Case Method 606

• Case studies


  Helpful teaching tools to capture the complexity of administrative problems from an action-oriented perspective
• With increasingly complex policy problems, more interdisciplinary, interactive, and discursive approaches to teaching are in demand
• Case method


  Offers a broad variety of options for teaching programs, ranging from short case illustrations or vignettes to full-length case studies
• Case materials


  • Attached to various types of case materials are different didactic approaches that pursue different pedagogic logics and are likely to make different contributions to in-classroom teaching
• The case method in teaching public administration comes at a cost and requires extra capacity, higher time budgets as well as new qualifications and roles of teachers plus a good fit of student (self)-selection and teaching objectives
• If meaningfully utilized, the case method enhances our capacity to prepare (future) executives for complex environments
• Case studies represent an established approach in research and teaching across a wide range of academic disciplines
• In social science research, the merits of the case study approach are particularly appreciated by advocates of qualitative methods who value their high degree of internal validity and the close link between empirical data and their context, including institutions and actors
• In social science teaching, particularly in the domain of management training, the case method has been highlighted and praised for their problem-oriented nature and interactive potential in the classroom
• The full capacity and variety of applications of the case method has not yet been aptly appreciated in the broad range of education and training programs at undergraduate and graduate levels in public administration and related fields
• The full range of different types of case material (ranging from short case illustrations or vignettes to full-length case studies) has to be realized in order to assess their specific merits in the classroom
• Deductive approach to teaching and learning

  Knowledge transfer and acquisition through formal instruction, starting from theories and concepts and applying them to specific cases
• Inductive approach to teaching and learning


  Knowledge transfer and acquisition through problem-oriented and action-driven analysis of case material, starting from specific cases and inductively developing an understanding of general patterns and problems
• The case method epitomizes the inductive approach as it rejects the doctrine that students should first learn passively, and then, having learned, should apply knowledge
• In practice, the key question is more often than not how to balance the elements of deductive and inductive approaches over the course of a degree program, rather than making an "either/or" decision
• Potential benefits of the case method

  • It may help to illustrate, test or develop theories, facilitate analytical and reflexive thinking, or provide a basis for simulations and practical experiences in the classroom
• The case method appears to lend itself particularly well to teaching environments in which pre-trained executives need to be prepared for the handling of ambiguous and complex situations
• Executive education and mid-career programs

  • Participants bring first degrees in academic disciplines and years of professional experience
  • Potential benefits of teaching full-fledged comprehensive cases can be best exploited
• Interactive and discursive teaching atmosphere

  • Endorses and relies on horizontal learning among peers
  • Denies the usefulness of simple, unidirectional associations or clear-cut "how-to-do" lessons cascading down from instructor to student
• The case method appears to lend itself to teaching environments in which pre-trained executives need to be prepared for the handling of ambiguous and complex situations
• With more mid-career programs and executive trainings being offered, with more but also shorter training stages over the span of a work life and increased lateral entrants from other professions to the public sector, adequate teaching philosophies and didactic instruments are in need to offer student-oriented and interactive teaching methods that are easily accessible to professionals and still qualify for academic degree programs
• Public administrators tend to be confronted with increasingly complex and "wicked" policy problems which are difficult, if not impossible, to tackle with clear-cut legal or hierarchical responsibilities, neatly-defined jurisdictions between "silos" or linear and mono-causal policy projections
• Ability of public sector executives to deal adequately with policy challenges

  Rests primarily on their capacity to cooperate across sectors, apply interdisciplinary knowledge and critical, reflexive thinking as well as their ability to communicate effectively and build support from different sources for public sector programs
• The combined effect of these public sector developments draws further attention to more interactive and discursive methods of instruction as offered by case teaching
• Case method


  • Redefines the relationship between instructors and students
  • Course participants are encouraged to contribute actively to the course content by discussing and evaluating the case material
  • Students stand a much better chance to relate their prior (work) experience to the subject matter, feel emotionally involved in the learning process and build teams with their classmates
• Case method


  • Blends cognitive with affective learning modes
  • Makes knowledge more memorable and retrievable because of the motivating and activating quality of this teaching format
• Case-based teaching approaches


  • Require a content-related component (empirical facts, data, theories, concepts)
  • Specialty lies in the process-related aspects of the teaching and learning experience (dynamics of individual and collective interaction, complexity, goal ambiguity, information overload)
• Process-orientation of case method

  Helps focusing the analysis on patterns of organizational behavior, sequential phases of decision-making, fault lines running through stakeholders or mechanisms of conflict resolution and consensus-building
• Case study learning experience

  • Helps creating a conducive environment for a three-fold competence profile: knowing the content, understanding organizational processes, and having the necessary social and communicative competencies
• The benefits of the case method come at a price
• Risks and liabilities associated with the case method include individual or systematic biases, manipulations, context-specific constraints, limited chances of generalizable results, lack of critical reflection, and extra costs
• Rolling out the case method across a significant part of teaching programs is by no means an inexpensive decision to take
• Case writing has become a sought-after qualification which is often outsourced and well paid-for
• The case method seems best suited for resourceful institutions, which can afford to organize a cohort of program participants into small, seminar-sized groups with qualified instructors in attendance for intensive coaching and facilitation of classroom discussions
• Students may find it difficult to tolerate the ambiguity and contingency of case "solutions" and team work in case analysis can be a very time-consuming and nerve-racking process
• Teachers may find it difficult to unequivocally embrace a full-fledged case method approach and have to let go of their ambition to control the classroom to the fullest extent
• In systems of higher education that have increasingly moved towards modularized, accredited, "quality-controlled" and competence-driven degree programs, the case method resembles a double-edged sword that cuts both ways
• The nature of the case method, which yields different results in different group settings and allows different students to draw different conclusions from the case material, defies the logic of a more uniformed and standardized approach of tertiary education and training
• Matching case material with teaching approaches is primarily dependent upon the desired learning outcome, which will be affected by circumstantial factors such as levels of academic qualifications, professional experience, and institutional settings
• Didactic approaches or teaching philosophies

  Variants of pedagogy that can be utilized to process and digest case material