Long used in business and medicine, case studies can provide a rich source for writing or speaking assignments. Case study methods actively engage students and are well-suited to teaming or collaborative pedagogies. They also offer a good way to expose students to different perspectives and can introduce them to situations not available in the classroom or at the university.
When case studies present students with a number of options for solutions or analysis, they will be challenged to make thinking about their discipline a part of their composing process.
There are two basic approaches to using case studies in the teaching of writing or speaking:
When case studies present students with a number of options for solutions or analysis, they will be challenged to make thinking about their discipline a part of their composing process.
There are two basic approaches to using case studies in the teaching of writing or speaking:
- Students write cases themselves
- Students analyze and write about or present on cases that instructor provides
Writing Case Studies
A three- to four- page case can demonstrate:- whether students are able to connect theory to practical applications; and
- whether students are able to understand and prioritize issues and events.
Case Analyses
The analytical approach asks that students analyze a case in order to demonstrate their understanding of events or characters, as well as how the particular case connects to theory. Students may read and discuss a case and then write up an analytical report. The problem-solving approach asks students to identify problems within the case and suggest solutions, usually narrowing down to an optimal solution.Writing or Speaking from Cases
Students can be asked to provide a written or oral response to events described in a case. Many business communications texts use cases to describe a situation which requires the student to write a letter or memo, or to present an oral report. The case study serves to provide a rhetorical situation—that is, an audience, a persona for the writer, and a situation which calls for writing—which influences the type and style of document produced. Some cases, for example, describe a personnel problem, casting students as managers and requiring them to write a memo for a personnel file.