No. 28, July-August 2024. The first class session was only a few minutes away. I had prepared the case well, with notes on dozens of lined sheets of paper. I had studied the students' cards until I knew their backgrounds by heart, and I had selected the students I was going to cold call. I had everything ready, except... the blackboard plan.
At that moment I woke up, bathed in sweat. Being without a whiteboard plan is every case method teacher's worst nightmare.
And rightly so: the whiteboards are the guide to everything that happens during the next eighty minutes of class. It gives structure to the discussion and helps the student follow the flow of the thematic blocks.
Second, the whiteboard plan serves to reinforce conceptual frameworks through column headings: typical are functional areas (in strategy) and process steps (in operations). Diagrams can be used if, for example, the topic under discussion is industry analysis, sketching competitive forces according to student input.
Third, one of the blackboards can be used to stimulate discussion among alternative solutions proposed by the students by displaying the alternatives identified, comparing them in opposite columns. If there are several options, a table can be constructed with the proposals listed on the vertical axis and the evaluation criteria on the horizontal axis, or vice-versa.
Fourth, the whiteboards help the instructor pace the discussion and make the best use of the time, covering the topics and achieving the learning objectives that have been set for the session.
Fifth, the whiteboards can serve as a backdrop during the closing session, in a whiteboard walkthrough, when understanding the analytical process that has been followed is among the learning objectives. In this walkthrough, the instructor can use different colored chalk to underline key points and make arrows to connect the interrelated dots, conveying the message that the content of the whiteboard is theirs. The instructor's role has been to organize the ideas that have passed the discussion test,
With these exceptions, I recommend using only one or two colors to make notes on the board, and that the color be bold for better visibility. In this way, students will understand that the use of different colors has a purpose and is not just decorative.
There are three steps in designing the whiteboard plan. The first is to figure out the size, configuration, and technology available in the classroom. I recommend adjusting your whiteboard plan to the space available without using the eraser.
Second, decide on the word to head each discussion block, which will generally be taken from the trigger question (which is launched to start each block).
Third, decide where to place each column or diagram based on the space available. In a typical configuration of three movable whiteboards, there is room for nine columns.
The best whiteboard plan will fail if the lighting is not good, if the quality of the chalk is poor, or if the markers are lacking liquid. In a business school there should be no excuses; elsewhere one should inquire about these details in advance, and go to the classroom prepared - and don't forget the whiteboard plan!
Image by storyset on Freepik
