowner discovers ...
By James A. Carr, Breanna N. Harris
"I Heart Running" is a case study in which students diagnose the cause of exercise-induced tachycardia in an otherwise healthy, 27-year-old female. The patient, Sam, is a long-distance runner and realizes that her exercising heart rate reaches over 2...
Selection and the Blond Beach Mouse
By Joan Sharp
This "clicker" case study explores ultimate and proximate explanations for cryptic coloration in animals through the work of Dr. Hopi Hoekstra of Harvard University, who studies Gulf and Atlantic Coast beach populations of oldfield deer mice that hav...
By Bruce C. Palmquist
The evolution of physiological characteristics can be strongly influenced by physics. Animals whose physiology allows them to better escape predators will live longer, on average, and be more likely to pass on the genes that led to these favorable tr...
From Prairies to Corn Fields for Fuel
By Glenna M. Malcolm
With increasing U.S. government support for biofuel production in the late 2000s came increased pressure to convert more land to cornfields for ethanol. To make way for more corn, millions of acres of prairie grassland were plowed under, destroying a...
By Carly N. Jordan
This interrupted case study explores the role of cytoskeletal structures on human health, specifically on respiratory function, sperm motility, and female fertility. It follows the story of a couple struggling to conceive a child and the doctors work...
Three Cases from the Membrane Files
By Eric Ribbens
This PowerPoint-driven case study presents three different stories, each of which explores an aspect of membranes. The first (The Exploding Fish) covers diffusion, specifically addressing the question of why animal cells explode in freshwater but fis...
By Kevin M. Bonney
This case study provides an overview of the seminal experimental work that led to the discovery of DNA structure and the confirmation of the semi-conservative model of DNA replication. By guiding students through a chronological series of historic ex...
By Helen S. Joyner
In this case study, students assume the role of a process engineer on a whey refinement process. As the process engineer for the line, students must develop a block diagram of the process, perform a mass balance on each step of the process, and...
Which Came First, the Mutation or the Antibiotic?
By Suzanne M. Deschênes, Rosemary M. Danaher, Hema Gopalakrishnan
This case study presents the story of Phil, an undergraduate majoring in biology, whose Russian cousin Dimitri has contracted tuberculosis (TB) from inmates at the prison where he works. Phil learns that his cousin's failure to complete his ant...
By Tracie Y. Hudson
This case study introduces students to the structure and function of cellular organelles and seeks to show their importance by discussing diseases and disorders that can result when an organelle does not function as it should. The storyline follows a...
By J. Phil Gibson
This clicker case addresses several concepts related to the evolutionary ecology of herbivore defenses. A survey of several different studies that investigated chemical defenses in Thymus vulgaris (thyme) gives students the opportunity to develop hyp...
No Longer Fond of the Local Pond
By Stephanie L. Luster-Teasley, Janie G. Locklear, Niva S. King
When an elementary school teacher calls in sick to work, she finds out that she is not the only one who will be missing school that day. Children from her fifth grade class have also become ill and parents are calling to report the absences. Th...
By Troy R. Nash
This directed case study in PowerPoint format focuses on the London Underground Mosquito, Culex molestus, and its potential relationship to the common mosquito, Culex pipiens, in order to explore the topics of evolution, reproductive isolation, and s...
By Matthew P. Rowe
Who wouldn't want to go in search of a creature like Bigfoot, Yeti, or the Loch Ness Monster? Using the science of ecology, students do exactly that in this case study that encompasses a variety of case study teaching formats. Working in ...
By Sandra L. Cooke, Elysia Berkery, Adelle D. Monteblanco, Silvia Secchi
Healthy river systems serve a wide variety of functions, including recreation, crop production, and navigation. Effective floodplain management requires integrating cultural, economic and ecosystem needs, and often tradeoffs must be made. This case s...
By Karobi Moitra
This case study examines the structure of hemoglobin and myoglobin and how the structure of these molecules dictates their function. The case is written as a play in which several candidates have responded to a help wanted ad seeking an employee with...
By Emily M. Nullet, Marissa L. Hayes, Rebecca M. Cordani, Jessalyn A. Myers, Carol R. Connery
This interrupted case study presents the story of "Jane Paul," a 27-year-old pregnant woman excited by the prospect of bringing a new life into the world. Jane had been using heroin for the past seven years, but when she learns she is pregnant, she g...
Carbon Balance of Forest Thinning and Bioenergy Production
By Katharine C. Kelsey
This interrupted case study introduces students to the concept of carbon storage and how land management decisions can affect this vital ecosystem service. Forests play an important role in the carbon cycle because of their ability to uptake an...
Ethnomedicine in Latino Communities of Madison
By David S. Kiefer
This PowerPoint-delivered case study guides the reader, a hypothetical student intern with the City of Madison (Wisconsin) Public Health Department, as he/she assists a physician who was awarded a grant to investigate the use of herbal medicines by L...
When a Gene Turned Off Is a Matter of Life or Death
By Tracie M. Addy
When Jordan is diagnosed with brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme), his college plans are unexpectedly put on hold. This scenario is presented in order to teach students about gene regulation, as the efficacy of the drug Jordan receives for post-su...
By Thomas T. Yates
This case study introduces students to the elements of a renewable resource management project. The issue of wetland drainage, for the purpose of increasing land available for annual crop production, is used to deliver the learning outcomes. Angela, ...
By Mary Ann L. McLean, Gary T. Grothman
The majority of people in the world interact with nature in an urban setting. Management issues in urban parks tend to be more challenging than in “natural” parks for a variety of reasons, including heavy use, proximity to housing, local advocacy...
By Briana M. Peele, John S. Peters
This case study examines a variety of biological factors that may have been involved in the 2013 dolphin "unusual mortality event" (UME) on the East Coast of the United States. The story follows a news reporter and four different scientists who are p...
By Andrea C. Nicholas, Isabella Villano
This case study centers on an active teaching game that simulates a cholera outbreak among five villages along a river, similar to the Haitian outbreak of 2010. By enacting the behaviors of fictional villagers, students learn how trade, travel, sanit...
By Dawn R. Tanner, Jim A. Perry
Sheep ranching has destroyed habitat and decimated species in many areas of the world, but in Patagonia declining wool prices provide an opportunity to turn the tide. This case study places students in the role of advisor to an international NGO that...
By Janet A. De Souza-Hart
This case study is based on real events that the author experienced with her 10-year-old daughter. Although the names have been changed, all of the events (symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, types of healthcare professionals) are recorded exactly as th...
By Kyla Flanagan
This case study is based on the game theory developed by John Maynard Smith where two behavioral strategies ("Hawks" and "Doves") compete over a contested resource. During this 50- to 75-minute case, students experience "hands-on"' the change in freq...
By William Yee, Kevin M. Bonney
This case study presents the story of "Nick," a student who has been assigned the task of writing a research paper describing the fundamentals of chemical bonds and how they relate to human life. When Nick experiences difficulty remembering informati...
By Karobi Moitra
This case study details the historical discovery of the structure of DNA. Images of this key molecule are as iconic as those of the Mona Lisa, and identifying its structure has proven to be as intriguing a mystery for scientists as the reason behind ...
By Christopher J. Cheng, Clinton Stevenson
Based on a true story, this case study was created to teach students how to perform statistical tests and determine whether a significant difference exists between two sets of data. Students are faced with the task of assisting Jeff, the manager of a...
By Helen S. Joyner
This interrupted case study follows the progress of Kenny, the head operator for a whey protein processing system, as he works with Cheryl, a quality management specialist, to implement control charts to monitor process variables. Students assume the...
By Nickolas E. Millas, Nathalie Musey, Emily Duwan, Philip J. Stephens
This interrupted case study follows "Elaina Lee" and her family through a series of medical mishaps. Elaina suffers a reaction to an overdose of an herbal remedy prescribed to her while studying abroad in Africa. Upon returning home, she feels unwell...
By Andrew T. Johnson, Amanda R. Laurenceau
In the 1983 Big Eight Conference championship football game, Neil Harris deflected a pass with 32 seconds to go in a play that stopped the University of Oklahoma from scoring and clinched Nebraska's perfect 12-0 season, a third consecutive Big Eight ...
By Eric J. Herrera
In 2012, Mike Prickett, a world-renowned underwater cinematographer, was working on a commercial photo shoot in Tahiti when he witnessed a fellow diver sinking and drowning. While saving the drowning victim, Mike fell victim to decompression sickness...
By Heather K.L. Harden, Michael L. Foley, Rachel A. Poon, Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
During the Paleolithic era, human life expectancy was only 33 years—roughly half of what it is today. We owe our more extended lives in part to better hygiene, medicines, and more plentiful foods. Yet some people aspire to return to that earlier er...
Sunny Skies and a Lurking Microbe
By Kim R. Finer
Based on a true story, this case study chronicles the development of a wound infection that began as a minor cut that occurred while carrying out a typical household task (moving furniture). Identifying the causative agent ultimately took three...