Teaching with Case Studies

Case studies provide a great opportunity to bring course materials to life. They can encourage student interactions while helping educators meet learning objectives. Case studies can be designed as thought experiments responding to hypothetical problems or they can offer challenges based on real world examples. Case studies are a flexible teaching tool that work for both individuals and group projects, and they have the added advantage of being applicable to all academic disciplines, so they have broad pedagogical value. 

Case studies can vary widely in length and focus, so this guide focuses on helping faculty create and use short case studies (1-2 pages) on a specific topic. Case studies work especially well when paired with supporting materials/readings that give students the necessary background context and details so they can adequately wrestle with the core issue(s) raised in the case study. 

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• RESEARCH

  Examine selected research on teaching with case studies: 

  Boston University Center for Teaching & Learning. Using Case Studies to Teach. https://www.bu.edu/ctl/teaching-resources/using-case-studies-to-teach/.(opens in new window)

  (2014). Toolkit for Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education. Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/fall-2014/toolkit-for-case-studies-on-diversity-and-social-justice-education(opens in new window)

  Creating Effective Scenarios, Case Studies and Role Plays. University of New Brunswick. https://www.unb.ca/fredericton/cetl/services/teaching-tips/instructional-methods/creating-effective-scenarios,-case-studies-and-role-plays.html(opens in new window)

  Horigan, Ann. Teaching with Case Studies to Develop Clinical Reasoning. Emory University. https://cfde.emory.edu/resources/teaching-pedagogy/case-studies.html(opens in new window)

  Case-based Teaching and Problem-based Learning. University of Michigan. https://crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tscbt(opens in new window)

  Designing and Conducting Case Studies. Writing@CSU. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=60(opens in new window)

  Noor, K. B. M. (2008). Case Study: A Strategic Research Methodology.(opens in new window) American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(11), 1602–1604. 

  Why Teach with the Case Method? Pedagogy in Action. https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/index.html(opens in new window)

  Teaching with Case Studies - Sample Case Studies (PDF). https://wcms.csuchico.edu/renderfile/2a269d6e84f1525205f769d4bd1a8cf0/_assets/documents/teachingwithcasestudies-examples.pdf (PDF)

• APPLICATION

  Ready to use case studies in your teaching? Here are some ideas and strategies to get you started:

  • Before you develop a case study, ask yourself what you want your students to learn, and then think about how the case study can achieve that goal.
  • A good case study should have a compelling story and connect to class themes and should present students with a problem to address.
  • Don't get bogged down in minor details of a case. Focus on painting a broad outline of the central problems that you want students to think about
  • As you develop a case, think about how your assigned readings, writing assignments, or other class projects connect to your case study. Have you provided enough background for students to understand the case study?
  • You may also find it helpful to include several guiding questions as part of the case study. These questions can serve as a helpful jumping off point for class discussions. They can also be used as the basis for written assignments.
  • When using a case study as an active class activity, think about whether you want to discuss the case with the entire class or in groups. If your case has multiple problems or positions, those can often serve as natural groups.
  • Think about how to grade case studies. Do they count as class participation? Will students submit written response papers? Are they part of group work?
  • If possible, include a visual element to break up the text and give students an entry point into the case. This also helps for students who are visual learners.