With the rising costs and diminishing benefits, postsecondary instructors should avoid rote learning. Traditional structures in higher education that involve strict ordering of learning materials should give way to more organically structured learning. The learning experiences are evolving with diverse technologies, experiential learning opportunities, collaborations between learners and the teacher as facilitator and guide rather than information distributor.

Before considering the specific constructivist and social cognitive learning theories, it is useful first to briefly review three theories; behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. 

Behaviourism

Psychologist John Watson coined the term ‘behaviourism’. Critical of psychology’s previous focus on unmeasurable internal states, Watson insisted that science focus on measurable behaviours. Behaviourism was primarily developed by B F Skinner but also encompasses the works of others, including Edward Thorndike, Edwin R Guthrie and Clark Hull. Three basic assumptions about learning characterise the behaviourist approach. These are the evidence that learning and the learners’ environment shape their behaviour. The proximity of events and reinforcement is crucial to explaining learning. The two types of exercises are classical conditioning, where behaviour becomes reflexive to stimuli, as in the case of Pavlov’s Dogs. And B F Skinner’s operant conditioning, where behaviour is reinforced positively (through reward) or negatively (through punishment). It is important to remember that behaviourists are interested in measurable changes in behaviour as evidence of learning.

Since behaviourists view the learning process as a change in behaviour, in this view, teachers can design the learning environment to elicit specific desired responses. 

Cognitivism

Cognitive learning theory assumes that “learners are active seekers and processors of information”, and those learners are agents engaging in self-development, self-regulation and self-reflection.

In cognitivism, practice is essential. Behaviourists posit that practice creates a connection between stimuli and response. Cognitivism stresses associations between concepts and the importance of memory. 

Constructivism in case-based learning

The case-based learning has its roots in constructivism, a learning theory that capitalises on the learners’ abilities to construct viable knowledge and an education paradigm that fosters discovery learning. As advanced by Jerome Bruner, discovery learning is “a necessary condition for learning the variety of problem-solving techniques, of transferring information for better use”.

Practical discussion and reflection create a state of dissonance in the learner; thus, stimulating higher order thinking. Through a review of prior knowledge and exposure to new information, the case studies provide the means for scaffolding learning and building a repertoire of nursing knowledge before commencing with practice. However, knowledge-making primarily depends on the efforts of the learners to generate meaningful ideas.

Learning with case studies trains learners to question assumptions, explore options, base new knowledge on context, and consider the constant transformation of knowledge. These skills represent the rationale for using real-life situations in the programme.

Although constructivism is a learning theory, it is a mode of improving instruction. Stemming from the notion that engaging learners in the meaning-making process are crucial for constructing viable knowledge. Constructivists base learning on prior knowledge, which transforms at a later stage into dynamic, concrete and lasting knowledge. The case studies create the tool for active learning; its parameters include engagement, self-regulation and motivation. The following section will describe each parameter related to constructivism and case-based pedagogy. 

Engagement applied

A fundamental curriculum strand intended to enhance student engagement in discussion teaching. Although discussion empowers the students to generate reality, two principles dominate prior knowledge to guide learning and social collaboration to enhance learning. The principles include cooperative learning, self-observation, and reflection. Educators must ensure that the tasks in the case study build on prior knowledge, invoke problem-solving processes and promote schematic representations of knowledge. Eventually, knowledge acquisition will be enhanced and easily transferred.

Knowledge is created in small group interaction and discussion tied to the clinical situation. Interactive discussion best takes place over favourable learning situations that induce “discovery learning”. The case studies invoke the learner’s internal processing of information. As a result, knowledge becomes viable when learners actively connect the processed data with classroom discussion. The significance of encouraging learners to evaluate the learning process must not be ignored. Effective questioning will enable the learners to identify strategies that foster the educational process. Therefore, educators must seek every opportunity to promote learner engagement in the case-based paradigm.

Discussion teaching fosters the notion of a learning community created by the learners, educators and subject matter. Through team learning, the learners compare their analytic modes, interact with one another, further achievement and improve attitudes towards education. Team learning contributes to building team ethos and synergy; thus, motivating the learners to recognise their input’s value.

Constructivist educators seek to implement strategies that promote learner engagement, emphasising the learning environment and team learning. Since the environment capitalises on “optimal arousal”, the educators are prompted to combine education with context. A movement like this leans on the role of the educators in capturing learners’ attention to the intricate aspects of a learning situation. 

Self-regulation applied

The self-regulated learning has gained widespread interest in higher and general education. Being a premise in the preparation of life-long learners, the means to develop self-regulation skills have captured the attention of the educational theorists. The recognised self-regulation skills are setting goals, deciding on actions to achieve expected learning outcomes, selecting appropriate learning means, and monitoring and evaluating achievement. Self-regulation skills can be taught and promoted using direct (implicit and explicit) and indirect instructional methods. Direct implicit teaching of the self-regulation skills prompts constructivist educators to model the skills by voicing their thought processes using ‘elaboration’, ‘organisation’ and ‘problem-solving’.

Or by engaging the learners in an inquiry process. In explicit promotion, the educators request that learners demonstrate self-regulation by engaging them in the activities designed for this purpose. For indirect promotion, the emphasis is on generating a learning environment guided by content, tasks and instructional strategies. Therefore, the development of self-regulation skills is contingent on how educators lead discussions and trigger the curiosity and interest of the learners. Good case studies can contribute to self-regulation.

The case-based learning stands as an approach to promoting self-directed learning. Being an expansion of self-regulation, the critical features of self-directed learning include autonomy, responsibility, independent inquiry and self-teaching. Although, all the elements influence the learning process, autonomy and accountability are core attributes. Upon the basis of this analysis, the educators must specify activities or tasks that involve learners in building their knowledge (autonomy in construction) and in expanding this knowledge outside the narrow confines of the classroom (responsibility for contextual relevance).

Conscious and voluntary involvement motivates the learner to participate in learning, activating intrinsic interest and motivation. Constructivism applied to the case-based education commends that discovery and self-regulated learning is introduced to the educators and learners before commencing with this approach. Thus, ensuring the effectiveness of the shift. Along the same vein, students and educators must be aware of their new roles and responsibilities in case-based pedagogy.

Learning is the conscious engagement of the students in situations and experiences that help change attitudes and behaviours, develop higher order thinking skills, improve perceptions and construct knowledge. The case-based learning is good pedagogy for setting the attributes mentioned above. Since not a single theory can represent the teaching-learning process, teaching with the case studies requires a strong command of learning theories.

The case-based learning is grounded in behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism; the educators should teach their courses per the principles of these theories. The scarcity of literature on philosophical perspectives related to the case study pedagogy necessitated the in-depth exploration of each learning theory associated with the key challenges arising from the pedagogy. A better understanding of each theory led to the identification of corrective measures and transformative actions, all of which converged on five principles for teaching with cases.

The educators are bound to the educational process through their continuous analysis of the process. These principles create the framework to help analyse and assess the effectiveness of the case method pedagogy.

(The writer is an EdTech expert)