Teaching with Case Studies

Joe Bandy
Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching
Affiliated Faculty in Sociology

The Melian Dialogue

Debrief
What did you notice about our discussion of
the Melian case?

One Word Student Reflections

Enigma, collaborative, interesting, pressed,
inventive, wow, provoking, pessimistic,
frustration, proud, difficult, helpless,
idealistic, catch-22, resist, struggle, liberation,
reality, confusion, courage, bravery,
enlightening, intriguing, illuminating,
wondrous, awkward, overwhelming,
unsolvable, enthralling, unfinished, ambitious,
intense, infinite, complex, exciting,
invigorating, refreshing, intimidating,
uncomfortable, thoughtful, fun, touching,
intractable, inspiring, sad

Defining Case Studies

1.
2.
3.
4.

Complex, real world scenarios

Supporting information
Open-ended problems
Prompts and questions

Defining Case Studies

Focus
Descriptive or illustrative
Decision or action oriented
Debates
Simulations or games

Lengths
Long form narratives or simulations
Short-form cases
Minicases
Bullet cases

Impact
Blooms Taxonomy, revised

Impact

Affective learning
Self-direction
Responsibility for learning
Oral presentation
Communication
Cooperation
Citizenship

Authentic & Engaging Problems

Inquiry based learning

careful inspection of methods which are permanently
successful in formal education will reveal that they depend for
their efficiency upon the fact that they go back to the type of
situation which causes reflection out of school in ordinary life.
They give the pupil something to do, not something to learn, and
the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking.
John Dewey, Democracy and Education. 1916

Active, social learning

the students strive to resolve questions that have no
single right answer. Their differing views and
approaches produce a creative tension that fuels the
enterprise and a synergistic outcome that both
recognizes and exceeds their individual contributions.
In their effort to find solutions and reach decisions
through discussion, they sort out factual data, apply
analytical tools, articulate issues, reflect on their
relevant experience, and draw conclusions they can
carry forward to new situations.
Boehrer, J. and M. Linsky. Teaching with Cases:
Learning to Question. In M.D. Svinicki (ed.), The
Changing Face of College

Passive Learning

Active Learning

Receive ideas

Offer ideas

Answer questions

Raise questions

Hearing analyses

Making analyses

Examining texts

Engaging texts

Accepting assumptions

Challenging assumptions

Faculty-Student dialogue

Student-Student dialogue

Faculty locus

Student locus

Case Teaching Methods

Clarify objectives
Plan and Prepare
Organize discussion
Small teams
Clear project goals
Clear roles
Clear schedule for writing, presentations

Case Teaching Methods

Discussion
Disclose context
Questioning to explore relevant angles
Analysis of the problem
Application of theory

Listening carefully, paraphrasing

Capturing positions and suggested actions
Clarification of debates - differences, compromises
Next steps for research, discussion, action
Lessons
Evaluation

Case Teaching Methods

Writing cases

Backwards design
Open ended, no one right answer
Presents enough information for analysis
Presents, not evaluates problem
Allows for multiple realistic positions
Use and edit

Student cases
Experience with cases in class
Heightens benefits of case teaching
Best cases

Case Sites
Science
National Center for Case Study Teaching in
Science

Engineering and Material Sciences

Online Ethics Center for Engineering and
Research
UK Centre for Materials Education

Business
Harvard Business School
University of Washington, Evans School of
Public Affairs

Case Sites
Political Science or Policy
Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Case Studies in Public Policy & Management
McGill University Peacebuilding Simulation
University of Washington, Evans School of Public Affairs

Other social sciences

Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Case Studies in Public Policy & Management
University of California, Santa Barbara Case List

History
Women in World History, Teaching Case Studies

Multiculturalism and diversity

Online Ethics Center
U of Minnesota, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs,
Center on Women and Public Policy

Discussion
Think of a course and a potential lesson for
which you might like to teach a case study.
What benefits and challenges do you foresee?
If you already teach using the case method,
how might you enhance your use of it?

Discussion