Abstract:

Case-based learning is frequently used in vocational education to support coherence between theory and professional practices. While previous research has highlighted its potential, few studies have explored the pedagogical challenges students face during case-based learning activities. The voices of pre-service teachers are particularly valuable because they can evaluate learning activities and conduct didactic analyses. Simultaneously, they occupy an in-between position as both students and future teachers, placing them in a strong position to identify challenges in case-based teaching, including issues related to subject understanding, learning processes, and the transfer of learning to professional practice. This study examines fourth-year pre-service teachers’ experiences with case-based learning activities in a pedagogy course structured around a semester-long framework.

The course was designed around a series of interconnected cases illustrating everyday situations that may occur during a school day. These situations were developed within fictitious schools and classes. Teacher educators developed a framework narrative describing the school’s structure, traditions, staff, and leadership, as well as a fictitious class and co-teacher. To enhance realism, visual and audio materials were created, including images of the school’s principal, staff, and students. All cases were aligned with the content of the pedagogy courses. This study draws on data from five focus group interviews with 25 pre-service teachers conducted at the end of the semester. The interviews examined students’ experiences with the learning activities, use of cases, and the role of theory in case discussions. A reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify pedagogical challenges in case-based learning activities by focusing on shared patterns across participants’ experiences.

The data analysis results show that pre-service teachers’ experienced the case-based learning activities as relevant and closely connected to professional practice while also identifying several pedagogical challenges. A recurring challenge was unclear academic expectations, particularly related to how theoretical perspectives were expected to be integrated and used in case discussions. Pre-service teachers described a tension between open, student-led discussions and the need for clearer pedagogical guidance and synthesis by the teacher. The case-based activities were also experienced as time-consuming and cognitively demanding, especially when pre-service teachers’ preparation for the campus learning activities and engagement in working with cases varied across groups. Finally, students pointed to limited continuity and progression between cases and expressed the need for stronger didactic structuring, including clearer connections, sequencing, and consequences across learning activities.

This study provides insights into pre-service teachers’ experiences and pedagogical evaluations of case-based learning activities in teacher education in Norway. The findings suggest that case-based learning can support professional learning when implemented as a coherent course design; however, its educational value depends on careful planning, structured facilitation, and sustained attention to the relationship between theory and practice.

Keywords:

Case-based teaching, fictive school, case in teacher education, pre-service teachers, challenges.