How do Students use the case studies?

Case Study Sets provide students with realistic applications to strengthen your understanding and enhance your problem-solving skills while exploring new content.

The case study sets are divided into three levels to allow you to progress from:

Level A - information gathering, to Level B - analyzing the information, and eventually to Level C - synthesizing the information.

Each Case Study Set contains a series of STAR Sheets. The STAR sheets describe strategies used to complete the assignments for the Level A, B, and C case studies.

Elements of each case study

• Background - student information
• Scenario - A description of a hypothetical situation that requires a teacher's response. In Levels A and B, goals for the target child are provided. At Level C, no goals are provided, identifying goals is part of the assignment. In addition, at Level C, Areas of Strength for the target child are provided to assist in the development of goals.
• Possible Strategies - Multiple strategies are suggested to respond to each scenario. For each strategy, a STrategy And Resource (STAR) sheet is included. The same STAR sheets may be used for each level. STAR sheets contain a description of the strategy, an explanation of how it is implemented, what research says about the strategy, information resources and references, and descriptions of any research-based programs available. This is where respondents will get the information they need to understand and answer the assignment questions.
• Assignment - At Levels A, assignments allow students to show that they understand the Possible Strategies for that case. In addition, at Level B, students also need to be able to analyze the information presented in the STAR sheets. At the most complex level, C, students are also required to compare and defend their application of specific strategies.

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