How to implement case teaching in the new curriculum of geography in senior high school

Case teaching method refers to a teaching method that teachers explain and organize students to discuss cases according to the needs of teaching objectives, and guide students to learn, understand and master general laws, principles, methods and operational experiments from actual cases, so as to effectively combine theoretical knowledge with practical skills.

Case teaching method can be simply defined as a method of teaching by using cases. The geography case teaching method is a teaching method in regional geography teaching, which selects some typical cases that imply geographical concepts and principles and students are familiar with, and obtains geographical knowledge and ability through the exploration of these cases.

1. The value of case teaching in geography teaching in senior high school.

(1) Promote students' geographical thinking. Because cases often provide geographical facts and situations, students need to analyze, synthesize, abstract and summarize the knowledge elements and basic principles implied in cases, so as to grasp the core content, explore the essential characteristics and train the profundity of thinking from the complicated geographical elements. At the same time, through the learning process of analogy, extension, migration simulation and analogy evaluation, students can be guided to think fluently, let them express their independent opinions, put forward their own thinking methods and problem-solving methods, and expand the breadth of students' thinking with the multiple results of case analysis. Therefore, case teaching is conducive to promoting students' geographical innovative thinking ability.

(2) Cultivate students' comprehensive quality. Case teaching has changed the single-channel knowledge transfer mode, so that students have more room for self-development in their studies, and there are more information transfer, emotional exchange and intentional exchange between teachers and students. In the process of case study, students not only need to understand, but also need to express and communicate, which is conducive to the formation of a harmonious teaching environment and cooperation among group members, and plays a great role in cultivating students' healthy learning psychology and individual comprehensive quality.

(3) Realize the unity of teaching and learning. The most obvious performance of case teaching is the interaction between teachers and students and the synchronization of teaching. Teachers are responsible for guiding students to participate in the learning process. How to let students enter the problem situation, using cases is one of the effective ways, because cases provide a wide range of problem situations and free thinking space, and students have more room to think about problems, which can better reflect students' main role, especially exploring cases.

(4) Case teaching is a bridge between theory and practice. Case teaching usually presents some real typical problems to students and requires them to put themselves in their shoes to respond, thus providing them with an opportunity to contact and deal with a large number of practical problems in a short time without really going deep into practice. When students analyze cases, on the one hand, they constantly form a theoretical vision and master case analysis skills. On the other hand, we are also exploring how to apply theory to learning practice, so as to promote the transformation from theory to practice in time and effectively, and truly combine theory with practice. For example; Urban planning, environmental protection and sustainable development, industrial and agricultural transportation location can all achieve the teaching purpose through the analysis of specific cases.

(5) Case teaching can stimulate students' emotions. Reading those vivid and lifelike cases can often impress students' emotions. With the vivid teaching of teachers and the active participation of students, students' understanding is improved, their emotions are stimulated, and their understanding and emotions are organically combined to form a firm teaching belief.

Second, the new curriculum standards for case teaching requirements

In 2003, the Ministry of Education issued a new "Geography Curriculum Standard for Ordinary Senior High Schools (Experiment)". In the teaching requirements of regional development, the requirements of case teaching are clearly put forward: in the part of "regional sustainable development", select areas that meet the theme of "standard", compile teaching materials, and carry out teaching by case analysis, and stipulate that at least three China cases and 1 foreign cases should be selected in this part. There are two obvious differences between the embodiment of case teaching in curriculum standards and the current syllabus: First, because the teaching of regional development content has changed from elective to compulsory, case teaching has actually become one of the basic ways of geography learning in senior high schools. Second, the curriculum standards no longer stipulate the regional cases that must be studied. Although in most textbooks, it is likely to choose those cases stipulated in the current syllabus, the setting of curriculum standards is of great significance to promote the further setting of geography courses in senior high schools and adapt to the specific geographical conditions in various regions. At the same time, it also reflects the essence of case teaching more clearly, "learning principles through cases rather than just learning specific fields"

Third, the implementation strategy of case teaching method

1. Before class: Carefully select and write cases.

In order to successfully use case teaching method in class, it is very important to choose cases before class. Generally speaking, the following principles should be grasped when selecting and writing cases.

(1) Typical and targeted. That is to say, the selected teaching cases should help students draw the expected geographical laws and conclusions, reflect the typical characteristics and general laws of geographical events, and reveal the internal relations and geographical principles of the cases.

(2) the richness and completeness of the content. In other words, the case should be relatively complete and informative from the explanation of the background to the description of the problem situation, which can make students think and make decisions in the specific situation of the case, and it is possible to analyze and explain it from all aspects, providing students with space for exploration.

(3) Situational and readability. Situational cases refer to cases that can provide specific, detailed and typical geographical background materials, and can easily let students enter the specific situation of a problem, stimulate students' curiosity and realize the communication between thinking and situation. The readability of cases refers to the value that cases can attract students to read and increase their learning experience.

(4) Interest and difficulty. Interesting means that the case should be lively and interesting, rich in content and close to students' life. Difficulty means that the selection of cases should consider the age characteristics and cognitive level of students, so that the difficulty is appropriate. Too difficult cases often make students unable to start because of insufficient knowledge reserves, and then lose interest in participating; Too simple cases not only reduce the requirements of teaching, but also are not conducive to the exercise of students' thinking.

2. Classroom: Carefully arrange teaching.

As a relatively mature teaching method, case teaching method has a relatively stable operation mode. In the classroom, we should make clear the teaching purpose and arrange the teaching carefully. Teachers should play the role of organizer, catalyst and guide in each teaching link to ensure the smooth progress of teaching activities.

(1) Provide and show the case. Teachers will show carefully selected cases in various ways to guide students to read effectively. Through reading, students are placed in an immersive scene and a space for multi-faceted thinking, laying the foundation for future discussion and communication.

(2) Ask questions to stimulate students to analyze and discuss cases. After students enter the case scenario, teachers should ask students pre-designed questions and guide students to conduct case analysis around these questions. Specifically, case analysis is to adhere to the principles of "three combinations" and "three haves"-that is, "combining the content of the case, combining the questions raised and combining the relevant theories" and "reasonable and orderly".

(3) Summarize the evaluation cases and return to the teaching content (geographical knowledge and principles of geographical laws). After analyzing the case, the teacher should arrange for students to report the analysis results and organize students to comment. Summarize regular knowledge to help students form a complete cognitive system.

(4) case transfer (expanding new cases and solving new problems) to improve learning ability. The focus of case teaching is not the study of the case itself, but the students' mastery of geographical principles and the methods of analyzing geographical problems by using geographical principles. Case teaching that ignores knowledge and methods is not a real case teaching, but a "teaching case".

3. After class: reflect in time.

In order to make better use of case teaching method in teaching practice, teachers should reflect on the following aspects in time after class: whether the selection of cases is reasonable; Whether the organization of teachers is in place; How many students are involved; Whether the case analysis is profound; Discuss whether the atmosphere is harmonious; Whether the evaluation is scientific and reasonable; Innovation, shortcomings and so on. This kind of reflection is critical and summative, which is helpful to theorize the teaching experience.

Fourth, the current case teaching errors and countermeasures

At present, the common misunderstandings in case teaching are:

(1) Teaching case selection is not properly written. On the one hand, the case content is simple, and the theoretical content is not much, so students can understand it at a glance. Then case teaching becomes an example reading class, and the purpose of inspiring students' thinking, learning relevant knowledge and cultivating practical ability cannot be achieved. On the other hand, the selected cases should not be too difficult and complicated, and the cases are too difficult, which is beyond the students' actual acceptance ability. Most students feel that they can't start, express their opinions, analyze and discuss, let alone solve problems, which leads to the failure of teaching activities. Generally speaking, a good case has the following characteristics: it describes an interesting and true story; Related to teaching content and students' interests; There are enough information related to decision-making and main figures quoted more directly; Thought-provoking, there is room for debate; It fully embodies the practical value of the theory and skills needed to solve problems.

(2) Teachers "teach cases" and students "recite cases". Teachers overemphasize the integrity of knowledge system, teach case materials as knowledge system, and even ask students to recite cases. Teachers must be familiar with the case content and conduct in-depth research before class, and also prepare the knowledge that may be involved in case discussion. If the preparation is not sufficient, it is easy to fall into the misunderstanding of "teaching case".

(3) Case teaching ignores the teaching of knowledge and methods. This kind of mistake often happens to some old teachers. They wear new shoes and stick to the old ways, follow the book, put knowledge first, overemphasize the integrity of the knowledge system, supplement a lot of content with the earliest old textbooks, and teach case materials as part of the knowledge system, requiring students to memorize cases by rote. In fact, the focus of case teaching is not the study of the case itself, but the students' mastery of geographical principles and the methods of analyzing geographical problems by using geographical principles. Case teaching that ignores knowledge and methods is not a real case teaching, but also a "teaching case".

(4) Misunderstanding of the role of teachers: either as a "speaker", or as an "arbiter" or as a laissez-faire. This kind of mistake often happens to some new teachers. In the process of using case teaching, teachers often unconsciously fall into such a role misunderstanding: ① or let students discuss and debate by themselves after providing cases; (2) Or act as a "spokesperson" across the past and only express your opinions from beginning to end; (3) Or act as an "arbitrator" to cross disputes between students. In either case, it will not be conducive to the effect of case teaching, and even directly lead to the failure of case teaching. Let it go with the flow, because without necessary guidance, the whole classroom will be in a mess; Students become pure audience as soon as they get involved, which is not conducive to mobilizing students' thinking; Crossing right and wrong can easily damage students' enthusiasm.

In view of the misunderstanding of case teaching, the countermeasures should be taken:

(1) Select and compile local geography, or cases familiar to students, or cases adapted from textbooks, activity classes and problem research. (1) Teachers should always collect and quote some vivid and real cases, present them to students in a certain background and process, and pay attention to the plot of the cases. The materials and narrative methods given should arouse students' interest, make them feel novel and have the desire to explore. ② "Activity" and "Problem Study" are the organic components of the textbook. Choosing "activity and problem research" as an extended case can cultivate students' exploration of geographical problems and realize knowledge transfer. Northwest is a typical case selected in the first section of Chapter 2 of the Compulsory Third Edition of People's Education Publishing House. "Analysis of natural and socio-economic factors of desertification in the Sahel region of Africa" and "Reclamation area in the former Soviet Union" are two extended cases, which can help students realize knowledge transfer. The research on whether dams should be built on rivers is a good case of comprehensive development of rivers.

(2) Study curriculum standards and avoid "teaching cases". For example, in the first section of "Geographical Environment and Regional Development", the first chapter of compulsory geography of People's Education Press, one of the requirements of the curriculum standard is: "Take two different regions as an example, compare the regional differences between natural environment and human activities". The textbook compares the differences between natural geographical environment from four aspects: geographical location, climatic conditions, land conditions and mineral resources, and compares the differences between production activities from agriculture and secondary and tertiary industries. If it is a "teaching case", students will think that all regional comparisons are made from the above aspects. The key of this part of teaching is to teach students analytical methods and guide them to make similar analysis by using the methods they have learned. Let students know that the differences in natural geographical environment are mainly reflected in geographical location, topography, climate, hydrology, biology, soil, mineral resources and so on. The differences of human activities are mainly reflected in agriculture, industry, population, cities, transportation, commerce, policy, science and education, culture, market, historical basis and so on. In order to avoid "teaching cases" and make case teaching proceed smoothly and orderly, teachers should "be aware of the obstacles that students may encounter when analyzing cases and imagine the problems that students may ask in the discussion". You can send the cases needed in class to students in advance, so that they can have time to consult the materials and analyze the problems involved in the cases in detail.

(3) Pay attention to the transfer of knowledge and methods. Taking the teaching in Ruhr district, a typical case of traditional industrial zone, as an example, this paper analyzes its location advantages and the main reasons for its decline, and explores comprehensive improvement measures. The focus of students' study is to extract the general law of the development of traditional industrial areas from cases (from the aspects of resource utilization, industrial structure adjustment and environmental protection). ), and then explore the main countermeasures that can be taken to revitalize the old industrial base in Northeast China. Therefore, the transmission of knowledge and methods is the key to the success or failure of case teaching.

In case teaching, expanding cases is an effective means to realize thinking transfer. In the section of "desertification control", two extended cases ("red desertification" and "stony desertification") can help students realize thinking transfer. This is the same problem of desertification. Although the natural environment and social background are different, unfavorable factors in natural conditions and unreasonable human activities are the same causes of desertification, which is the same idea to analyze the causes of desertification in different regions. At the same time, we should also increase the expansion cases of other eco-environmental problems in teaching, such as forest destruction, grassland degradation, wetland shrinkage, sharp decline in biodiversity, soil erosion and so on, so as to promote the transfer of thinking, methods and knowledge between different types of eco-environmental problems.

(4) Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and effective teaching. Case teaching is based on the analysis and research of a large amount of information. If case teaching involves regional geographical knowledge, students' relevant geographical knowledge is weak, which will inevitably affect the effective implementation of case teaching. Most of the cases in the textbooks are selected classic cases with strong demonstration and wide geographical coverage. Therefore, case teaching must consider the characteristics of students' living area, knowledge base and learning ability, choose cases that students are familiar with as much as possible, or supplement relevant background materials to reduce the teaching difficulty. For example, in the teaching of "City and Urbanization" in the second chapter of geography compulsory course II of People's Education Press, we can repeatedly take Xi 'an, a familiar city near students' life, as an example for analytical teaching. In the teaching of "the influence of traffic layout changes" in the second quarter of Chapter V, students can choose local cases that they are familiar with for analysis, or as a supplement to the teaching materials.

Case teaching is open, which puts forward higher requirements for teachers' knowledge structure and teaching ability. Students need to spend more time analyzing and exploring cases. Therefore, case teaching has its limitations and traditional teaching methods also have their advantages. Not all the contents are suitable for case teaching, so we should choose different teaching methods according to the teaching contents. Other teaching methods should also be infiltrated into case teaching.

(5) Correctly positioning the role of teachers: that is, teachers should be good at "three guides" in the process of case discussion, that is, "navigation, tour guide and director". That is to say, we should not only be good at listening to students' speeches, but also induce students to ask questions in time, or set puzzles, or act as an argument counter-angle, so that the speeches in the case discussion can always be carried out smoothly around the topic center, and at the same time, the arguments in the discussion can be deepened, which will promote students' understanding of the problem and deepen their understanding of knowledge. In case analysis and discussion, the teacher's main duty is to create an atmosphere conducive to learning, guide and organize students' discussion. Teachers should avoid becoming the center of discussion, be good at controlling the case discussion process, give as many students as possible the opportunity to participate in the discussion, ensure that the discussion scope does not deviate from the theme, and encourage "a hundred schools of thought contend". Teachers can make brief comments on students' speeches, but generally they don't judge directly, so it's best not to guide them. Unless there is only one correct answer or the whole class can't get the answer, teachers should try to avoid giving positive opinions or answers. Teachers might as well be confused about the questions that students ask their teachers, such as "Who is right" and "What is the right answer". They should answer with words like "So-and-so's statement is very insightful, but so-and-so's point of view is also very reasonable", instead of answering directly, let alone judging categorically. This is because there is no "only right" answer to some questions, and teachers' opinions are not necessarily "standard" or "best". What's more, the purpose of case teaching is mainly to improve students' ability to think and analyze problems, rather than to let them remember one or two correct conclusions. After the case discussion, teachers can summarize several representative analysis ideas and countermeasures according to the objectives of case teaching and students' analysis and exchange of cases, clarify their basis, highlight the focus of debate in the discussion, and make their own analysis and explanation by using relevant principles and students' existing understanding to provide reference for students. In short, as a teacher of the "general director", we must have a correct sense of role.

To sum up, case teaching is a unique form of learning, which can give full play to the leading role of teachers and the subjectivity of students. Teachers should not only guide students to think, demonstrate, choose and make decisions, but also pay attention to let students gain some experience, understanding and learning skills and methods from case discussions, and form correct emotions, attitudes and values.