CASE

What is CASE?

CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) is an intervention strategy designed to accelerate the cognitive development of pupils towards higher level thinking skills as they move from KS1, through KS2 to KS3. The teaching materials are based on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky so that the pupils become better learners and not just in science. In North Yorkshire the projects in each Key Stage have great similarities as well as clear differences to take account of the maturity of the pupils. Each has its own support materials so after the teachers have finished the initial training they find the activities easy to adapt and implement in their classrooms.

However a word of warning. This is an intervention strategy and successful CASE teaching requires a radical departure from the usual National Curriculum teaching practices. As a consequence in North Yorkshire we believe that this makes training an essential pre-requisite to implementing CASE as this will ensure that the appropriate learning opportunities are provided to enable the pupils' cognitive development to accelerate and therefore achieve success in external tests.

CASEny and the National Science Strategy

The National Curriculum
The QCA Site has its own web pages

The National Science Strategy
Thinking skills are an important part of the National Science Strategy and the Science Framework, under Effective Lessons, and they identify the following strategies:-

questions used throughout to challenge thinking;

time to assess informally the extent to which pupils develop their understanding of key scientific ideas;

extended discussion so that pupils have opportunities to air views, articulate ideas and hear the views of others;

the use of models and analogies to aid pupils' understanding.

The Plenary, too, is an important part of a science strategy lesson and teachers are encouraged to:-

help pupils to reflect on the lesson, say what was important about it and consider the progress they have made;

draw out from pupils and highlight the key learning points, such as facts, ideas, and vocabulary;

get them to think abut haw they might apply the new ideas\ by showing how the ideas can be used and where they fit in.

These are all strategies designed to help pupils' develop their thinking and all of them are a part of the CASE strategy.

CASE links to External Websites

CLEAPSS provide information on their CD Rom with reference to the kit and health and safety.

CASE Network Last updated in 2002

Keele University CASE Website
Some very useful information and good tips for technicians

Nelson Thornes Publisher
Free evaluation material and costs of the various CASE at KS3 packages

From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms
DfES world wide research into thinking skills approaches by Prof. Carol McGuiness (click link) showed that apart from CASE, the other approaches had not been sufficiently evaluated to show that they made a significant difference in external rests. She found five key characteristics of successful practice and they have been built into CASE in North Yorkshire.

CASE in North Yorkshire

Primary CASE
Secondary CASE