Isolated versus integrated case studies: A comparison in the context of teaching complex and domain-specific IT applications

Previous research on IT fluency in connection with non-IT majors points at the increasing need for more "realistic" courses teaching the use of complex and domain-specific IT applications. That research also suggests certain desirable course design characteristics, of which one of the most important is the close integration of realistic case study-based material into one single course (as opposed to the less costly alternative of inserting single case study-based material into other courses). This paper describes a study in which the use of case study-based learning modules in an integrated way (i.e., as part of one main course) is compared against the use of those modules in isolation (i.e., inserted into other courses). The modules have been designed to teach complex and domain-specific IT applications in three main domains - anthropology, sociology, and chemistry. The study, which involved 76 undergraduate students, suggests that the integration of modules into one single course, when compared with the option of using the modules in Isolation, significantly increased the level of perceptions of IT's potential for solving complex problems, perceived learning about specialized IT applications, and perceived learning about IT issues in general. The key conclusion of the study is that integration may be a desirable option regardless of the potential extra costs involved. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.