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Case-based instruction has been found to increase student engagement and motivation in engineering classrooms. However, there isa lack of qualitative in-depth examination of student perceptions of the use of cases in engineering. The current study examinedundergraduate engineering students’ perceptions of implementing case studies in a mechanical engineering course, what aspects ofcase studies were beneficial and what aspects were challenging. Twenty-seven students enrolled in an undergraduate mechanicalengineering course were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. The interview protocol asked students about their experienceswhen learning from cases in the course. The interviews were transcribed and coded to develop categories and themes related tostudent views about cases. The interviews produced a rich set of qualitative data, which suggested that students found cases to bebeneficial with regards to allowing them to see real world application of course concepts. Students also reported some challengingaspects of learning from cases, such as frustrations with the ill-structured nature of cases and the inefficient use of class time whenusing cases. Cases offer a potential mechanism to engage students in the classroom, but face resistance and challenges. Hence, itbecomes important for instructors to carefully engage students in the case study approach.
Yadav et al. (Thu,) studied this question.