Assessment Methods with Case Studies

Case study analysis is a useful activity in online teaching. Case studies may be simple or complex, and completed individually or in groups.

Features of a high-quality case study include:

• requires critical and analytical processing of the content in order to propose solutions
  
• includes sufficient information for thorough analysis
  
• does not have a single correct answer
  
• enables the integration of knowledge from different courses or fields

Why use them?
Case studies allow students to apply theories in real-world contexts, develop critical thinking, and collaborate with peers in searching for solutions.

Strategies:

• pose initial discussion questions
  
• introduce additional information later to encourage a new perspective
  
• clearly explain how the case study will be assessed

Example of use in higher education:

In the course Business Ethics, students were assigned a case study about an ethical dilemma in an international company facing market pressures and sustainability challenges.
Students worked in small teams (3–5 members) to analyse the situation using the theoretical model of ethical decision-making covered in the course. In the first phase, they discuss the challenges on the forum, then create a proposed solution in a shared Wiki, and finally submit it to the Workshop for peer and instructor assessment.