n-line
Teaching
Strategies
Case Study

A case study is a story, told with a wealth of accurate, detailed information, which offers students the opportunity to:

• evaluate the information provided for importance and relevance,
identify the problem situation and recognize the particulars relevant in defining the problem,
• formulate possible solutions for the problem,
• evaluate the possible solutions, selecting one solution,
• create a plan of action for implementing the chosen solution, and
• anticipate obstacles to the successful implementation of the solution.

Case studies provide an opportunity to structure constructivist learning activities which actively engage the students. The challenge of a case study results in students not only learning content, but also, importantly, in students learning through practicing critical skills including inductive reasoning, writing, and discussing.


On-line Applications

Web Pages:
  Many case study resources already exist on-line, often in subject-specific Web sites. Some of these resources are available through the links listed below.
  Create your own case study Web site by posting all of the case study information.

On-line Resources

The Weissman Center for Leadership offers a very useful set of Web pages related to the Case Study Method. Two of the main pages are linked below.
  Case Method Teaching (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl/casemethod/index.shtml)
  Case Method Resources (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl/casemethod/resources/index.shtml)

The Case Method of Teaching Science (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/teaching/teaching.html) is from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Using Case Studies in the Classroom (http://www.utc.edu/Teaching-Resource-Center/Case-Based-Teaching.html) is an informative Web page, from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, about the use of case studies in the classroom, including why and how to use case studies.

The Trade Environment Database (TED) consists of information about the impact of trade on environment, culture and other issues.
  TED Home Page (http://www.american.edu/ted/ted.htm)
  TED Case Studies: An Online Journal (http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/class/all.htm)