If you are looking for ways to teach students to put theory into practice, case-based education is a good option. Students set to work with real-life situations and contexts in a case study.  

What are Case Studies? 

It is a teaching method in which students are first invited to analyse a case study individually or in groups, and then to discuss it in class. A case study presents a challenging real-life situation, event, or issue that students may encounter in their future professional lives.  

This is a suitable teaching method when you want your students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired. In addition, case studies are also highly suitable for honing specific competencies such as collaboration and communication, problem-solving, critical reflection, creative thinking, and judgment.  

How to Use Case Studies?   

There are two steps: the case analysis and the case discussion.

• case analysis (individually or in a small group) 

  • Ask students to analyse the case individually or in groups. This encourages them to consider possible solutions or decisions. This step often requires them to write down their problem-solving process and possible solutions.  

  • It is important that the case contains all the information required to conduct the analysis. This information may include tables of data, interview reports, research reports, and other relevant material. However, this does not mean that students should refrain from looking up additional information themselves.  

• case discussion (whole-class) 

  • The students have a class discussion about the issues in the case study. They exchange analyses and decisions, and together they reach a solution by discussing and building on each other's ideas. A more complicated case may lead to different types of solutions, or a combination of conclusions and further questions.  

  • As a lecturer, you should adopt a facilitator role to moderate and structure the discussion. 

What Key Points to Remember? 

Choose an Authentic Case 

• Find inspiration in real-life situations. For example, look at your own practice (a patient's file, a court order, or a current political issue), or ask organisations or companies for cases. 
• Take into account the following characteristics. The case should: 
  • contain elements that match the student's experiential world; 
  • draw students’ attention through an interesting story; 
  • be topical and of current interest; 
  • allow students to relate to the main character; 
  • contain additional quotes; 
  • include controversial topics; 
  • be widely applicable; 
  • be written from the viewpoint of one of the persons involved; 
  • contain no interpretations. 

Take into Account the Complexity of the Case 

• It is important for lecturers to take into account their students' prior knowledge and to gradually increase the complexity of the cases.
• Use the guidelines below to determine the complexity of a case study: 
  1. 1. the information available in the case study
        • consider which obstacles students are most likely to face and prepare for them in advance: what questions will likely be raised? How will I answer them? Will I offer the students additional literature? 
        • start with cases that contain a lot of information and progress to more complex cases that are less straightforward;  
     2. the available sources
        • look up background information yourself. This will give you a clear picture of the information that is available, and it will allow you to guide your students in their search; 
        • bring together the information, for example, in a case file; 
     3. possible solutions 
        • a case that leads to one standard answer is usually a straightforward case; 
        • a case that is open-ended and leads to several possible answers is more complex. 

Give Students Clear Guidelines  

• specify the goals of the assignment so that students clearly know what is expected from them. Provide written guidelines,  e.g. in the form of an analysis diagram (in Dutch), such as the one provided by the University of Twente.  
• for more inspiration on drawing up guidelines, please visit the website of the University of California. 

Prepare the Case Discussion Properly 

• prepare discussion questions that build on each other. During the discussion, frequently ask for observations, contrasts, comparisons, etc; 
• make sure not to judge or give clues that may lead to one particular answer; 
• allow students to exchange viewpoints and give them the opportunity to come up with an answer on their own. If necessary, write their ideas schematically on the (black)board. 

Want to Know More? 

• BV-databank. (2015). Casussen en de casemethode (in Dutch). Consulted on 18/07/2019 via https://www.bvdatabank.be/node/60
• Expertisecentrum Hoger Onderwijs. (2013) Vijftig onderwijstips. Garant, Antwerpen 
• Lkoundi, A. & van Woerden, W. (1997). Ontwerpen van cases. Leren van praktijkgevallen. Hoger Onderwijs Reeks. Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff.