LESSON 14:

Strategy 6- Using Case

Study as a Teaching
Strategy
What is a Case
Study?
A case is a story with a (hidden) message- a narrative that
describes an actual, or realistic, situation in which an individual
or a group has to make a decision or solve a problem.
1. Complete
- It is a case that describes fully the situation and its real- life conclusion.
2. Incomplete
- It refers to a case that explains real events up to a point but does not
include the real outcome of these events.
3. Open
- It is a case that have many possible solutions or actions that could be
recommended.
4. Closed
- A case that has a single best response or solution.
 WHEN AND WHY SHOULD CASE STUDY BE USED AS A
TEACHING STRATEGIES?

• The case method of teaching can provide a very “natural” way of helping students
to learn by “exploiting the basic human capacity to learn from students” –Hagel &
Zulian,1996
• Cases offer the students opportunities to grapple with issues, problems, dilemmas,
and puzzle in ways that are engaging, challenging, and productive in a reasonably
safe but not entirely risk-free environment –Boeher,1994
• Cases encourage the students to reach a deeper understanding of the concepts and
issues than they would from reading or listening to a lecture –Volpe,2002
• Case narratives can portray situations and dilemmas as they evolve over time, thus
allowing the students to appreciate the importance of time as a contextual factor in
real problem-solving – Koballa & Tippins,2000

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• Case studies transform the student’s role from “a passive recipient of information
to an information to an intellectual detective” – Fratantuono,1994
• The case method also provides at least two opportunities for the teacher to deepen
their understanding: it often results in the teacher encountering fresh perspectives
on old problems because the students suggest things the teacher had not thought
of, and it can give the teacher a chance to test classic solutions on new problems –
Bruner, 2001

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 Use case study if: Do not use case study if:
• The outcome you want the students to • The students lack the basic skills to work
achieve are readily related to issues independently or in small groups
beyond classroom
• The learners have sufficient prior • The students have very poor literacy skills
knowledge to guide their analysis of
complex materials
• The students are self-motivated and can • You cannot allow students sufficient time
learn with minimal assistance to analyze the case materials
• You want to build the students’ confidence • The students lack background knowledge
by showing the value of their individual necessary for interpreting and resolving
solutions to problems the case
• You want to encourage the students to be
independent learners.
• You want to foster critical thinking
Four Main Steps in Preparing to Use a Case Study

• Deciding why and when to use a case study;

• Developing or selecting the case;
• Guiding the students in their preparation for discussion; and
• Preparing yourself for the classroom discussion.

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 If you are using a case to motivate the students to learn a theory

Present the case to students before they have received

instruction on the relevant theory.

Provide guidelines to help the students prepare for class

discussions by exploring the case.

Give the students time to study the case and prepare for
the class discussion.
Guide the class discussion so that students generate a
list of questions that need to be answered before the
problem in the case study can be resolved.
Conclude the discussion with an overview of how these
questions will be answered in subsequent lessons.
If you are using case study to illustrate the application of theory in real-world
contexts
Present the case to students after they have received
instruction on the relevant theory

Provide guidelines to help the students analyze the case, probe the
underlying issues, select the relevant theories to apply and suggest
ways in which the issues could be resolved.

Give the students time to study the case and prepare for
the class discussion.
Guide the class discussion so that students generate
several possible alternative solutions, consider their
relative merits and reach some level of consensus.
Conclude the discussion with an overview of the
broader issues raised by the case.
 Developing and Selecting the Case
1. OUTCOMES FOCUS
- The case must make a positive contribution to the students' achievement of the course
outcomes.
2. INTEREST
- The case must be seen as relevant and interesting by the learners.
3. RECENCY
- Current problems will probably be more engaging for the students than historical cases will.
4. RIGOR
- The case must lead the students to a detailed situational analysis and a deep understanding of
the context of the case, to an appreciation of the open-endedness of the case issues and to their
interrelatedness, and to an examination of the issues from multiple perspectives.
5. DECISION FOCUS
- The case should lead the students (first individually and then as a group) to make decisions
about some important issue.
6. GENERALITY
- Each case will be unique, but each case should lead the students to some
conclusions that are generalizable to other broader contexts.
7. REALISM
- Real problems rarely come clearly defined and neatly packaged like typical
textbook exercises; they are more likely to be complex and ill-defined.
8. LENGTH
- The case should be long enough to raise important issues, supply essential
and engage the learners.
9. READABILITY
- The information in the case must be accessible to the learners. It should be
written in appropriate language and style
Teacher’s Preparation for the Classroom
Discussion
• Review the outcomes you want the learners to
achieve.
• A detailed analysis of the case.
• Development of a set of questions to focus the class
discussion.

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Several particular points to note when the discussion is based
on a case study:
Introduction
The students will have prepared for the discussion by reading the
case materials and trying to answer the focus questions, so you do not have
to spend a large amount of time setting the scene for the discussion.
Discussion
This is not just sharing of ideas nor it is a process of the students
presenting ideas for your approval. The students must be deliberately
involved in a joint effort to gain a deeper understanding of the issues
embedded in the case.

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Questioning
Your questions might serve any of the following purposes:
• Clarification - Can you explain what you mean by that?
• Elaboration - Can you expand on that idea?
• Generalization - In what other situations might that principle apply?
• Structuring - What facts need to be considered before we focus on the emotional
issues?
• Comparison-How is that different from...?
• Substantiation - How can we justify the assumption?
• Linking - How do these two ideas relate to one another?
• Engagement - What would you do in that situation?
• Integration - What general principles might help us understand this situation?
• Consensus - Why might some people agree with that idea?
• Focus - How does that take us closer to a solution?

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 SUMMARIZING AND CLOSURE

You might provide the summary, or you might ask the students to do it-either way,
the summary should address both the issues in the case study and the process that
were used to analyze it.

Make your comments as specific as possible so that the students will think about
what worked and did not work in their attempts to analyze the case. Your
concluding comments should help the students to see that "the most important
aspect of the whole exercise is their ability to provide a structured approach to the
problem" (Volpe, 2002).

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Sample Lesson Plan
Topic: Weather Disturbances
1. Types of weather disturbances
2. Effects of weather disturbances on living things and the environment
Grade Level: Grade 5
Learning Competencies
The learner should be able to:
3. observe the changes in the weather before, during, and after a typhoon;
4. describe the effect of a typhoon on the community; and
5. describe the effects of the winds, given a certain storm warning signal.
ENGAGE
Ask two to three students to share in class about their recent experience regarding
typhoons. Preferably choose the students who had serious experience.
EXPLORE
Ask the students about the precautions and safety measures before, during, and after
typhoon.

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EXPLAIN
Discuss changes that are observed before, during, and after typhoon by showing pictures
or videos. Provide an interactive discussion of the impacts of typhoon in the community
as well as the effect of wind given the storm signals.
ELABORATE
Have the students gather news articles about recent typhoons. Have them examine the
impact of these typhoons to individuals, household, and communities.
EVALUATE
Let the students answer guide questions about the above mentioned eases of damages
brought by the typhoons. Grade the students according to the accuracy and completeness
of their ideas.
Sample Guide Questions:
1. What is the name of the typhoon? What is its signal?
2. Were there damages brought by it? Discuss briefly.
3. Check on updates from weather bureaus and institutions. Were people informed of
these typhoons?

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Thank you!