Page 15 - Articles Written by JGJ EF DPS

‘Why?’
‘What was the cause?’
‘What was the effect?’ and
‘What impact did this have on performance?’

If these questions can be answered then solution generation and
justification for such are well underway. For the lecturer then, the aim is
to create a vehicle that, through the application of judicious questioning,
fosters a learner centered and action oriented experience geared to
producing a stimulating and challenging and illuminating pedagogy for
the student.

However, students new to the case method may experience an element
of fear when first confronted with this form of complex, unstructured
problem. It is at this point that an ‘armchair’ (non-factual) case study was
introduced.

The case study was distributed to the students with the instruction that
all they should do is read it. When the class meets the students are
informed that, if it is alright with them, they will be treated as ‘congenital
morons’ with little or no knowledge and with little expectation of serious
input to the solution as he examines the case study and draws out the
analysis by examining each paragraph of the case study? Furthermore,
he will read out each paragraph and will call upon them for their take on
each paragraph in terms of their interpretation of it i.e. what is being said
(Board 1).

The essential tool necessary at this point is the chalk board where
important concepts can be written and developed as they emerge from
the lecturer led discussion. Board work gives structure to the discussion
and students who are new to the case method often find that a practical
worked solution drawing on the experiences of the class (and lecturer)
alleviates some of the initial trepidation associated with the unfamiliar.
The simple fact of writing important concepts on the board as they
emerge from the discussion and showing key points and their linkages
goes a long way in assuaging case method fear and preparing the
students for independent analysis of future case studies. The onus here
though, lies with the lecturer to do the work and provide the worked
solution.