What makes a better case? Impact of case familiarity and story ending on online case-based learning

This study employed a two-by-two factorial design to investigate the effects of case familiarity and story ending as design features on online case-based learning (CBL). A total of 117 students from a graduate-level blended course were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions: familiar success (n = 30), familiar failure (n = 29), unfamiliar success (n = 29), and unfamiliar failure (n = 29) cases. The factorial analysis of variances and social network analysis results indicated that the unfamiliar and failure cases both increased the overall learning achievement, while unfamiliarity alone increased group knowledge construction and individual reflective thinking. An interaction effect was also identified between case familiarity and story ending on learning achievement measured by discussion quality, which suggests the superiority of the unfamiliar failure case in promoting meaningful online discussion. The qualitative analysis of the semi-structured interviews also revealed unique benefits for two types of case narrative design: unfamiliar cases yielded more cognitive and behavioral benefits, while failure cases enhanced analytical thinking. These results can inform the design and implementation of effective online CBL.