Case It! – A Project To Integrate Collaborative Case-based Learning Into International Undergraduate Biology Curricula Mark Bergland, Karen Klyczek, Kim Mogen, Mary Lundeberg and Douglas Johnson University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Contact information URL for Case It! Home Page: For more information contact: This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under grants DUE and DUE Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.

Case It! Overview Electronic framework for analyzing and discussing case studies in molecular biology Human genetic diseases and associated ethical issues Molecular biology simulation to analyze DNA sequences Web-based “poster sessions” Interactions among high school and university students worldwide

Class use Conferencing this spring involved three universities and three high schools (Wisconsin, North Carolina, London and Australia) Students gather background information on cases using Case It! Investigator (v1.2) and web browser Analyze DNA sequences using the Case It simulation Prepare web-page poster using automated system Poster session via integrated Internet conferencing Role-playing (family members and genetics counselors)

Techniques for DNA analysis Features of Case It! Version 3.0 DNA electrophoresis Restriction enzyme digestion and mapping Southern blotting New features of Case It! Version 4.0 Dot blotting Polymerase Chain Reaction More efficient file management via new floating windows Exports photos in GIF format rather than JPEG format – smaller files and no compression problems

Sample case: sickle-cell disease Steve and Martha are expecting their second child. They know that sickle cell disease runs in both of their families. They want to know whether this child could be affected. Neither they nor their 10-year-old daughter, Sarah, have shown any symptoms of the disease. They decide to have DNA tests to determine the status of the fetus, as well as to find out whether they in fact are carriers of the disease gene.

Sample case: sickle-cell disease

Ethical issues  Should someone with a family history of sickle-cell disease be required to undergo testing? Should they have children if they test positive, or if they have not been tested?  Should the results of such tests be made available to insurance companies? to potential employers? to potential mates?  If a genetics counselor was asked about the possibility of an abortion, how should the counselor respond?

Sample case: Breast Cancer While Elizabeth is reading the morning newspaper, she notices an ad for a free genetic screening for breast cancer at the clinic next week. The ad specifically invites women of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry to participate. According to the newspaper ad, subjects will be tested to see whether they have mutations in the BRCA1 gene which would predispose them to breast cancer. Elizabeth, age 27, had heard about the discovery of the gene and about the mutation linked to Jewish women...

Sample case continued Her paternal grandmother had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 51 and died two years later, and Elizabeth worried that she had inherited the disease. She also worried about her mother, age 52 and apparently cancer-free so far, and her 7-year old daughter. Her daughter is not allowed to participate in the screening, but Elizabeth convinces her mother to go with her to get tested.

Results of dot blot for Breast Cancer Case A

Ethical issues 3If either Elizabeth or her mother test positive, is a prophylactic double mastectomy appropriate? 3If Elizabeth talks her mother into getting tested, how does the counselor deal with the hard feelings that might result if Elizabeth tests negative and her mother tests positive? 3Who should have access to these test results? 3Does the daughter have the right to know the results? She is only seven now, but what about when she is 16? 3Should this type of screening be mandatory?

Poster creation and conferencing Original system: Taught students how to use a commercial web page editor to create web page "posters", which were stored in each student's personal server space at UWRF, not in a central location Used WebCT to create discussion forums for each student group Manually created web page to link student posters and discussion forums

Poster creation and conferencing Problems with original approach: Logistically cumbersome and time-consuming Difficult to make links to discussion forums using newest version of WebCT Not easy to add new schools to the system, since everything had to be done manually Took too much time to teach students how to use commercial web page editor

Poster creation and conferencing Solution: Create our own integrated system Simple web-page editor to put together posters with minimal training Simple conferencing system that is easy to use but has necessary administrative functions Easy integration of posters and discussion forums Automated way for instructors at remote locations to add student groups to the Case It Launch Pad

Use of Case It web page editor Students sign in with group username and password, then select their name from a list Ability to add new sections to poster and edit existing sections Text and graphics automatically uploaded to server at UW-River falls No knowledge of html required "Preview" or "publish" poster

Students log in to edit their web page Use "test01" for name and "7rUI" for password

Setting up the basic web page design

Adding sections to the web page

Formatting a section, adding content

Adding images to the web page

Multiple sections can be added to the web page

www = links to posters

Use of Case It conferencing system Each student group has its own forum Student name and institution then automatically appended to any messages they send or reply to Instructor can get tally of total messages sent by individual students, or compilation of all messages sent to a particular group Feature to be added this summer: automated system for adding student groups to Launch Pad

balloon icons = links to discussion forums

R = summary of messages sent by individual students

Assessment Case-based simulation enhanced interest, especially for female students Students, particularly females, became more confident in their knowledge Females improved significantly more than males in pre- test/post-test comparisons For more information on assessment contact

Student quotes "Case It! was definitely effective in my learning and understanding of genetic testing. Not only effective, but also interesting. Having a particular case and defect to figure out drove the information home. Very good program for college biology students. " "I learned more [from this experience], than I have ever learned in any science class! Plus, there was an actual end result that we could be proud of. I definitely think this helped and you should keep it going."

Invitation to participate We welcome participation in the Case It! Project at no cost to educators High school and university educators are invited to participate All you need is an internet connection; everything is uploaded to the UWRF server Contact