Welcome to a half-day seminar about case teaching (or discussion-based teaching, participant-centred learning) on January 25 at BI. The time is from 13 to 16:30. The program is packed, so please arrive early.
The seminar is organized and will be facilitated by Espen Andersen and this is what he says:
"If you wish, join me for lunch at the faculty canteen at 12:00. For those of you who do not know me: My name is Espen Andersen, I teach at BI and UiO and many other places, have written a book about case teaching, and have run seminars like this in business schools in Norway, Europe and the United States. You can read more about me than you would ever want to know at www.espen.com.
This seminar will seek to demystify case teaching and give you the tools and the self-confidence to do it, even in settings where it is not the norm. Case teaching is an extremely engaging way of learning, especially about topics that require students to form their own opinion and deal with difficult decisions. It is also, for the teacher, much more fun than regular lectures. Seldom does a case class go by where I do not learn a new perspective or a new fact, thanks to students with knowledge and experience collectively far surpassing mine.
In my view, case teaching is about - foundations (preparing a course and establishing a contract with the students) - flow (actually conducting the classes and facilitating the discussions) - feedback (feedback to and, if applicable, grading of students) Most teachers, perhaps, worry mainly about the flow, sometimes to the point of forgetting that foundation and feedback, if well designed, goes a long way to deal with the flow part. In the course, we will spend time on all three.
Now: Between you and you and me… Every teaching situation requires a contract, explicit or implicit. Here is mine: I will try to give you as much as I can of my experience and that of the people I have learned from, to help you become as great discussion facilitators and classroom managers as you aspire to. In return, I expect you to understand that in a case class, you have an obligation to help your classmates (in this case, colleagues) learn by bringing your observations, insights, and experiences into the discussion.
To make this clear, this is what I tell my students: To fulfill your part of contract, you must be prepared for the seminar. This means
• Do the reading before you come to class
• Don’t just read, analyze
• Be in command of the details (who, what, when, where, how, why)
• Have opinions about what should be done A good way of doing this is to read the material individually, then have a discussion with some of your colleagues about it, for instance by setting up small groups to discuss the individual cases before the course starts. Ideally, case learning takes place in four stages:
1. Individual preparation
2. Small group discussion
3. Classroom discussion
4. Individual reflection
Case teaching simply does not work – well, does not work well – if the students and the teacher are underprepared. I am doing my bit – and I look forward to meeting you."
Read more about Espen Andersen here.
Below is the program and preparation:
Before the seminar:
If you are not registered already, go to Harvard Business Publishing’s website (hbsp.harvard.edu) and register yourself as a teacher. This will require an email address at a university and some way of showing that you are, indeed, teaching at an academic institution (such as a link to your own page at the institution.)
When registered, you can download cases, teaching notes, articles and other preparation material (for your own classes) for free.
• You will, however, have to pay for the following case package, including a PDF version of the main book: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/1135578. (The price is $21.88, about half of that is the book, and rest assured that his take from the sale of one PDF version of the book amounts to around 40 cents….)
• Browse/read the book Teaching with Cases: A Practical Approach. If you do not have time to read the whole book, focus on chapters 2, 3, 4 and perhaps 5.
• Read the two cases in the package and the one linked below, and answer the study questions. Feel free to discuss the cases with your colleagues before the seminar!
Thursday, January 25, 2024
| 13:00 | Introduction and welcome: Making the case method work in various settings |
| 13:10- 14:00 |
The case method in action: Understanding and orchestrating the flow of a participant-centered classroom session This initial session is meant as a warm-up: Through discussing a small and relatively simple case, we will learn the basics of case teaching and be in a position to ask informed questions. Homework: Read the Catatech Prepare this case as if you were going to teach it in an hour-long class. Set up a teaching plan according to the book. Ask yourself: 1. What are the key points of the case? 2. How would you guide the students through the case discussion – what points in what order? 3. Write down a good opening question to start the class |
| 14:10- 15:00 |
Foundations: Establishing and shaping a participant-centred learning contract Homework: Ernie Budding (A) (see case pack link above) This case introduces the concept of contracting: How a teacher sets up a relationship with a class – and what to do to maintain and extend this relationship. In preparation, please consider these questions: As a friend and colleague of Ernie Budding, could you please help our seminar group understand the situation confronting Ernie Budding at the end of the (A) case? 1. What do you see as the one or two critical factors contributing to his current situation? What features of the situation are important to note in order to size up the situation? 2. Given these elements of the situation, what is the problem? |
| 15:00- 15:15 | Tour of classrooms, discussion of infrastructure for case teaching |
| 15:25- 16:00 |
Flow: Questioning, listening and responding: The key skill requirements Homework: Jo Worthington (A) (see case pack link above) This case is about the conduct of the class itself – how do you handle problems with timing, content and contributions? To a large extent, this is about formulating questions to the class, listening to the contributions from the students, and responding to create further discussion and learning. In preparation, please consider this question? 1. How did Jo Worthington get into this situation? 2. What should she do about it? (the case gives three different possible actions, you could choose one of them or recommend something else.) |
| 16:00- 16:30 |
Dealing with challenging students, and other problems A discussion on how to handle various challenges that may come up with doing case teaching (unprepared students, refusal to speak, touchy issues, etc.) as well as any other questions you may have. |
| 16:30 | End of seminar |