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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Bones, Stones, Groans and Moans
By Juanita K. Jellyman, Hannah Ticheli
In this case study, “Amelia” is confused by a call from her doctor’s office about her blood calcium levels. When it comes to calcium, she is familiar with the adage that calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth, and so the idea that her blo...
By Ellen J. Crapster-Pregont, Logan D. Brenner
The art of fact-checking is especially important when evaluating science as represented in social media and the news. But how are students to acquire the skill? In this interrupted case study, students assume the role of a news editor tasked with dec...
Travis Kauffman vs. the Mountain Lion
By Patrick R. Field, Cheynya M. Johnson-Brimley
This case study is based on an actual mountain lion (cougar) attack that occurred in Horsetooth Mountain Park, Colorado. The case details the steps that led to the attack, the ensuing struggle, and how Travis Kauffman ultimately survived by killing t...
By Hollie L. Leavitt
This case study introduces the reader to “Jason,” a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (BSN) who is just beginning his career in nursing, and Jason’s grandmother who worked as a nurse in labor and delivery in the 1960s...
By Juanita K. Jellyman, Hannah Ticheli
This case study presents a brief account of the life of John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (1961-63). Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease, an endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of adrenal steroid hormones,...
By Lior M. Burko
This case study tells the story of a hypothetical future manned lunar mission threatened by exposure to extreme space weather. The protagonist struggles to find a course of action that will save the spacecraft and the lives of her crew. The case is u...
Using the Scientific Method to Understand the Brilliant Colors of Male Jumping Spiders
By Michael E. Vickers, Lisa A. Taylor
This interrupted case study presents the work of biologists who are trying to understand the functions of bright color patterns in jumping spiders. It is designed to guide students through the steps of the scientific method, while also exposing them ...
By Kelsie J. Anson, Briana N. Van Treeck, Jake J. Flood
Cellular metabolism is traditionally taught in undergraduate biochemistry courses through the memorization of complex biochemical pathways. As such, many students find it difficult to relate the subject to current research in biology and in medicine....
By Tiha M. Long
This interrupted case study explores the general topic of health disparities by focusing on the specific example of breast cancer mortality disparity between black and white women in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The case encourages the use of analy...
Assessing Habitat Suitability for Squirrels on Campus
By Ivan A. Mendoza, Jason R. Courter
Squirrels are frequent and beloved residents of college campuses throughout the United States, but oftentimes less welcomed by campus maintenance officials who report squirrels nesting in buildings, interfering with airflow from heating and cooling u...
By Kristiann M. Dougherty
There are a number of well-recognized physical hazards associated with running in mud obstacle races, but recent reports have also brought to light the infectious hazards that competitors may encounter. This case study contains actual data from two s...
By Giuliana M. DiMarco, Nitish Mittal, Hannah E. Olvera, Breanna N. Harris
This case study follows a group of fictitious medical students during their obstetrics rotation as they meet “Brittany,” a woman who is 35-weeks pregnant and experiencing tachycardia and shortness of breath. The medical students review the basics...
From Strawberry Fields to the Chemistry Classroom
By Simone N. Walker, Quyen T. Doan, William J. Heuett, Deana Jaber
This case study investigates the use of methyl bromide as a pesticide and methyl iodide as an alternative pesticide in strawberry fields in California. By 2005, methyl bromide should have been completely phased out under the Clean Air Act and the Mon...
Equal Parts Sleeping and Eating
By Scott J. Donnelly
Every year during the foodless winter months, bears enter their den and lapse into a state of extended dormancy and slumber (called hibernation). For the next 130+ consecutive days they do not drink, eat, defecate, or urinate. Rarely do they die from...
By Philomena M. Behmer, Stacy A. Ropp, Angela Z. Shertzer
This interrupted case study explores the central nervous system (CNS) by comparing normal CNS anatomy and physiology to the true story of a woman with type I Chiari malformation (CM). Type I CM is a condition involving anatomical anomalies of the hin...
By Andrea M. Henle
This interrupted case study tells the story of a woman with cystic fibrosis and her husband. The couple is presented with an opportunity to potentially fix the woman's disease-causing gene using CRISPR. Students follow the couple as they face decisio...
By Thomas S. Nühse
Although rabies still causes thousands of deaths globally every year, it has essentially been eradicated from most industrialized countries. Part of the success story is due to an unusual project undertaken by the Swiss prompted by a series of large ...
By Daniel B. Stovall
This directed case study introduces students to “Kay,” a 10-month-old baby whose symptoms suggest to her pediatrician that she has a tumor of the eye called retinoblastoma. Students learn about the genetics of this cancer by following the convers...
The Grass is Greener in Kentucky
By Thomas S. Nühse
Kentucky 31 is a widely grown variety of tall fescue grass that owes its extreme stress resistance, but also its toxicity, to an endophytic fungus. It is difficult to decide where to place this symbiosis along the mutualism-parasitism spectrum. In th...
By Deena E. Afana, Autreen Golzar, Andrew Q. Dong, Johnny D. Nguyen, Vanessa G. Delgado, Laura B. Morel, Jaclene A. Torres, David A. Beshai, Andrea C. Nicholas
This case study is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding (i.e., symptoms, mechanism, methods of diagnosis, transmission, and prevention) of the neurodegenerative disorder known as Kuru disease. Although Kuru is clinically ra...
The Face of a Rare Genetic Disease
By Karobi Moitra
This case study is designed to teach basic concepts of genetics by focusing on a rare disease, pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). Chromosome 16 is the narrator at the beginning of the case and introduces students to genes, chromosomes and mutation...
By C. Nicole Sunnen
In this problem-based learning (PBL) case study, a college student experiencing severe abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding is shocked to learn that she is suffering a miscarriage. Student teams embark on the iterative process of identifying learning ...
The Shifty Salmon of Auke Creek
By David A. Tallmon
Pacific salmon are culturally, ecologically, and economically important throughout their geographic range. They are also increasingly depleted and threatened with extinction. This interrupted case study in three parts focuses on issues surrounding mi...
By Laura Y. Lorentzen, Kristie Reilly, Connor Baucom, Elizabeth A. Manheim
This case study, designed for the “flipped” classroom, is divided into four parts that explore the etiology of Huntington disease. Students complete the first two sections before coming to class by watching videos and an interactive module from H...
By Ashlee E. Nelson, Sarah R. Sletten
This directed case study explores the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus and its impact on human health. The case is based on a true story of a woman who fell ill after eating raw oysters while visiting family in New Orleans during the month of August....
By Hayden E. Sando, Amrik S. Gill, Wasim Anwar, Grace A. Farber
In this directed case study, students investigate a clinical scenario involving a patient’s bout with a rare autoimmune disease, Susac syndrome. The patient, “Suzy,” goes through a series of tests that lead to a misdiagnosis before her conditio...
Becoming a Friend Instead of a Foe
By Melissa R. Eslinger, Cameron B. Marlow
This case study centers on symbiotic relationships between insects and bacteria using Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, and the recently discovered bacterial species Sodalis praecaptivus. Until recently, the only known Sodalis species of...
By Joel Hernandez, Canan Karaalioglu
Jane, a freshman in college, is chatting with her neighbor, a retired physics college professor, when she suddenly sees a flying hammer thrown by her grandfather. Jane is puzzled by her observation that as the hammer rotates in the air, there appears...
The World’s Worst Industrial Disaster
By Roshan Lamichhane, Betsy B. Ratcliff, Mark W. Schraf, Anitha S.L. Gowda
In this directed case study, students first watch a brief video and then read a short passage about the 1984 Bhopal, India, disaster in which a Union Carbide pesticide plant released 30 metric tons of poisonous gas throughout the city....
By Alexandra V. Tremblay
This set of mini cases is designed to develop students’ understanding of cell structure compartmentalization, spatial arrangement, and organelle coordination. Each mini case consists of a scenario, a modeling activity involving roleplay, and a foll...
By Jessie M. Garcia
This case study tells the story of “Sammy,” a freshman undergraduate student who is experiencing her first weeks on campus, in order to teach the importance of proper antibiotic usage, STD (sexually transmitted disease) screening, and prevention ...
By Marleigh E. Sistrunk, Clover M. Cherrington, Breanna N. Harris
This interrupted case study tells the story of “Penny,” a woman who is 28 weeks pregnant with her first child. Unfortunately, things do not go smoothly in her third trimester, and she and her partner must navigate a series of appointments and tes...
By Michaela Gazdik Stofer
This directed case study examines the molecular basis of cystic fibrosis to emphasize the relationship between the genetic code stored in a DNA sequence and the encoded protein’s structure and function. Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the...
The Anatomy of an Assassination
By Sheri L. Boyce
This case study, presented in the form of two mini-cases, is based on the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth. The first mini-case focuses on Lincoln. After learning about the medical details of the shooting, Lincoln’s i...
By Nora S. Green
This directed case study is framed as a discussion between a biochemistry major and her boyfriend who is interested in trying the Keto diet. The case is intended to tie together a variety of metabolism topics in a way that engages the students and re...
An Investigation into Ocean Acidification
By Diara D. Spain, Vanessa M. Mendoza
This directed case study covers fundamental information about ocean acidification using relevant examples from general science news articles as well as data excerpted from scientific research. It was developed for general environmental science classe...
By Nalini V. Broadbelt, Michelle A. Young
This case study is designed to introduce students to how the bone’s architecture influences movement and the roles cells play in bone growth and repair. It tells the story of “Maria,” an active 68-year-old woman who works on a farm. Over the la...
Boreal Forest Dynamics at the Hardwood Ecotone
By Charles J.W. Carroll, Miranda D. Redmond
This “clicker” case uses a handout and a PowerPoint presentation to guide students through the interpretation of three key traits of two dominant boreal species in the high elevation regions of northern New Hampshire to develop hypotheses concern...
By Leah A. Roesch
This interrupted case study is based on a PBS NOVA episode covering events in the summer of 1982 when seven California heroin users mysteriously and suddenly developed Parkinson’s disease. The video, which is shown in class and paused at several de...
Sexually Transmitted Infections
By Sara Akhlaghi, Vihar T. Naik, Vahe A. Aghajanyan, Cathleen Shen, Huong Do, Alan R. Ahorro, Ramdeepak Hari, Andrea C. Nicholas
This case study focuses on the etiology and epidemiology of four sexually transmitted infections (STIs): human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. The case provides background information about each disease and ...