Issues in Case Method Instruction: Class Discussion Leadership

Abstract

Many issues are critical in the successful implementation of the case method approach in business education. This method of pedagogy is widely used in the undergraduate business capstone courses, as well as graduate courses. Of the many issues that have been discussed in the literature, a topic rarely mentioned but of great interest to us, is how to involve all students in class participation. Instructors use many techniques to encourage class participation. In this paper we engage in a review of these techniques, citing observations about their strengths and weaknesses, and invite our colleagues to join in a dialogue with us sharing their best and most successful practices. This paper reports preliminary findings on our instrument designed to improve class participation.