How to Teach with Case Studies

Event Date & Time

Event Description

Pillar: Transformative Learning

Well-designed case studies usually generate animated class discussions; not to mention that they hold great potential in supporting student learning, from enhancing basic knowledge comprehension to developing higher-level problem-solving, decision making, and/or evaluative skills. However, teaching with case studies isn’t a simple feat — we need to know all the issues involved in the case, prepare scaffolding prompts in alignment with the learning outcome, anticipate challenges that students might face, and consider how to productively draw on our students’ diverse background and experiences to enhance the discussion.

In this workshop, we’ll draw on the experiences and insights of faculty members involved in the Open Case Studies Initiative to explore what case studies might look like in different disciplinary contexts and consider how they may translate into your own classrooms.

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to

1. Recognize how case studies support student (transformative) learning,
2. Appreciate how the Open Case Studies project invites student contribution to engage in interdisciplinary discourse and collaboration,
3. Critically reflect on how you might integrate case studies effectively in your own teaching context, and
4. Begin planning and developing strategies to implement case studies in your own teaching practice and discipline.

Facilitators

Deborah Chen, Educational Developer, Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Christina Hendricks, Professor of Teaching, Department of Philosophy & Deputy Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Will Engle, Open Education Initiatives Strategist, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Panelists: Richard Price, Professor, Department of Political Science; Maja Krzic, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Soil Science; Sandra Brown, Instructor, Department of Applied Biology and Soil Science; Alexandra Kuskowski, Learning Services Librarian.

Resources

• Open Case Studies
  cases.open.ubc.ca
• Bonney, K. M. (2015). Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 16(1), 21-28.
• Dunne, D. and K. Brooks. (2004). STLHE Green Guide No 5. Teaching with Cases. Halifax, Canada. The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
• Bibliography on Case Study Teaching in Science compiled by Nancy A. Schiller and Clyde Freeman Herreid (2010). http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/pdfs/Bibliography_Case_Study_Teaching_Science.pdf