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The effect of emotive case construction on knowledge acquisition and ethical sense-making

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Abstract

The use of ill-structured case examples as an instructional strategy to teach ethical lessons is well-supported in the literature, however, case examples often lack an emotional or affective component. Given the importance of crafting cases for learners, more research is needed to better understand how to construct and present case examples to enhance learning outcomes, specifically related to the influence of emotive content. This study was conducted to assess the effect of emotive content on knowledge acquisition and ethical sense-making. The study employed a posttest-only control group design. Emotive content was defined as information related to the character’s emotional reactions or feelings, background, beliefs, physical appearance, and/or goal focus of the character. Participants were 71 graduate-level Master of Social Work students at a university in the coastal U.S. Results contribute to the growing body of literature regarding the effect of emotion in processing and manipulating complex information. The results suggest that the addition of emotive content to a case example may distract or overwhelm learners. Case examples should be constructed using clear and simple information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Tina Souders

  2. University of Georgia, 221 Rivers Crossing, 850 College Station Road, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Jill Stefaniak

  3. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    John Baaki & Tammi Dice

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Appendices

Appendix A: Case example without emotive content

Kayla is completing her field placement at a family service agency that provides afterschool supportive services for youth and their families. Kayla was assigned to work with Hannah a few weeks into her field placement. Hannah was referred to the program after missing school for several weeks. She had repeatedly been running away from home. Agency records indicate that Hannah was suspected of experiencing sexual abuse from her mother’s brother when the family lived together in a small rural town in the eastern part of the state. Hannah currently lives with her mother who works various part-time jobs and is not home most of the time. Hannah also has an older brother who dropped out of school a few years ago.

To get to know Hannah, Kayla asked about her family and friends. Hannah began to open up to Kayla and even shared some pictures of her family and boyfriend on her cell phone. Kayla shared pictures of her family and boyfriend to build rapport with Hannah. After seeing the photos, Hannah exclaimed, "I have more on Facebook!" and immediately sent Kayla a friend request. Kayla wasn't sure whether she should accept the friend request or not.

Kayla's supervisor at her field placement is Ryan. Ryan asked Kayla to observe a group session with several youth. The focus of the group session was to learn how to manage conflict using I-statements. Ryan and Kayla engaged in a role-play to demonstrate the use of I-statements to the group. Ryan asked Hannah and another group member, Taylor, to try it out using a different role play. In the new role play, Taylor begs Hannah to skip class so the two of them can hang out with their boyfriends. At first, Hannah struggled to use I-statements, but after some prompting from Ryan and Kayla, Hannah describes the effect skipping school would have on her grades. After the group session ended, Kayla pulled Hannah aside to compliment her on her progress.

Later that evening, Kayla wrote on Facebook about her field placement and how much progress Hannah was making. As always, Kayla was careful not to use Hannah’s name. In class the next day, students were asked to provide an update on their field placements. Kayla told the class about the role play and how Hannah was making progress.

For several weeks, Hannah had been attending the after-school program, but this week Kayla notices that Hannah is not there. Ryan didn't know where Hannah was, although Hannah was expected to return to the program and participate in the group session. After overhearing Taylor say something about Hannah, Ryan asked Kayla to check the Internet and social media accounts for any information regarding Hannah's whereabouts. Kayla immediately remembered Hannah's friend request and wondered if she might learn more from her Facebook page if she accepted the friend request and reviewed her posts, as Ryan requested.

Appendix B: Case example with emotive content (bolded)

Kayla, an energetic 22-year-old who is a 4.0 student in her graduate social work program, is completing her field placement at a family service agency that provides after-school supportive services for troubled youth and their families. Kayla is anxious about working with teenagers since she is only a few years older than most of them and looks rather young herself.

Kayla was assigned to work with Hannah a few weeks into her field placement. Hannah is a 14-year-old girl who wears baggy clothes to cover her too-thin body. She rarely smiles and has a serious, sad look on her face most of the time. She was referred to the program after missing school for several weeks. She had repeatedly been running away from home. Agency records indicate that Hannah was suspected of experiencing sexual abuse from her mother’s brother when the family lived together in a small, conservative rural town in the eastern part of the state. Hannah currently lives with her mother who works cleaning houses and at a local bar and is not home most of the time. Hannah also has an older brother who dropped out of school due to drug use a few years ago. Records note that Hannah is a bright, but quiet girl who tends to keep to herself. Kayla felt immediately drawn to Hannah and was invested in helping her.

To get to know Hannah, Kayla asked about her family and friends as she was curious about what Hannah did for fun and what her experiences at home were like. Hannah began to open up to Kayla, which was surprising given her shy nature, and even shared some pictures of her family and boyfriend on her cell phone. Kayla already thought that Hannah was too young for a boyfriend and was even more startled by the boyfriend’s picture. The boyfriend looked like he was in college, but Kayla didn’t want to embarrass Hannah so she kept those thoughts to herself. Kayla couldn’t help but feel worried about Hannah, especially knowing her history of abuse. Still, Kayla shared pictures of her family and boyfriend, along with photos from their most recent trip to the mountains, to build rapport with Hannah. After seeing the photos, Hannah exclaimed, "I have more on Facebook!" and immediately sent Kayla a friend request. Kayla wasn't sure whether she should accept the friend request or not but was thrilled that Hannah was finally opening up to her.

Kayla’s supervisor at her field placement is Ryan. Ryan, a licensed clinical social worker, has been at the agency for almost ten years. Ryan has had really good experiences with other social work students and was eager to work with Kayla since the last intern was recently hired by the agency. Ryan asked Kayla to observe a group session with several youth. The focus of the group session was to learn how to manage conflict using I-statements. Ryan and Kayla engaged in a spirited role play to demonstrate the use of I-statements to the group. Ryan asked Hannah and another group member, Taylor, to try it out using a different role play. In the new role play, Taylor begs Hannah to skip class so the two of them can hang out with their boyfriends. At first, Hannah struggled to use I-statements because she was nervous and intimidated by Taylor, but after some prompting from Ryan and Kayla, Hannah describes the effect skipping school would have on her grades. After the group session ended, Kayla was very proud of Hannah’s ability to demonstrate new skills and privately pulled Hannah aside to compliment her and tell her how delighted she was with her progress. 92 Later that evening, Kayla wrote on Facebook about her field placement and how much progress Hannah was making. As always, Kayla was careful not to use Hannah's name. Kayla felt a sense of pride as she reflected on her professional growth and thought that maybe she could work effectively with teenagers after all. In class the next day, students were asked to provide an update on their field placements. Excitedly, Kayla told the class about the role play and how grateful she was that Hannah was making progress. For several weeks, Hannah had faithfully been attending the after-school program, but this week Kayla notices that Hannah is not there. Kayla was confused and asked Ryan if he knew why Hannah was absent. Ryan didn't know where Hannah was, although Hannah was expected to return to the program and participate in the group session. After overhearing Taylor say something suspicious about Hannah and her boyfriend, Ryan asked Kayla to check the Internet and social media accounts for any useful information regarding Hannah's whereabouts. Kayla immediately remembered Hannah's friend request and wondered if she might learn more from her Facebook page if she accepted the friend request and reviewed her posts, as Ryan requested. Kayla didn't recall reading anything in the agency policies about Facebook but since Ryan asked to her check, she assumed it was okay.

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Souders, T., Stefaniak, J., Baaki, J. et al. The effect of emotive case construction on knowledge acquisition and ethical sense-making. J Comput High Educ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-023-09383-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-023-09383-0

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