Material Detail

While English departments address the modern student as "wreader," hypertext learning reaches beyond the humanities. Extending work done in composition studies, business programs are focusing on digital learning strategies. The case study has been a standard learning tool for business students since Harvard introduced case studies in the 1920s. The Yale School of Management is now pioneering the digital (or "raw") case method through its MBA program to present case study information in hyperlinked, nonlinear, multimedia formats. This paper analyzes the current move in business school pedagogy from the traditional case study method to digital cases. It discusses the impacts of digital case studies and the differences between moving traditional "cooked" cases online versus providing truly "raw" case data that is open-ended and allows for multiple solutions. As seen in examples from the Yale School of Management's publicly available digital cases, digital case pedagogy allows business programs to adopt methods privileged in composition: de-centering the professor, encouraging participation, and equalizing difference by privileging associational thinking. More than just a useful tool to engage millennial students, the digital case, in its privileging of multiple narratives and linked information, acts as a catalyst for new ways of approaching business.

Disciplines:

• Academic Support Services  / Hybrid and Online Course Development

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