Strategy 6 – Using
Case Study as a
Teaching Strategy
Lesson 14:
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you as a learners
will be able to;
• Define what is Case Study.
• Apply the Using Case Study as a Teaching
Strategy.
What is a Case Study?
The use of case study is also called as
the case method of teaching or case-based
pedagogy (Killen, 2009), and it has 3 major
components:
• the case itself
• the student’s preparation for engaging with and
discussing the case, and
• the classroom discussion.
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.
• Most often, the stories are set in the past and
focus on real people or real events, but they
may be set in the present and they can describe
It can be useful to categorize cases in terms of their
completeness and openness and in terms of the
action required from the students.
• 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 may have many possible
solutions or actions that could be recommended.
• 4. Closed- a case that has a best response or solution.
When and Why Should Case
Study be Used as a Teaching
Strategy?
The case method of teaching can provide a very “natural” way of
helping the students to learn by “exploiting the basic human
capacity to learn from stories” (Hagel & Zulian,1996).
Cases offer the students opportunities to grapple with issues,
problems, dilemmas, and puzzles in ways that are engaging,
challenging, and productive in a reasonably safe but not entirely
risk-free environment (Boehrer, 1994).
Cases encourage the students to reach a deeper understanding
of the concepts and issues than they would from just reading or
listening to a lecture (Volpe, 2022).
When and Why Should Case
Study be Used as a Teaching
Strategy?
Case narrative 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 (Koball & Tippins, 2000).
Case studies transform the student’s role from “a passive
recipient of 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
Advantages and
limitations of
using case study
as a strategy in
class (Killen,2009)
Use case study if: Do not use case study if:
·The outcomes you want the students ·The students lack the basic skills
to achieve are readily related to issues to work independently or in small
beyond the classroom. groups.
·The learners have sufficient prior ·The students have very poor literacy
knowledge to guide their analysis of skills.
complex materials.
·The students are self-motivated and ·You cannot allow the students
can learn with minimal assistance. sufficient time to analyze the case
materials.
·You want to build the students’ ·The students lack background
confidence by showing the value of knowledge necessary for interpreting
their individual solutions to problems.. and resolving the case.
·You want to encourage the students to
be independent learners.
·You want to foster critical thinking.
How to Use Case
Study as a
Teaching
Strategy?
There are four main steps in preparing to
use a case study:
1. Deciding why and when to use a case study.
2. Developing or selecting the case.
3. Guiding the students in their preparation for discussion,
and
4. Preparing yourself for the classroom
discussion
Deciding to use
a case study
If you are using a case to motivate the students to learn
Present a theory
the case to students before they
have received instruction on the relevant
theory.
Provide guidelines to help students prepare
for the class discussion by exploring the case
(that is, help the students to identify what is
that they need to learn.
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 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 or Selecting the
Case
• Other major sources of materials that can be
used for cases are journals, newspapers,
magazines, novels, and DVDs.
• According to (Killen, 2009), whether you
are selecting or developing a case, it
is important to consider the following criteria:
1. Outcomes Focus – the case must make a positive
contribution to the students’ achievement of the course
outcomes. It must lead them into the required depth of analysis
and into the types of thinking that are reflected in the outcomes.
The case must be an integral part of the course, not just an
interesting discussion.
2. Interest – the case must be seen as relevant and interesting by the
learners. This usually means that the case tells story that the
readers can relate to their own experiences or to situations that
they believe they might face. It also helps if the case
contains some controversy or conflict – an issue that the
students might reasonably be expected to disagree. Interest is
also influenced by the style in which the case is written
(Herreid,2002).
3. Recency – current problems will probably be more
4. Rigor – the case must lead the students to
detailed situational analysis and 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. The case should address issues
that require collaborative discussions.
5. Decision Focus – the case should lead the students
(first individually and then as group) to make decisions
about some important issue.
6. Generality – each case will be unique, but each case
7.Realism – real problems rarely come clearly defined and
neatly packaged like typical textbook exercise; they are
more likely to be complex and ill-defined. Cases need to
reflect this. The case should make it possible for the
students to be drawn into the drama of difficult real-world
situations and decisions and for the teacher to be able to
pose questions that will maximize the students’
understanding of these issues.
8.Length – the case should be long enough to raise
important issues, supply essential information, and engage
the learners. Cases that are too long or that contain too
much fine detail may distract the students from the key
issues.
The Teacher’s Preparation for
the Classroom Discussion
According to Volpe(2002), “In general, the
more you do, the more the students will do. By
showing your commitment to students, by being
well prepared and by showing concern for the
students, you will be able to extract a similar
level of commitment from the students…
Students will generally prepare up to, but not
beyond, the standards of preparation of the
The 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.
Guiding the
Classroom
Discussion
There are several 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.
It is important to remind the students briefly of how the
case links to the main issues they are studying and where it is
leading them.
Discussion
This is not just sharing of ideas, nor it is process of the
students’ presenting ideas for approval. The students must be
deliberately involved in a joint effort to gain a deeper
Questioning
It is very important skill of the teacher during discussion. You should
ask open-ended questions to make the discussion more interactive and
interesting.
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?
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 analyse 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
Sample Lesson
Topic: Weather Disturbances Plan
1. Types of weather disturbances
2. Effects of weather disturbances on living things and the environment.
Grade level: Grade 5
Learning Competencies
The learners should be able to:
1. Observe the changes in the weather before, during and after a typhoon.
2. Describe the effects of a typhoon on the community; and
3. 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 typhoon. Preferably choose the students who had
serious experience.
EXPLORE
Ask other students about the precautions and safety measures before,
during, and after typhoon.
EXPLAIN
Discuss changes that are observed before, during, and after typhoon by
showing pictures and videos.
Provide an interactive discussion of the impacts of typhoon un the community as
well as the effect of wind given the storm signals.
ELABORATE
Have the students gather news articles about the recent typhoons. Have
them examine the impact of these typhoons to individuals, households, and
communities.
EVALUATE
Let the students answer guide questions about the mentioned cases of
damages brought by the typhoons. Grade the students according to the accuracy
and completeness of their ideas.
Same guide questions:
1. What is the name of the typhoon? What is its signal?
2. Were there damages brought by it? Discuss briefly.
The End!
Thank you
By: Galanto,
Princess O
