A case study is the study of a complex past event, which aims to provide students with an understanding of important concepts through the use of real-life examples. For instance, story of a particular company or product can be employed as a case study to examine any marketing issues and dilemmas in an authentic situation. Other teaching methods, such as role-playing or debating, can also be incorporated to enrich students’ learning experiences.
Implementation
Following is a list of main approaches that teachers can take advantage of when conducting case studies at universities.
The case should fall under the research interests of the teacher. Teachers should develop cases based on areas that they are expert at because on one hand, they possess in-depth knowledge and interest. On the other, it is easier to locate relevant resources for the case study.
Developing cases from scratch. Teachers may try to identify cases that they are interested in but not so familiar with by reaching or visiting scholars and other institutions about what they have been using.
Developing new cases by inviting external lecturers to participate in. Teachers may invite practitioners in the field to present a case study for students to study. Alternatively, guest speakers or practitioners may serve to provide background information for a research question designed by the teacher. That is, for example, if students were required to conduct a project about sports equipment, the teacher may ask the manager of a sports equipment shop to describe how he manages inventory daily so as to give students some background or extra information about what they have to study.
Application and variation
Cases as reviews of pre-requisite materials or what was taught. Teachers may ask students to review materials taught before a course or during a course by applying their knowledge so as to address issues highlighted in a case during the middle of a semester. These cases can be short and are mainly served as reviews.
Ask students to develop their own case study. Rather than developing your own case, you can ask students to study a particular practitioner/expert relevant to your course. You may ask your students to study the background of that person, analyze the difficulties that the expert undergoes in his field, etc.
Extended reading
Bacal, R. (2010). Why use case studies and case based instruction? The Training, Learning, and Development Resource Centre website. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.thetrainingworld.com/faq/casewhy.htm
Cherif, A. H., & Somervill, C. H. (1995). Maximizing learning: using role playing in the classroom. The American Biology Teacher, 57(1), 28–33. CUHK teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.jstor.org/pss/4449909
Herreid, C. F. (2009). Case study teaching in science: a bibliography. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science website from the University at Buffalo. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/teaching/teaching.html
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Ideas:
Cases for conducting scientific research. Students in the final year of their chemistry studies at CUHK are required to take their Final Year Projects (FYP) under the PBL approach with the purpose of allowing students to integrate and put to use various concepts and theories in the discipline to solve some research problems. Please click here for more information.
Cases as reviews of pre-requisite materials or what was taught. Teachers may ask students to review materials taught before a course or during a course by applying their knowledge so as to address issues highlighted in a case during the middle of a semester. These cases can be short and are mainly served as reviews.
Ask students to develop their own case study. Rather than developing your own case, you can ask students to study a particular practitioner/expert relevant to your course. You may ask your students to study the background of that person, analyze the difficulties that the expert undergoes in his field, etc.
Cases to train future professionals in real setting.
The Stanford Law School believes that situational cases and interactive simulations are more effective for engaging students. A combination of cases and simulations allows students to gain insight into the role of lawyers and policymakers and how to deal with complex issues in the field of law in practice. A good reading can be found at: Stanford Law School website.
Cases for decision-making in business. The Darden School of Business at The University of Virginia Darden encourages the use of case studies with practical applications in the business field. For example, students are required to make decisions on specific business issues by taking the role of a business leader. Read more of this in: Darden School of Business website from Unversity of Virginia. (n.d.). Case method. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/MBA/Academics/Case-Method/Home
Cases for conducting scientific research.