one size does not fit all

As I have stressed to my students, learning theories are not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. That is, there is no one learning theory that predicts all learning equally well. Rather learning theories provide different tools that all can be put in a teacher's toolbox. So this week we are talking about case-based learning. It is a very interesting theory, and true enough many students can learn many subjects very well through cases. Sometime they can help you learn content that you cannot learn very well without cases. For example, AECT's professional ethics committee presents cases illustrating the application of ethics principles to realistic situations. It helps show how principles can be applied to real situations. And because readers can relate to the situations, they can see how the principle applies to their lives. But what is important in case-based learning is not the cases themselves, but what students do with the cases. Students need to debate the cases, apply principles to them, and so forth to gain the full potential benefits of case-based learning.