Barcelona, Spain.

*Corresponding author: fmendez@iisaragon.es

Recibido 2023-05-16. Aceptado 2023-06-15

Resumen

como analizar la relación con la percepción de autoeficacia. Metodología: Se desarrolló un estudio

descriptivo transversal. 111 alumnos realizaron ambas actividades ABC (deductivo e inductivo). Ambas

actividades de aprendizaje versaron sobre con contenidos teóricos de psicología de grupos. Las

variables recogidas fueron: puntuación de la actividad, satisfacción con cada actividad, calificación del

examen teórico y percepción de autoeficacia. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo, correlacional y

comparativo mediante t-Student de muestras relacionadas. Resultados: Las calificaciones de la

actividad ABC inductiva fueron significativamente más elevadas frente a las calificaciones de la

actividad ABC deductiva (p=0,042). El nivel de satisfacción de los alumnos en el ítem de ayuda a pensar

críticamente fue evaluado más favorablemente en la actividad de ABC deductivo (p=0,029). La relación

entre la calificación de la actividad de ABC inductiva y la calificación obtenida en el examen teórico

Abstract

Introduction: Case-Based Learning (CBL) teaching methodology is an active learning methodology that

generates a higher level of student participation and significant learning. The aim of this study was to

analyse and compare a CBL activity using deductive reasoning (analyse and extract theoretical

concepts in a case provided for this purpose) and a CBL activity using inductive reasoning (create a

case by implicitly introducing theoretical concepts) in terms of academic performance and student

satisfaction, as well as to analyse the relationship of the latter with the perception of self-efficacy.

Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was developed. 111 students performed both CBL

activities (deductive and inductive). Each learning activity dealt with theoretical contents of group

grade of the inductive CBL activity and that obtained in the theoretical exam was significant. There

was no correlation between any of the activities and the perceived self-efficacy of the students.

Conclusions: The CBL activity with inductive reasoning is more effective to achieve academic

performance and the satisfaction with the activities evaluated by the students is high.

Keywords: Activity learning; Methodology; Reasoning; Academic achievement

INTRODUCTION

The European Higher Education Area shifts the emphasis from a teacher-led knowledge transfer

model to a student-centred competency-based learning model. Therefore, active learning

methodologies have gained prominence in the classroom as they provide a higher degree of student

involvement, greater dynamism in learning and higher interaction with the contents (Graeff, 2010;

Kober, 2015).

technique in the construction of a diagnosis, decision making, the development of critical thinking,

the improvement of social and communicative skills, and the learning of teamwork (Escartín et al.,

2015; Leonard y Cook, 2010; Piqué Simón y Forés Miravalles, 2012; Popil, 2011). These learning

activities are especially useful for applying theoretical contents to practice, to real or fictitious

situations, providing meaningful learning (Escartín et al., 2015). In addition, this methodology is

usually applied in groups, which facilitates collaborative learning and enhances the learning process

(Bergmann y Sams, 2012; Peng et al., 2021; Piqué Simón y Forés Miravalles, 2012).

CBL methodology has been widely used in the social sciences, and especially in university teaching in

social work (Escartín et al., 2015; Fernández García y Ponce de León Romero, 2011; Gómez-Poyato et

al., 2020; Oliván Blázquez et al., 2019; Olivan-Blázquez et al., 2022a; Oliván-Blázquez et al., 2022b).

theoretical concepts seen in the subject) (Escartín et al., 2015). It is also interesting to analyse the

relationship with the perception of self-efficacy, since this psychological construct predicts

performance. The higher the perception of self-efficacy, the better the performance of academic tasks

(Bandura, 1977). Self-efficacy can be defined as "people's beliefs about their abilities to produce

designated levels of performance that exert influence on the events that affect their lives" (Bandura,

1994). This concept has been studied in educational contexts, analysing its relationship with CBL

teaching methodology (Bi et al., 2019; Keshmiri et al., 2021; Ramos-Villagrasa et al., 2017; Zhu et al.,

development of educational interventions, but it has not been analysed regarding correlation.

To our knowledge, there are few studies that address the difference of the CBL method from an

inductive or deductive approach (Newson y Delatte, 2011; Oliván-Blázquez et al., 2022a). Newson and

Delatte (2011) analysed CBL with inductive or deductive reasoning from a theoretical perspective in

relationship between self-efficacy perception, the grades obtained in both learning activities and the

grade of the theoretical exam.

METHODS

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional study of the comparison of related samples conducted. 111 students

distributed into 27 groups developed a learning activity based on CBL using a deductive or inductive

approach. The deductive approach activities were presented with a case and students had to analyse

and identify the theoretical concepts of the subject that appeared in it. Inductive approach groups

were instructed to create and write a case story in which they had to introduce certain theoretical

between February and March 2023.

At the University of Zaragoza, in the degree of Social Work, each student receives four hours of

classroom teaching per week: two hours of theoretical material and two hours of activities where

students learn how to apply theoretical content to practise (practical classes). The CBL activities

indicated in this study were developed during the practical classes. The teacher leading the activities

was the same for all students and had ten years of previous experience teaching this subject.

Participants

The participants were students enrolled in the subject "Social Work with Groups" at the University of

Zaragoza (Spain) during the academic year 2022-2023 who met the continuous assessment criteria by

attending more than 80% of the practical classes.

To calculate the sample size, we used the study by Oliván et al. (2022a). In this study, the mean and

standard deviation (SD) of the rating of the deductive CBL activity was 8.78 (SD: 0.85), and the mean

The primary variable in this experimental study was academic performance, assessed by the score

obtained in both deductive and inductive CBL activities. This grade was assessed between 0 and 10,

with 0 being the lowest grade and 10 being the maximum grade. In the case of the deductive CBL

activity, the grade was obtained on the number of concepts correctly identified in the text and

correctly explained, while in the inductive CBL activity it was based on the correct application of the

theoretical concepts in the story created.

The secondary variables were the academic performance obtained in the exam of the group

psychology part of the subject, the students' satisfaction with the activity performed and the

perception of self-efficacy.

The academic performance achieved in the exam was assessed by means of the grade obtained in the

assessed were the following: "the teaching methodology used has promoted new knowledge"; "it has

favoured deep learning"; "it has helped me to think more critically"; "it has helped me to apply

theoretical contents to practice"; "it has helped me to apply theoretical contents to assessments"; "it

has helped me to better understand the concepts"; "I think it is a good exercise". A free response

section was also included so that students could express themselves openly.

The perception of self-efficacy was assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) (Baessler y

Schwarzer, 1996), following the adaptation of Sanjuán et al. (2000). This scale measures the

perception of general self-efficacy (not specific to any type of academic activity) (Sanjuán Suárez et

al., 2000). It consists of 10 items, evaluated on a Likert-type scale with a range between 0 and 10,

where 0 equals to "strongly disagree" and 10 to "strongly agree". The internal consistency of the

adaptation is α = 0.91. In this study, the Cronbach's alpha obtained was 0.917.

Grades were also obtained for age, sex, and university admission (range 0 to 14 points). These factors

norm, status, leadership, and group communication.

Procedure

These activities were developed in groups, during class time, in consecutive weeks. Both activities

focused on the application of theory to the practice of the contents taught in the social psychology

(group psychology) part of the subject. These contents were: 1) conception, meaning and types of

groups; 2) group development processes, cohesion, conflict, obedience, group violence, and group

decision making; 3) group structure: definition, status, roles, norms, and group culture; 4) leadership;

and 5) other group characteristics such as communication and empathy.

The deductive CBL activity consisted in the reading of two cases or stories provided by the subject

teachers. The students, working in groups, had to read, analyse, identify the theoretical concepts

types of roles, role conflict, deviation from the norm, status, leadership style based on some theory

seen in class, and group communication. This activity was also developed in 120 minutes.

Ethical Aspect

All procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the 1975 Declaration of

Helsinki, as revised in 2008. Since the project involves the collection and processing of personal data,

including personal information; the collection, processing, communication, and transfer of personal

data of all participating subjects must comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection

Regulation (EU) (GDPR 2016/679) and the applicable national legislation, Organic Law 3/2018,

December 5, on Personal Data Protection. In addition, all individuals in the sample have given their

consent for their data to be anonymised and used only for the purposes and publication of the results

of this study.

Data Analysis

and all satisfaction items. Third, in order to analyse the relationship between 2 continuous variables

(grade of deductive CBL activity, grade of inductive CBL activity, grade of theoretical exam and self-

efficacy), correlations were performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis was

performed using the SPSS 25.0 statistical program (IBM Corp, 2017), with p-values of less than 0.05

being considered significant.

RESULTS

First, a description of the participants was made according to sex, age, and university degree

admission grade (Bachelor's Degree in Social Work) variables. As shown in Table 1, most of the

participants were women (88.8%), with a mean age of 21.31 years (SD: 2.33), who had started the

Table 1

On the one hand, regarding the comparison in academic performance and satisfaction between

inductive and deductive CBL, as shown in Table 2, there was a difference regarding academic

performance, which was higher in the inductive CBL activity. On the other hand, in relation to

satisfaction, both activities were evaluated with a high grade, and there were no significant

differences in the items evaluated, except for "it has helped me to think more critically", which scored

significantly higher on the deductive CBL activity.

significant correlation between the grade obtained in the inductive CBL activity and that obtained in

the exam, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3

Correlation between the grades achieved by deductive, inductive CBL activities, and the grade of the theoretical exam.

This study analysed the case-based learning activity methodology (inductive vs. deductive) for the

improvement of academic performance and satisfaction of social work students. Students obtained

higher academic performance in the inductive CBL activity compared to that obtained in the deductive

CBL activity. Therefore, one could consider the activity of creating a story as more effective in terms

of academic performance. Both activities obtained a high grade with respect to satisfaction, with a

coincide with the study by Oliván et al. (2022a), as students also significantly considered that the

deductive CBL activity favoured critical thinking to a greater extent, although differences were also

found in the same sense with respect to the perception that it promotes new knowledge, favours deep

learning and the application of theory to practice (Oliván-Blázquez et al., 2022a). In this study we did

not analyse the relationship with the subject's theory exam grade or with the perception of self-

efficacy.

Regarding academic performance, there are studies that confirm the effectiveness of CBL by itself as

a learning methodology in higher education (Escartín et al., 2015; Leonard y Cook, 2010; Popil, 2011).

In this study, students achieved a better grade on the inductive activity, i.e., in the activity that implied

creating a story introducing the theoretical concepts, than in the activity where they had to extract

Regarding the academic performance evaluated by the grade obtained in the theoretical exam, in the

bivariate analysis there is a direct significant correlation between the grade obtained in the that exam

and that obtained in the inductive CBL activity. It should be noted that CBL activities train students to

identify theoretical concepts in hypothetical or real cases, working on skills or competencies, and

preparing them for performance in the workplace (Boyatzis, 1982; Oliván-Blázquez et al., 2022a).

Competencies are translated into observable behaviours (Berrocal y Pereda Marín, 2001). These

results would indicate that CBL activities that involve inductive reasoning would be more effective for

passing the theoretical exam. However, the exam, which consisted of 40 multiple-choice questions,

assessed the change in knowledge according to Kirkpatrick's second level (learning) (Kirkpatrick y