Syllabus

Engage students in a discussion about how they learn best. We found that, at first, students had difficulty identifying approaches to learning that were effective for them. If this is the case, allow them time to talk to the person next to them about this topic and then return to the class discussion.

We have seen classes come up with a list similar to this:

• Hands-on activities

• Group learning

• Visual

• Student-driven

• Real-world context

Explain to students that the case study method that you will be using strives to incorporate many of these approaches. If students come up with learning approaches indicative of a lecture, explain that these approaches are valuable but not the focus of the case study method. While lecture-based lessons are useful for teaching concepts, vocabulary, and formulas, case studies allow students to explore personally-relevant topics and develop different analytical skills. Hand out the syllabus for the case study. Outline the learning goals and the five steps of the case study process.

• Syllabus with timeline and learning goals