Resources

Explore resources on teaching with the case method, case writing, leading classroom discussions, asking effective questions, assessing student learning, and other active learning practices.

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Brookfield, S. & Preskill, S., 2005. Keeping Discussion Going Though Questioning, Listening, and Responding R. Reis, ed. Tomorrow's Professor. Read online
"What conditions inhibit dialogue and what measures can be taken to overcome them? How teachers maintain the pace of the discussion, how they use questioning and listening to engage students in probing subject matter, and how they group students for instruction all affect how the discussion proceeds and how motivated the students are to participate in similar discussions in the future." Excerpt from Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms, 2nd Edition, by Stephen D. Brookfield and Stephen Preskill. 
2018. Strategies for Leading Discussion Sections, Harvard University: The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Read online
"Leading discussion sections effectively requires a lot more listening than speaking, and the speaking done by the instructor comes, in large part, through questions."
Austin, S.B. & Sonneville, K.R., 2013. Closing the "know-do" gap: training public health professionals in eating disorders prevention via case-method teaching. International Journal of Eating Disorders , 46 (5) , pp. 533-537. Read onlineAbstract
Expansion of our societies' capacity to prevent eating disorders will require strategic integration of the topic into the curricula of professional training programs. An ideal way to integrate new content into educational programs is through the case-method approach, a teaching method that is more effective than traditional teaching techniques. The Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders has begun developing cases designed to be used in classroom settings to engage students in topical, high-impact issues in public health approaches to eating disorders prevention and screening. Dissemination of these cases will provide an opportunity for students in public health training programs to learn material in a meaningful context by actively applying skills as they are learning them, helping to bridge the "know-do" gap. The new curriculum is an important step toward realizing the goal that public health practitioners be fully equipped to address the challenge of eating disorders prevention.
"Expansion of our societies' capacity to prevent eating disorders will require strategic integration of the topic into the curricula of professional training programs. An ideal way to integrate new content into educational programs is through the case-method approach, a teaching method that is more effective than traditional teaching techniques." Access full article with HarvardKey
Herreid, C.F., 2001. Don't! What not to do when teaching cases. Journal of College Science Teaching , 30 (5) , pp. 292. Read online
"Be warned, I am about to unleash a baker’s dozen of 'don’ts' for aspiring case teachers willing to try running a classroom discussion armed with only a couple of pages of a story and a lot of chutzpah."
Shen, D., 2015. Discussion as a Teaching Method, Harvard University: The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Read online
Scholarly research on discussion as an active learning activity, from ABLConnect, an online repository for active learning in higher education.
2019. The Case Centre. Visit website
A non-profit clearing house for materials on the case method, the Case Centre holds a large and diverse collection of cases, articles, book chapters and teaching materials, including the collections of leading business schools across the globe.
Garvin, D.A., 2003. Making the case: Professional education for the world of practice. Harvard Magazine , 106 (1) , pp. 56-65. Read online
A history and overview of the case-method in professional schools, which all “face the same difficult challenge: how to prepare students for the world of practice. Time in the classroom must somehow translate directly into real-world activity: how to diagnose, decide, and act."
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