Lefton Learning Community

Teaching through the Case Method

J. Carl Clamp, College of Business Administration

The case method is an instructional technique that presents situations to analyze and information from which decisions must be made, rather than delivering to the students concepts and theories. Learning in case studies takes place by doing by analyzing data both quantitatively and qualitatively; by making decisions as to appropriate recommendations and actions; by communicating such decisions and discussing their rationale with fellow students and the instructor; and, most important, accepting responsibility for the decisions that are made.

Students must get involved and take much of the responsibility for their learning. The instructor is more a facilitator than a traditional lecturer. The goal of case teaching is to develop those skills which will enable the students to act intelligently, rationally, and morally.

Although the case method is used in many disciplines, its broadest use is in the legal and business administration curricula. Originally, the success of case studies at Harvard Law School led in 1908 to their use in management courses taught at the Harvard Business School. Since that time, the case method has become widely accepted as a primary teaching device at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels, not only in business administration but also across the spectrum from anthropology to zoology. Its popularity rests on the belief that wisdom can't be taught. One must experience situations to truly learn. Merely being told how to do something is no substitute for actually doing it.

A case is an account or description of a situation or sequence of events confronting an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. Most cases include a detailed account of the events preceding the point in time at which the case concludes, as well as the environmental and organizational circumstances surrounding a particular situation.

In strategic management courses, students practice at being general managers. The cases put the students at the scene of the action. The essence of the students role in case analysis is to diagnose and evaluate the situation described in the case and then to recommend which actions, if any, need to be taken. A case in management may concern an entire industry, a single company, or some part of an organization; the organization involved can be either profit seeking or not-for-profit. The cases may be actual true cases, disguised cases (for confidential reasons), or fictitious cases, with a decided preference for true cases due to their obvious authenticity.

Depending upon the nature of the situation and the sophistication, the cases can be brief and point specific, or quite lengthy and complex. Over the course of a semester cases can be made more complex and challenging as students become more proficient in applying their skills. The development and writing of cases for analysis is a very time consuming and exacting task for the instructor, who must learn how to write a case with enough information and data, but not too much. Many instructors accept such a challenge, but in most disciplines a broad array of case studies is also available from published sources.

Early in the semester the cases are usually discussed by an entire class. As the students become familiar with the techniques, specific cases may be assigned to smaller groups or to a single student for analysis. The decisions reached or actions recommended can be presented in writing or presented orally, or both. Such procedures obviously should sharpen the communication skills of the students. Oral presentations may be evaluated by the students peers, or video-taped for self-evaluation.

The instructor assumes a heavy responsibility in establishing the professional nature of the case method. He or she must show a commitment to the case analysis process by a careful and complete preparation of material for the classroom experience. Preparation must include much more than just reading the case and an occasional teaching note. The instructor must develop a set of specific teaching objectives that reflect the content of the case and a group of questions that might be asked to encourage greater depth and focus in the discussions.

The more the instructor does, the more the students will do. He or she must have a genuine concern for student development and must strive to make the course a positive development. It is the instructor's responsibility to emphasize very early in the class the importance of student preparation, regular participation (and attendance), promptness, and ingenuity. Instructors must clearly set an example, and always be cognizant of the key objective of the case methodto exercise the students minds not theirs.