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Strategies for Effective Case Method Teaching in Large Undergraduate Business Classes Michael Moorhouse Ryerson University

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Strategies for Effective Case Method Teaching in Large Undergraduate Business Classes Michael Moorhouse Ryerson University Ryerson University Digital Commons @ Ryerson Theses and dissertations 1-1-2012 Strategies for Effective Case Method Teaching in Large Undergraduate Business Classes Michael Moorhouse Ryerson University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations Part of the Educational Methods Commons Recommended Citation Moorhouse, Michael, "Strategies for Effective Case Method Teaching in Large Undergraduate Business Classes" (2012). Theses and dissertations. Paper 1410. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Ryerson. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ryerson. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE CASE METHOD TEACHING IN LARGE UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS CLASSES by Michael Moorhouse A thesis presented to Ryerson University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration in the program of MBA Global, Ted Rogers School of Management Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT Title: Strategies for Effective Case Method Teaching in Large Undergraduate Business Classes Degree: Master of Business Administration, 2012 Name: Michael Moorhouse Program: MBA Global, Ted Rogers School of Management University: Ryerson University This study finds that the case method pedagogy, originally designed for use with graduate students, can also be effective in large, undergraduate business classes. While most of the case method research has historically focused on the graduate level, the method has now become popular for undergraduate teaching. There is a growing need for large class pedagogy and best practices due to the fast growing enrolment in North American business schools, and this study presents a preliminary opinion on how the case method could be adapted to meet the needs of large and diverse classes. The study reviews the challenges of teaching cases, and the challenges of using active learning techniques in large class teaching. The study presents a definition for “large” and “very large” classes in the context of case teaching, and suggests several practices from case-teaching instructors that can be used to teach the method effectively in these environments. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... v List of Appendices .................................................................................................................. vi 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Teaching with the Case Method .......................................................................................... 3 2.1 The history and principles of case teaching ...................................................................... 3 2.2 Common types and methods of case teaching ................................................................. 4 2.3 The “classical” Harvard case method ................................................................................ 5 2.4 The benefits of case method teaching .............................................................................. 8 2.5 The criticisms of case method teaching .......................................................................... 11 2.6 Alternate methods for teaching cases ............................................................................. 13 2.7 Summary of the literature on case method teaching ....................................................... 17 3. Teaching in Large Classes ................................................................................................ 18 3.1 The effect of class size on student learning performance ............................................... 18 3.2 The challenges with active learning techniques in large classes ..................................... 19 3.3 Definition of a “large class” for active learning and case teaching ................................... 21 3.4 The challenges with teaching the case method in large classes ..................................... 22 3.5 “Best” practices for active learning and case method teaching in large classes .............. 26 3.6 Summary of the literature on teaching in large classes ................................................... 32 4. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 34 4.2 Research Participants ..................................................................................................... 35 4.3 Data Collection and Analysis .......................................................................................... 36 5. Research Findings ............................................................................................................. 37 5.1 Recent Graduate Survey ................................................................................................ 37 5.2 Instructor Survey ............................................................................................................ 39 5.3 Instructor Semi-structured interviews .............................................................................. 42 6. Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................ 52 6.1 Definition of a “large” and “very large” class for case teaching ........................................ 52 6.2 The challenges of large class undergraduate case teaching ........................................... 53 6.3 Recommendations for large class undergraduate case teaching .................................... 56 6.4 Limitations and suggestions for future research .............................................................. 60 References .............................................................................................................................. 69 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 73 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Advantages and disadvantages of various case types................................................. 5 Figure 2: Generic approach to case analysis .............................................................................. 7 Figure 3: Benefits of small group discussion ............................................................................... 8 Figure 4: Major benefits of the case method ............................................................................. 10 Figure 5: Common criticisms of the case method ..................................................................... 11 Figure 6: Selected faculty perceptions of cases ........................................................................ 13 Figure 7: Summary of the MICA method .................................................................................. 14 Figure 8: Advantages and disadvantages of online case discussion ........................................ 16 Figure 9: Communication barriers in large classes ................................................................... 21 Figure 10: Challenges of active learning and case method teaching in large classes ............... 25 Figure 11: Active learning small group activities ....................................................................... 28 Figure 12: The basic components of the CCS process ............................................................. 30 Figure 13: Student satisfaction with small and large case classes ............................................ 38 Figure 14: Student perception of individual contribution in small and large case classes .......... 38 Figure 15: Frequency of case use by type ................................................................................ 39 Figure 16: Proportional use of case types by course level ........................................................ 40 Figure 17: Instructors’ opinion on appropriate class sizes for case teaching ............................. 41 v LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Survey for recent graduates of TRSM .................................................................. 61 Appendix B: Survey for TRSM instructors ................................................................................ 64 Appendix C: Discussion guide for semi-structured interviews with TRSM instructors ............... 68 vi I. INTRODUCTION This study explores whether the case method of teaching can be successfully applied to large size undergraduate business classes, and helps determine strategies and practices that business schools can use
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