Abstract:

A case study has become a teaching method that is commonly used by science teachers. Literature acknowledges the case study as a method that can be used in the classroom as it prepares students for post-secondary achievement. It is the method that seeks to solve the problems which are given as scenarios. The paper sought to explore if teachers acknowledge the case study method as the methodology that promotes critical thinking in science learning. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s social constructivism and Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge. Both theories constructively align with the study since they emphasize that the knowledge is produced through active engagement and the subject matter needs to be driven by using the relevant pedagogy. A qualitative approach was employed in the study. Out of 30 teachers, 10 volunteered to be interviewed, their responses provided the qualitative data for this study. Content analysis was utilised to analyse data collected for the study and the data were coded and categorised to enable thematic analysis. The findings revealed that there are some benefits identified by most teachers that case study promotes critical and analytical thinking, enhance good communication skills, contributes positively to the development of problem-solving and decision-making skills. However, other teachers said that the case study teaching method consumes relatively more time and require specific skills on the part of the teacher. Hence the study recommends that teachers need to work collaborate with other science teachers as well as their science cluster leaders for information sharing.

Keywords:

Case study, teaching method, science learning.