The Effect of Case-Based Curriculum on Cognitive and Affective Characteristics of Students

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effect of case-based curriculum (CBC) on the cognitive and affective characteristics of the pre-service teachers. The case-based curriculum was developed within the scope of the "Introduction to Educational Science" course at the university level. It was applied to experimental groups by two different methods that are CBL1 and CBL2, respectively. The CBL1 was implemented through the presentation of the unit subjects, applying the teaching strategy and using the cases, while CBL2 was implemented by ensuring students to reach information through the cases rather than the presentation of the unit subjects by the instructor. The study used a mixed method approach which employed the semi-experimental methods for data collection using pretest-posttest control group design. The study group consists of 334 freshmen taking the "Introduction to Educational Science" course, of education faculties of two different universities. The purposive sampling technique was used to select these students. The result of the study indicates that there was a significant difference in the course "introduction to educational sciences" in favor of the experimental groups in terms of their learning levels. In interviews with students; it has been found that case-based learning (CBL) techniques have a positive impact on students' socialization and communication skills development, and support cooperation. In addition, a large majority of the students stated that CBL contributes to their interest to the course as well as their awareness towards and adoption of the teaching profession. Therefore, CBL can be taken as a basis for developing curricula and the effectiveness of these curricula can be viewed in terms of improving the cognitive, social and affective skills of students.