No. 29, September - October 2024. The person chosen to initiate the practice session was a Ph.D. in psychology and had extensive research experience. She was well known in her field and enjoyed the respect of her colleagues. She began the session confidently, talking about some theoretical frameworks, but as she continued to talk about increasingly abstract concepts, she was losing the audience's attention. It soon became apparent that she herself was lost.
We were in a practice session among faculty members of the National Institute of Public Administration of a South American country, whose professors-many graduates of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Public Administration-wanted to learn how to teach using the case method. This practice session was the culmination of an intensive week of work, and the entire class was shocked at the failure of the doctor, who had actively participated throughout the program. Why couldn't she stop talking and let her colleagues participate?
The reason is because habits last, and the habit of lecturing for years doesn't disappear in a week. It requires making a flight plan and executing it with discipline, just as closing the session requires a controlled landing(see #5 of this blog).
In general, there are three alternatives to start a session with the case method: 1) go directly to the case, 2) do a reflection on the previous day's discussion, and 3) apply a quiz or some dynamic. It is generally not a good idea to talk about the case the same day; it is assumed that the students have it well prepared.
Unless there is an opportunity for learning, it is better to skip any introduction and go straight to the case, where the alternatives are reduced to two: make a soft launch with an open-ended question; or make a point-blank call to one of the students: surprise, about what the protagonist should do and why. Point-blank guarantees a lively start to the session, but risks premature and incomplete resolution of the case: it can leave loose threads if there is not very deft handling of the discussion blocks that follow.
Starting with a summary of the previous case discussion can create learning value that justifies postponing today's case discussion, because it allows the instructor time for real reflection and not simply a recounting of pre-cooked conclusions in the last few minutes of class. It is also a valuable exercise for the instructor, who can prepare his or her comments while grading the participation, at the same time asking what I did well and what I need to improve. This "deferred reflection" can take about 10 minutes at the beginning of the class.
The alternative of starting with a short quiz, with a well-phrased question, can also generate learning: it encourages deeper preparation of the case, allows the student to receive more feedback, and creates a positive level of tension in the class.
The story of the doctor chosen to teach the practice session did not end with her humiliation. She asked for the opportunity to teach the scheduled afternoon case, and after eighty minutes of leading a lively discussion, she received warm and sustained applause from her colleagues.
John C. Ickis
