JoinAll Case Studies
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Suggested Keywords, to help with your search (besides selecting subjects): clicker cases, directed cases, interrupted cases, discussion cases, intimate debate cases. As a reminder, all cases may be adjusted to meet the needs of your student level. See our case use guidelines.
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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...
By Brahmadeo Dewprashad
This case study begins with a real news article about a six-month-old baby who died from an overdose of medication administered by hospital staff. The infant was diagnosed with pneumonia and given an intravenous dose of the antibiotic azithromycin, t...
Chirality and the Origins of Life
By Michael C. Young, Richard J. Hooley
In this case study, students are guided through an example of how the amplification of enantiomeric excess in prebiotic amino acids may have contributed to the occurrence of only L-amino acids in nature. By studying the mechanism of racemization of a...
To Be or Not To Be a Golf Course in Wimberley?
By Joni Seaton James Charles
This interrupted case study examines the tensions that a small town in Texas faces between economic development and the preservation of a natural water resource for which the town is known. It highlights the interdependence and tensions between econo...
By Margaret M. Larrousse
This case study is used to teach undergraduate students about hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), a controversial method for extracting methane from shale. The controversy arises from claims that chemicals used in the fracking process and the metha...
By Kelly M. Cobourn, Edward R. Landa, Gail E. Wagner
This case explores the complex and multifaceted resource management issues that arose when traditional Zuni Indian land and water use practices were displaced by the construction of the Black Rock Irrigation Project by the U.S. government in the earl...
Community-Based Management and Conservation in Africa
By Narcisa G. Pricope, Andrea E. Gaughan, Susan C. Caplow
Niko lives in Namibia and is about to attend a community meeting at which the fate of his family's re-settlement will be decided. He is not sure what would be best for his family; his father does not want to move while his brother is optimistic that ...
By Joshua D. Hartman, Jack F. Eichler
This problem-based case study guides students through a systematic exploration of the scientific issues surrounding the application and development of hydrogen fuel technology. A PowerPoint presentation introduces a New York Times article about the i...
Abnormal Psychology in the Hundred Acre Wood
By Antoinette Miller
In 2000, Sara E. Shea and co-authors published "Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: A neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne" in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. That article gave provisional "diagnoses" to Christopher Robin and his co...
Joel E. Greengiant Learns About Peas
By Merle K. Heidemann (rr), Peter J.T. White, James J. Smith
This case study follows purveyors of peas, Joel E. and Jolene Greengiant, as they learn about the origin, biochemistry, genetics and eventual artificial selection of sweet (wrinkled) peas, all in the context of evolutionary biology. This integrative ...
By Helen S. Joyner
In this case study, students assume the roles of research and development personnel in a dairy company that is developing a low-fat yogurt. Guided by research provided by the company's marketing department, students must select attributes of the yogu...
By Joshua D. Hartman, Jack F. Eichler
This problem-based case study guides students through a systematic exploration of the scientific issues surrounding the production and development of bio-fuels. A PowerPoint presentation introduces a New York Times article outlining the impact curren...
Using Oceans to Fight Global Warming?
By Joshua D. Hartman, Jack F. Eichler
This problem-based case study explores the scientific issues surrounding the use of large scale iron fertilization as a means of decreasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. A PowerPoint presentation introduces a New York Times article abou...
By Richard C. Stewart, Daniel C. Stein, Kevin S. McIver, John Buchner, Ann C. Smith
In this case developed for an introductory general microbiology course, students consider concepts of bacterial genetics as they act as consultants to a foundation interested in funding innovative products. Students take the role of advising "the bar...
By Helen S. Joyner
"Gerri" is the owner of a local bakery that specializes in cupcakes. Her assistant, "Kelsey," is preparing an order for a wedding when she discovers that she has lost her ring and can't find it anywhere in the kitchen. Since the ring had been loose o...
By J. Phil Gibson
This clicker case addresses several important concepts related to evolution. First, it explores artificial selection and selective breeding. Charles Darwin used artificial selection as an example to support his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selectio...
To Be or Not to Be ... an Inhibitory Neurotransmitter
By Frank Miskevich
Jessica and George are students struggling to understand the forces which control ions moving across membranes. For the nervous system in particular, ions create the electrical signals neurons use to communicate with one another. Jessica ...
By Ann T. Massey
An elderly woman living independently with some help from her family is brought to the local emergency room because she is confused and vomiting. While her son suspects a stroke, a quick battery of laboratory tests indicates that her current pro...
By Giovanni Casotti
This case study examines the events surrounding the hatching and migration of loggerhead sea turtles, specifically what mechanisms they use to head towards the ocean (once hatched) and where and how they migrate once in the ocean. The story is ...
The Evolution of Color Vision in Monkeys
By Merle K. Heidemann (rr), Peter J.T. White, James J. Smith
This case study examines the evolution color vision in Old World and New World monkeys from multiple biological perspectives. This integrative approach employs both problem-based learning techniques and directed questions as students move through a s...
By Harry M. Zollars, Catherine Dana Santanello, Marcelo J. Nieto
Ying is sick and is progressively getting worse. His parents' clashing views on Eastern and Western medicine prevent them from agreeing on a course of treatment. As the case unfolds, students follow the progression of their son's illness. After a phy...
Impacts of Climate Change on Pinyon Pine Cone Production
By Miranda D. Redmond, Nichole N. Barger
In this interrupted case study, students explore how changing climate may affect cone production in pinyon pine (Pinus edulis). Students begin by learning about mast seeding, a common reproductive strategy among many perennial plant species, and why ...
By Lynn B. DeSanto
This interrupted case study outlines the history of pertussis or whooping cough, a disease that in the early 1900s claimed the lives of more people than diphtheria, scarlet fever, and measles combined. Whooping cough continued to afflict and kill a l...
The Sad But True Case of Earl Washington
By Justin F. Shaffer
In 1983, Earl Washington "confessed" to a violent crime that he did not commit and was sentenced to death row. After spending seventeen years in prison for something he didn't do, Earl was released in 2001 after his innocence was proven through the u...