Case Study as a Teaching Strategy PGCHE: Michelle Maree May 2016

What is case study teaching? A wide range of problems posed for analysis Based on real life events or construction of events Can be complex or simple It involves the student’s as real characters in actual situations

Background to case study teaching

Why case study? A student-centred teaching strategy that can develop critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills with students; Having students work through complex, ambiguous, real world problems engages students with the course material, encouraging them to “see it from an action perspective, rather than analyse it from a distance” (Angelo & Boehrer 2009 in Schwartz, 2013); “allow the application of theoretical concepts…bridging the gap between theory and practice” (Davis & Wilcock, in Schwartz, 2013).

Benefits of case study teaching

It requires of students to research and evaluate multiple sources of data, fostering information literacy; Case method is also effective at developing real world, professional skills; Increases student proficiency with written and oral communication, as well as collaboration and team-work; Can provide a rich basis for developing students’ problem-solving and decision- making skills; Can help students to synthesise, evaluate and apply information and concepts learned in lectures and texts; Can bring to life abstract concepts ; By placing students in real life situations through case study, they are asked to make critical decisions and use their factual knowledge to evaluate situations.

Student involvement in case studies… Level 1: students explore a problem by sorting out relevant facts, developing logical conclusions and presenting them to fellow students and the instructor; Level 2: students take on perspectives and are required to debate/discuss specific actions from a character's point of view; Level 3: students become fully involved so that topics are no longer abstract but become central to the students’ sense of self in a specific real world situation (Christensen, 1994 in Goodenough, 1994).

Soft skills developed

Meta-skills and personal attributes necessary to succeed in the working environment and in life generally are developed through case study teaching (Wessels, 2012); Case-based learning facilitates learning transfer and real-world applicability, problem-solving, investigating (Lee, 2009); Williams (2004 in Lee, 2009) summarises the benefits of case use for teaching and learning, stating that it allows learners to apply theoretical knowledge to real school contexts reason critically about complex situations and recommend courses of actions develop self-knowledge and recognize own assumptions clarify personal beliefs about teaching compare and evaluate their own and others’ perspectives develop the practice of reflection.

Requirements for effective case study teaching

Requires lecturer to determine specific goal to be achieve- what you want to accomplish, what facts, principles and viewpoints should be covered; Choose case studies that match your course objectives; Lecturer should give clear instructions; If case study information in only information needed, tell the students and of other sources need to be consulted you also need to inform them; You may prepare a set of questions to give students a general sense of the major issues to be discussed; Once the case study was used as teaching strategy, reflect on the process and the possible difficulties students had in the case study activity; Case studies should not be seen as a replacement for lectures; Case study teaching should be scaffolded; first exploring the problems, then taking on a perspective and then students should become fully involved by solving the problem.

Steps in preparing your students for case study teaching Case studies done in groups/teams

Introduce a simple case first and then evolve to more challenging ones Discuss the purpose and suggested methods for doing a case study assignment If cases study is done in teams, introduce students to resources for group dynamics Allow sufficient class-time for groups to meet Establish ground-rules for groups (etiquette) Take sufficient time to introduce the narrative and establish the case facts Reassure students that “messiness” or "uncertainty” is normal for this type of assignment Make sure to allow time for student questions and feedback in order for students to fully understand the instruction (adopted from Pyatt, 2006 in Schwartz, 2013)

How to use case studies on a practical level The classroom set-up.

Arrange your classroom (if possible) in groups or horse shoe format; Ask open ended questions and start with an “easy” question, holding off on the controversial issues until much later! Listen for content, listen for contradiction, listen for analysis; In your questioning; Start with clarification of facts Move to analysis Ask students to evaluate and make judgements Students should finish off with making recommendations. Other tools to be used in case study is: Role-play Take a vote Have students write their own case study Creating a discussion forum or message board THESE TECNIQUEs ON QUESTIONING IN CASE STUDIES CAN BE USED AS A TEACHING STRATEGY, OR FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES.

What a typical case study should look like

Executive summary – Define the objective, and state the key challenge. Opening paragraph – Capture the reader's interest. Scope – Describe the background, context, approach, and issues involved. Presentation of facts – Develop an objective picture of what's happening. Description of key issues – Present viewpoints, decisions, and interests of key parties. THE END

SOURCES USED Goodenough, D.A. (1994). Teaching with Case Studies. Speaking of Teaching, Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching. Vol 5, no 2, 1-4) Lee, S.-H., Lee, J., Liu, X., Bonk, C. J., & Magjuka, R. J. (2009). A review of case-based learning practices in an online MBA program: A program-level case study. Educational Technology & Society, 12 (3), 178–190. Norman, H. (2004). Exploring effective teaching strategies: Simulation case studies and indigenous studies and the University Level. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Volume 33, 15-21) Schwartz, M. (2013). Teaching Methods for Case Study. Teaching and Learning Office, 1-6. http://Ryerson.ca/lt Wessels, R & Binza, M. (2012). A longitudinal study on teaching case studies in public administration at an open distance learning university. Unisa odl conference 5 – 7 September 2012.