Jesus used the good Samaritan case study to teach the scholar. Luke 10:29-37
reads,
“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In
reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was
attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,
leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and
when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he
came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he
traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the
man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he
took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of
these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of
robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told
him, “Go and do likewise.” (“Bible gateway passage: Luke 10:29-37 - New
international version," 2011)”
Case study techniques are beneficial to help people understand a story rather than
to just hear it. Jesus was reaching out to a scholar and knew the best way to reach
him was to challenge his mind. f Jesus used the case study of loving one’s neighbor
to help the scholar see how Jesus wants people to treat each other. He shared three
examples of how people reacted to the hurt man in the story and challenged the
scholar to identify what being a neighbor meant. By using a case study technique,
Jesus made the lesson he was trying to teach more relatable to the student.
I chose this case study example because the article by James, Martinez, & Herbers
(2015) outlined the story of a Good Samaritan as a case study strategy. While I
agree that this story falls in line with a case study, I also think it represents timing.
Jesus has wonderful timing and seems to know the perfect moment to teach us. As
a teacher I want to be able to implement both case studies and timing techniques
into my classroom.
An article on using case studies to teach psychology of disabilities by author
Jennifer Oliver discusses how using case studies helps students develop critical
thinking skills. (Oliver, 2018) Through case studies, students can see different
scenarios and determine the best outcome. When in the classroom I will challenge
my students to develop their own case studies to share amongst each other. Having
students create their own case study helps the students gain a better understanding
of the material and how it applies in everyday life.
The use of the timing technique is important as well. The article, Timing Matters:
Approaches for Measuring and Visualizing Behaviours of Timing and Spacing of Work
in Self-Paced Online Teacher Professional Development Courses, illustrates the
impact of time in a student’s learning process. This article indicates that sometimes
having too much time on one subject or to complete a topic can negatively impact
the student. (Riel et al., 2018) I think it is important as a teacher to be mindful of
what material is being taught in the beginning of the course, the middle, and the end.
I don’t want to overload my students by teaching the bulk of adolescent psychology
on day one. I also don’t want to wait until the very end to get to some of the more
challenging parts of the material. I think timing is important and keeping the material
spaced out evening helps with student retention. Being mindful of other factors that
could interfere with how the student are learning is crucial as well. As a teacher I
need to be cognizant about when final exams are and understanding that students
are often in multiple classes. As a student I have learned that my learning capacity is
different depending on what else I have going on.
In your opinion, how influential is timing and relatable material to your own
education?
References
Bible gateway passage: Luke 10:29-37 - New international version. (2011). Bible
Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%3A29-
37&version=NIV Links to an external site.
James, G., Martinez, E., & Herbers, S. (2015). What can Jesus teach us about student
engagement? Journal of Catholic Education, 19(1), 129-154.
https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.1901062015 Links to an external site.
Olliver, J. (2018). Using Student-Generated Case Studies to Teach the Psychology of
Disabilities. Society of Teaching of Psychology.
Riel, J., Lawless, K. A., & Brown, S. W. (2018). Timing matters: Approaches for
measuring and visualizing behaviours of timing and spacing of work in self-paced
online teacher professional development courses. Journal of Learning Analytics,
5(1). https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2018.51.3
