Peer Review

Teaching Cases Online - The Basics

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Reviewed:: Mar 8, 2021 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

While teaching cases online involves many of the same approaches as teaching cases in a physical classroom, there are still major differences. Luckily, once you have done the upfront work of planning for an online course, many aspects can be preserved for future semesters which make them very easy to reproduce. We hope this guide can alleviate some of the pain points of transitioning to an online classroom, especially while using cases.

Type of Material:

Reference Material

Recommended Uses:

This is intended for the instructor as a guide to teaching cases online. Depending on how the instructor chooses to use the case, this could be accomplished as an assignment, in a discussion board, synchronous or asynchronous, depending on the goals of the instructor. This can be an individual assignment or a team assignment.

Technical Requirements:

Firefox ver 85.0.1

Adobe reader ver 21.001.20135

Microsoft 365 ver 16.0.13530.20440

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Instructors will learn how to select cases to use in classes
- Understand the pros and cons of synchronous and asynchronous teaching and plan your course around the two methods.
- Calibrate your materials and online approach to the kinds of students that will attend your class.
- Select cases that energize your students before you start class discussion.
- Introduce cases with some context to motivate students to prepare; be transparent about why you’re using them.
- Familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of the different whiteboard technologies to optimize their use in asynchronous discussion.
- Engage students with cases by sharing your enthusiasm for them and by creating tension and drama in classroom discussion.
- Consider the potential linguistic and cultural challenges facing students who are nonnative speakers in a particular classroom.
- Use clear and straightforward language when posting questions in an asynchronous context.
- Debrief cases using many approaches and avoid suggesting there was only one right answer.
- Embrace the advantages of online tools such as quantitative tracking of participation and online breakout rooms.

Target Student Population:

This is recommended for online instructors who teach general education, upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and professional instruction.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

A distinction is made between how to use a case online and the differences between using it in class. The asynchronous format is recommended with multimedia case elements.
Considerations for the instructor are provided under the section that discusses preparing to teach cases online. Some examples include that students prefer recent cases, how much multimedia will be used, and using too many cases or complicated/sophisticated language would not be recommended especially for international students.
Be aware of cases that may provide tension and conflict and be prepared to manage those discussions or focus on less controversial topics.
Contents are comprehensive and contemporary addressing current needs and preparing for prospective situations through synchronous and asynchronous approaches, inclusive of native and non-native speakers.

Concerns:

A table of contents would have been helpful to locate specific topics quickly.
Familiarity with a synchronous and asynchronous approach which depends on the independence of students, accountability, and the issue of in-depth learning.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Online case teaching with learning objectives that are broken into chunks with corresponding cases and exercises that let the students deduce and apply the theory.
The main difference lies in the design of teaching each individual case—an instructor has to be more explicit about the discussion structure and be much more specific about how and when people get access to certain major topics (or “discussion pastures”).
Section topics are in bold and highlighted throughout, such as preparing for different types of students; engaging students; teaching asynchronously; grading participation and planning, and using shared visual space. Multiple recommendations are provided with each one of the major headings.
Many of the recommendations provided can also apply to other aspects of teaching online, not only through teaching cases.
There is a live link available on page 15 of the document that provides access to online teaching resources.

Concerns:

Different categories of students, learning capability and related online learning constraints might be counterproductive to this online case study approach.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The information provided coupled with appropriate online and offline guides contribute to clear and accurate instruction, consistent online layout, and is based on available apps that are easily available and accessible.
At the end of the document, there is a summary of the top 10 tips for teaching cases online. The guide is easy to follow and appealing in design, with graphics throughout.
There is a question and shared insight link for contact purposes provided on page 15.

Concerns:

The ability and skills needed to access, manipulate and utilize online apps particularly for online meetings and discussions.

Other Issues and Comments:: This is an effective guide for teaching cases in an online environment, especially for those who have had to adjust due to the pandemic or have moved courses online for other reasons. General information about teaching online can also be distilled from the recommendations for teaching cases.
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