Getting Started
Look for case studies that tell engaging, dramatic stories that address
disciplinary complexities, debates, sub-fields, assumptions, and principles.
A good case does not have to be long. Students like
cases that are 10-15 pages, not including charts, supporting documents, and
references. Shorter cases generally mean students are better prepared for
discussions, because they have more time to read cases more thoroughly. A
shorter case also works better in undergraduate classes that are only fifty
minutes long.
To select a case for your class, you will want to
read it two or three times yourself. Do not select a case just because the
topic matches your research or teaching interests. You want to consider how the
case fits with your learning and teaching objectives for the class. Cases are
not meant to substitute for a text or a thorough research article; rather,
cases are supplemental teaching vehicles that illustrate theoretical claims and
disciplinary concerns, assumptions and insights. As students
"inhabit" a decision-making situation in a case, they have an
opportunity to practice skills thhey will use later in their careers.
Therefore, case instructors must carefully consider
the specific affective and cognitive skills they would like their students to
practice. For example, in the affective domain, almost every case discussion
will encourage students to think independently, develop intellectual
confidence, and become more open to competing explanations of controversial
events. In cognitive terms, the list of skills introduced in a spirited
interactive case discussion is endless.
Set the tone early in the semester. Provide plenty
of opportunities for students - shy, uncertain, cautious - to participate in a
non-threatening environment. To do this, think about what "softball"
questions you will use so students feel comfortable participating in class
discussions, and what other strategies of engagement you might employ.
Try this... Before you distribute the course syllabus
(or put it on the web), ask students to form pairs. Explain that they each have
2 minutes to introduce themselves to their partner - including year/semester
standing, major, relevant interests (whatever you want them to know about each
other). Then the pairs will form groups of four (4) and each person will
introduce his partner (not him/herself). Next, ask each group of 4 to come up
with a set of questions they have about the class... THEN distribute the
syllabus and ask the students to read it to see if the syllabus answers the
questions they had. If questions remain, then they should ask someone in their
group first... and finally, ask you - the professor at questions rema/p>
Benefits
·
You
create an environment where everyone can feel safe speaking, since there are no
right/wrong answers here.
·
Students
actually READ the syllabus. (I find this cuts down dramatically on subsequent
syllabus questions throughout the semester!)
·
Confusions
are clarified.
·
Students
learn it is OK to ASK questions as well as to ANSWER them!
Students may need to be convinced that participation
really is crucial to their success in the course.' You might want to provide
students with a handout that will help them prepare for using cases. Be clear
about your definition of participation. Consider adapting the participation
Inventory included in this packet as one instrument to help you achieve this
goal. Be patient, but firm about the expectations and the seriousness of the
requirement. Remind them that this is not like a current events
"discussion" where some students have read the news and some have
not. When you run a case, everyone has had access to the same information.
You may even want to make participation part of the
evaluation process. The literature suggests that participation has atst three
components:
·
Preparation
- reading the materials ahead of time, thinking about what you have read and
how it is connected to other course materials;
·
Speaking
- offering insights, observations, analysis, opinion; asking questions; and
responding to another student's comments; AND
·
Listening
- to what others have to say, following the arguments, and remembering the
points.
If you agree, you may wish to use something like the
evaluation form several times during the semester so that you have a mechanism
to provide feedback to the students throughout the course of the semester
regarding their performance in this category.
In case teaching, answers are frequently complex,
complicated, and even ambiguous. They are seldom obvious and indisputably
right. Sometimes, saying something that seems "dumb" may advance the
discussion as much as an apparent insight. You may have to remind students of
this during the first third the semester or so.
Arranging the Classroom
Conversation is best facilitated if you can create a semi-circular or circular
shape to the room. This is not imperative, but it does make it easier for students
when they can talk to a face rather than a back. Because it helps for faces to
have names, I ask students to use large name plates or tags.
Preparing to Teach a Case
Prepare on several levels
·
Substance
- know the facts, nuances, your objectives.
·
Discussion
Path - think of questions to generate a discussion of the points you want to
cover.
·
Students
- keep in mind who participates in what way and who holds what kinds of
beliefs.
Without a doubt, the most important aspect of
preparing to teach a case is that of thinking carefully about your learning
outcome objectives for the class. If you know the answer to - WHY are you using
this case at this point? - you are halfway to your goal.
The learning outcomes goals you establish for your
class sessions ultimately derive from your campus/institutional mission
statement. More immediately, your class session learning outcomes arise from
the curricular learning outcomes your departmental faculty have agreed are
appropriate for students graduating with a major in your discipline. In other
words, your learning outcomes are linked to departmental learning outcomes.
Departmental learning outcomes - which describe what graduates should be able
to think, know, or do with a given educational major -derive from the
institutional mission and goals. Learning outcomes should also inform
assessment activities.
Learning outcomes typically fall into three
categories - knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Knowledge outcomes include
specifics about the core content, special sub-field content, and elective areas
of content. In other words, for virtually every discipline, every major who
graduates should:
·
share
some core knowledge base,
·
be
familiar with and know the parameters of key sub-fields of the discipline, and
·
have
had the opportunity to explore some specialty areas in depth.
Skills competencies generally fall into the
categories of communication - writing, speaking, listening, reading - and
critical thinking - analysis, synthesis, problem solving, interpretation, evaluation.
They can also include such functional literacies as basic math, computer use,
statistical analysis, learning skills, resource use, and so forth.
Learning outcomes related to attitudes usually
include some measure of how students feel toward their chosen curriculum and
its application. Attitudes also encompass student awareness of and sensitivity
to different cultures, ethics, confidence, negotiations, and so forth.
Once you decide what you want this class session to
accomplish in order to support your overall learning outcomes, then you want to
think about your students' learning styles. Design teaching methods and
materials to fit objectives and learning styles.
Preparing for Case Method
Discussions
We will be using formal case studies as the basis for class discussions this
semester. As noted in the syllabus, the case study discussions represent a
significant portion of your final grade. You will, therefore, want to do as
well as you can in them. The following guidelines and suggestions are meant to
help you achieve your best performance.
A. Form a study group to prepare for case
discussions.
1.
Experience
and research both show that preparing cases alone is not as productive (nor as
much fun!) as doing it in groups. Not only do study groups help improve your
own skills, you also can learn from other students' think patterns and
problem-solving styles.
2.
Use
the study group to present, informally, analysis to others, to practice
articulating your ideas, to get feedback on both the ideas and presentation, to
compare different views, to refine and rethink positions, and to build
confidence for making contributions to the case discussion with the whole
class.
B. Read the case meticulously.
1.
Peruse
the case: Quickly look at the case by reading the introduction and conclusion,
and by skimming the rest of the contents. Now you know what you are getting
into.
2.
Quickly
read the case: Read the entire case rapidly, without underlining or
highlighting. You now know the basic structure of the case and where the main
information is.
3.
Make
a brief outline: Who is involved in the case? What problems do they face? What
is their situation like?
4.
Set
preliminary goals: What do the study questions ask? What will it take to answer
them? What issues in the course does the case involve?
5.
Re-read
the case: F ocus on the important information that was located during the
skimming, and take initial steps toward answers to the preliminary questions.
Highlight, underline, or make marginal notes to organize the details and record
new thoughts or questions generated by reading.
6.
Re-formulate
the problem: What is the case really about? What issues are central to the
problem? What conflicts between ideas, perspectives, or values are involved in
deciding what action to take? Whose interests are really at stake? What are the
alternatives? -24-
7.
Work
the problem: Answer the specific study questions, using the relevant
information located during the reading and study group session. Make thoughtful
assumptions about the information that is not available in the case.
8.
Write
the answers to the case analysis exercise questions: Answers are due the first
day of the case discussion.
C. Prepare case writing assignments very
carefully.
Doing so will require you to know the case well and thus be better prepared to
discuss it in class.
1.
Answer
only two of the study questions given for each case as part of your assignment.
(if you decide to answer more than two as a method of studying that is fine. I
will only grade two answers-the first two I see!)
2.
ach
answer should comprise one or two coherent, well-written pages that really do
answer the question. Many questions do not have a right or wrong answer. Credit
will be given for answers that demonstrate thoughtful, careful reading of the
case, originality, analysis, good writing and neatness.
3.
Essays
must be typed or word-processed.
4.
Essays
are an individual project! You should not cooperate with any other student in
writing the case analysis exercises. However, you should explore ideas and
discuss your thoughts within the study group.
5.
Essays
will be evaluated on the basis of both substance and style. [Should your
grammar inhibit my ability to understand what you are trying to say, you have
problem!] Hence, essays should be well organized; written in clear, coherent
sentences and paragraphs; follow the common canons of good grammar (complete
sentences, no split infinitives, appropriate use of commas, etc.); use only
correctly spelled words. To be safe, it is usually best to proofread before
handing in a paper.
Asking questions is the key to executing your
strategy for the session. You can use questions to move students through the
five typical stages of case analysis:
·
What
is the situation?
·
What
possibilities for action are there?
·
What
are the consequences of each?
·
What
action, then, should be taken?
·
What
general principles and concepts seem to follow from this analysis?
Questions are key to all of the following parts of a
discussion:
·
kick
off the discussion
·
obtain
information;
·
clarify
a point;
·
confirm
a point;
·
draw
attention to related points;
·
foster
debate;
·
resolve
a debate;
·
change
the direction of the discussion;
·
suggest
a hypothesis;
·
stimulate
abstract thought; and
·
begin
a summation.
You can also use questions to:
·
Emphasize
that it is important to stay on a topic, or that it is time to move on to
another;
·
Clarify
previous questions - students may not answer right away because they did not
understand what was being asked the first time;
·
Refer
students to a particular exhibit in the case to focus attention back on the
case and away from a dispute that is going nowhere;
·
Pay
attention to and honor a good point made by a student;
·
Diffuse
tension or conflict through humor where appropriate; and
·
Push
students to support their claims with empirical evidence (from the case other
class material, life experience, etc.) and/or with logic and reasoned
argumentation.
Use the blackboard, overhead transparencies, or your
computer as an assistant to record the conversation - track where you have
been, direct the conversation to meet your class goals, and suggest important
notes for students to record as well.
As you strategize, you might think of this as
mapping out your case. You can literally draw a map of your questions, goals,
board notes: what will you want on the board at the end of the class session -
on the board or overhead transparencies - as general lessons or insights that
are key to understanding the point of the case?
Debriefing the Case:
Summarizing and Concluding
To ensure that students leave class having learned the objectives you selected
for the day you will need to "debrief' them. I have found that it is best
to use different approaches to this final component of "running" a
case. Using any one approach quickly becomes too routine to be taken seriously.
The following approaches to debriefing have worked best for me:
Faculty-led summary and conclusion:
Here you might return to your board space -or wherever you have kept track of
the conversation - and highlight important points which connect specifics to
general principles. At this point you can choose to move from the specific to
the general, or vice versa; the point is that you want the students to see how
the two types of material support and relate to each other. Since most cases,
as noted earlier, are "run" inductively, you should summarize with a
deductive process at least once. With this faculty-led approach, YOU will
likely be doing most of the talking during the last 10-15 minutes of the class
and may want to use this time to begin to segue into the next class session as
well, explaining how this session has laid the groundwork for the next.
Student-defined summary and conclusion
process:
This you can achieve by asking students to report out from groups or
individually what they consider to be the summary and conclusion of the
session. Or, you may ask them to take a few minutes and write down their
thoughts. If you do the latter, since you want to be sure they get the lessons
you have in mind, you should
·
be
sure to ask a specific question - or set of questions - designed to elicit the
kind of information you seek, and feed back that information to them either
during the next class session, or as a hand out for the next class session.
FROM:
Mt. Holyoke College Weissman Center for Leadership
and the Liberal Arts
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl/casemethod/teaching.shtml