Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam VU EduBase
VU Centre for Teaching & Learning Nederlands
← Back to the overview

Case assignment (Case study) – Clinical case study (Medical)

In a case assignment (or case-based education), you have your students come up with a solution to a specific case or situation.

AI resilience: With adjustments

In a case assignment (or case-based education), you have your students come up with a solution to a specific case or situation. The case is often based on a real field situation and requires students to apply their knowledge and skills to solve the challenges. The case assignment is a good way to help and test students on developing their professional skills, such as problem-solving, analysis, communication and collaboration. It can also help promote their understanding of the field and prepare them for real-life situations in the field. A clinical case in the medical field often involves making the right diagnosis and suggesting the right treatment in the process.

There are several ways you can use a case assignment both at individual and group level. Consider:

  • A role-play – your students play a role in the case and make decisions based on their education or future profession. 
  • A business case – your students devise a solution to a problem or challenge within a company or organisation.
  • A legal case – your students devise a solution to a legal problem or dispute.
  • A simulation – your students participate in a simulation of a real situation in which they have to make decisions and consider the consequences.
  • A problem solution – your students devise a solution to a problem or challenge in a specific field, such as a technical solution for an engineer, or a policy solution for a political scientist.

Tip: Guide and support your students in solving the case, e.g. by providing feedback so that they can make timely adjustments.

Want to know more?

See also: FeedbackFruits Peer Review.

VU Taxonomie?

Programme specific skills in applying knowledge and understanding
Interpersonal skills
Oral communication
Written communication
Own reflexive attitude and responsibility in society

Welke totale groepsgrootte?

More than one hundred
Between fifty and one hundred
Up to fifty
Up to twenty five

Welke activiteitsgroepsgrootte?

Individual
Small group (2-4 pers)
Up to twenty fiveUp to fiftyBetween fifty and one hundredMore than one hundredIndividualSmall group (2-4 pers)Programme specific skills in applying knowledge and understandingInterpersonal skillsOral communicationWritten communicationOwn reflexive attitude and responsibility in society