How to Use Case Studies in Middle School

The Fish Kill Mystery case study is an outstanding example of how to engage middle school students in an authentic, real life problem. The process skills practiced and the content being lea... See More

The Fish Kill Mystery case study is an outstanding example of how to engage middle school students in an authentic, real life problem. The process skills practiced and the content being learned shows how this teaching method can successfully be used to increase student learning and provide that hands-on, minds-on connection. The authors explain how they adapted a case study taken from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science where teachers can find case studies covering a broad spectrum of science disciplines. The authors show how to successfully implement this teaching method with middle school students. When students have a reason for finding out answers they learn to think and act like scientists. This is an outstanding article in that it provides a framework in how to modify and conduct case studies in the middle school grades.