Page 30 - Case Lab Case Method

The case method requires that the instructors avoid putting

forward their own opinions about the decisions in question.
In the case of the Faecal Recognition case study there is little

necessity for the instructor to do so. Rather, the primary

task of instructors is asking students themselves to devise

and defend solutions to the problems at the heart of each
case. Doing this directs the user to learn how to apply

theories to real situations and to learn how to solve real

problems. This is active learning where the best-learned

lessons are the ones that students teach themselves,
through their own struggles.

Many of the most useful kinds of understanding and

judgement cannot be taught but must be learned through

practical experience. Case method teaching makes
preparing for class and the class session itself an active

learning experience for students.

By using complex real-world problems as the focus, it
challenges students to learn skills that will be appropriate to

deal with the practical problems that they will face in the

real world. Moreover, using cases repetitively can aid in

developing decision-making skills which will be relevant to
any problem-solving activity that the student may

subsequently confront.

The case method is also a rich and powerful approach to

help aid the development of the cognitive skills of

knowledge, comprehension, application, synthesis, decision
making analysis, evaluation and communication.