Successful use of case studies in an online physiology course

Abstract

As institutions respond to the need for greater flexibility in access to higher education, there has been increasing emphasis in offering distance education courses. To address this need, an online graduate course in physiology using case studies was offered at WCU. Topics in both animal and human physiology were organized as modules that contained a case study with questions, a pre‐recorded online lecture, and 3 research journal articles. We followed best practices for teaching and learning in distance education including preparation of materials before the course starting date, a discussion board for responding to pre‐ and post case discussion questions, and prompt reply to student queries. For exams, students generated their own questions based on unfamiliar cases and developed their own case study for the final project. Although only 20% of students had previously taken an online course, all students would recommend this course to others. Formative assessment indicated that students found cases interesting, informative, and presented at the appropriate level. Most students said that the online course took them more time; they learned more content and used the primary literature more than a traditional class. Our results indicate that a well‐organized physiology course using a case study format is a very effective model for online learning.