I've Never Used the Classroom Case Method: 6 Steps to Get Started

If you are a teacher who has never used the case method and wants to try it, let's go to 6 tips that can help you:

1. Define what yours are Learning Objectives with the case: how it can contribute to increase the debate, to apply which theme of your program and how it will be inserted in the course as a whole. It can be helpful for you to know the potentials Benefits that we seek with the cases in the classroom to train administrators.
2. Search Suitable case options For this purpose: it is necessary to choose an interesting and here You will find some criteria that can guide you.  You must observe the appropriate level of difficulty for the class, among other aspects.  To find the case, you can consult databases by searching for their main terms. You can search for a specific organization that you are interested in, that reflects well the topics you want to address. Also, they can be organizations that students have expressed interest in during previous classes, or that are part of their daily lives (example: Netflix, Spotify, among others).  You can also search for sectors or central concept that you want to explore. If you need tips on where to find free cases, click here .
3. Select the Best Case For your purpose: when we search in databases, we usually find several case options on the same organization or theme. To select the best of these, it is worth looking at their learning objectives (step 1), as well as the criteria that define a good case, which you can see here . Problematization and rich narratives are key. This way you can choose more easily between one or the other.
4. Decide on a Path to address the case : you will need to decide the activities you will use for the chosen case. It can be a previous reading with synchronous debate with the class, it can be an individual reading with some group work to be delivered asynchronously, among other possibilities. There are several alternatives, and they must be integrated into their pedagogical objectives. A good tip to increase the use of the case is to compose individual analysis steps, in small groups and in the larger group of the class. If you are in remote classes, these Tips can be interesting. If you have the chance to couple the case with field visits, interviewees, external participants, even better. Define how you will evaluate : to add the case coherently to your program, it is recommended to already reflect on how it will evaluate the performance of the students from this activity.
5. Guide the students : If the case method is new to you, it may be new to your students as well. It is interesting to give guidance to the Roles of each , the importance of preparation and their presence. Remember the relevance of a Active reading and if Analyze the case , understanding the problem and accumulating evidence from the narrative.
6. Plan, in detail, the class to discuss the case : To begin the class, it is recommended that you make a brief resumption of the essential points of the case. The teacher can make an introduction and call on the students to complement what seems fundamental to understand the case. A second interesting step is to relate it to their previous experiences. And then, launch the questions so that they bring the interpretations and analyses. In the debate, it is relevant to open up to contrasting opinions and not just seek consensus, as you can see here . There are other alternative ways to feed the debate of cases, such as games, role interpretations, class votes, among others that you can find here. Provoke the debate and make a closing, returning to the essential problem and the main points for the learning objectives.