Case histories were added to the BISC318 Parasitology lab at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby British Columbia, Canada) and the lab exams were changed to match this new format. The case histories resembled parasitological whodunnits, consisting of a patient background, pictures, as well as knowledge testing questions. Each group of 3-4 students was given four randomly assigned case histories per lab. The groups worked through the histories one by one, discussing their results with an instructor. The lab exams were individual assessments and consisted of ten novel case histories. An anonymous student survey after the lab midterm in 2018 revealed that students preferred the case history exam format; that the difficulty was matched (or harder) to other types of lab exams; and demonstrated their knowledge better. The 2018/2019 case history classes did as well or better on all types of lab exam questions and earned higher overall grades for the course.
Keywords: teaching laboratory, active learning, case study, parasitology, case history
University of Ottawa (2019)
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