Case Studies And Their Impact On Teaching
And Learning
Sebastian Johansson
International Marketing, Halmstad University, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to see if there are different types of case studies and if
so, their impact on teaching and learning.
Desjg /methodology/approach – Literature review with discussion.
Findings – There are different types of case studies and their impact on teaching and learning
is significant. The traditional case study is out dated, but the new more enhanced one, based
on a real company is not as reliable. Students learn more from a living case study, but the
scientific results are not always the entire truth.
Practical Implications - Case studies tend to improve students’ motivation and self-efficacy,
but it also tends to discourage and/or demotivates them if they do not get the feedback that
they need.
Originality/value - This paper is based entirely on secondary information and highlights
benefits and disadvantages with the use of case studies, by knowing the difference and the
result of using case studies as a teaching method, teachers may be able to motivate their
students’ more.
Key words – Self-efficacy, Teaching style, Mismatch, Motivates, Learning
Intro
People all over the world are using different kinds of methods when it comes to learning,
teachers also uses different techniques when it comes to teaching. None is proven to be better
than the other, they are just different, and therefore the outcomes may vary from one to
another (Fuches, 2008). Not only the methods are different, the preferences that a student or
teacher has varies from person to person. A student can learn by sitting in class and observe
and listen, he or she can learn by participating in a discussion where they have to reason with
a counterpart, which leads to speculation and also operation (Felder, Silverman, 1988)
The way a teacher present the information depends on the teacher’s preferences, but can also
depend on the subject that he or she instruct. Some teachers prefer to lecture and be the type
of person who speaks to his or her students, others may prefer to ask the students a question to
start a discussion. While some teachers’ values memory learning, there are some that rather
see their students understand the full concept (Felder, Silverman, 1988).
The way that a student learn does not always match the teaching style of a teacher.
Mismatches happens and according to Felder and Silverman (1988) the outcome could result
in students scoring low points on tests, become bored or even dropping out of school. The
author Michelle Schwartz (2016) mentions in her article Teaching methods for case studies
that the first and most important step when having a case study as a teaching method is to get
to know the students, by knowing the people the cases can easily be given to the right person.
The authors also mention that teachers can start to question themselves if they are in the right
place, or if they are doing the right thing. But the most negative part of a mismatch between
learning and teaching is according to Felder and Silverman (1988) that we are losing
conceivable competence.
There are different components that needs to collaborate to make learning and teaching able
to work together. Something that hasn't been brought up yet are case studies. A teaching
method that are used worldwide, from United States (Luck, Wu 2008), to Sweden (Bleckner,
Omstedt, Rummukainen, 2002) and beyond. The definition of a case study is, according to
Merrian webster (2010), “a published report about a person, group, or situation that has been
studied over time; also:a situation in real life that can be looked at or studied to learn about
something”. Not all case studies are the same, some studies are meant to define questions and
hypotheses for further studies, these are called Exploratory case studies, there are other
studies that tells a story about something that happened and a observation of that occasion,
these go under the name Descriptive case studies, at last there are studies that try to explain
why something happened, and why the outcome looks the way it does, these go further than
the descriptive case studies and are called Explanatory case studies (Iveroth, 2012) .
Method
To be able to do a research about Case Studies and Their Impact on Teaching and Learning,
the search for secondary information were done by using Halmstad Högskolan’s webpage,
with a student log in, on the webpage’s library. The reason why a student log in must be used
is because as a student you will have access to paper, articles and other valuable information
that other people must pay for. In the library, further searches were done on Google Scholar,
Emerald Insight and Web of Science.
To find the different articles, papers and case studies, the following English words were used
in the search for information: Case study, Studies, Teaching, Learning, Education, Impact,
Efficiency. To find the Swedish articles for this study, the following words has been used:
Fallstudie, Undervisning and Pedagogik.
All words have been used in different combinations, both in Swedish and English.
Empiri
The author Richard M. Felder writes in his article Learning and teaching styles in
Engineering education that there are different types of learning techniques as well as there is
more than one way for a teacher to influence his or her students (Felder, 2002). Depending on
what age the respondents are, different teaching methods should be applied. In this process,
there is what the author likes to call a dimension, the dimension of inductive and deductive
ways of teaching and learning (Felder, 2002). According to the author Klaus Solberg Sølien,
case studies are being used mainly in the studies of economy, medicine and psychology
(Solberg Sølien, 2006)
The inductive way has different themes, one of them is based on discovery learning, Felder
(2002) mentions that it is most effective for students below graduate school. At a young age,
children learn by observation and imitation (Facts for life 2016). The opposite of inductive
learning is deductive and Felder (2002) describes it as something starting with fundamentals
that leads to applications, Felder (2002) explains it in a situation where students would say to
the teacher, “Just tell me exactly what I need to know for the test, not one word more or
less”. According to Henke, Höttecke and Reiss (2007) a possible reason for this attitude is
that students tend to not like, or that they get bored, from reading texts.
According to the author Flink (2013) a traditional lecturing method will bring the following
results; To retain the information given after course is over, the students will be able to
transfer knowledge into different novel situations, achieve a higher level of thinking when it
comes to solve problems and last, the students will achieve a motivation for further learning
or some sort of change in attitude (Flink, 2013). Students from a university in England were
given the opportunity to use their own class notes on a specific test, the students scored 42%,
one week later, the students took the same test and now only scored 20 % (Flink, 2013)
People that consider them self’s having a high level of self-efficacy tend to believe that they
are in control, the term self-efficacy is a common concept within social sciences, the concept
self-efficacy refers to a person’s ability, willingness and confidence to do well and come up
with fine results (Bandura, 1990). The author Ernest Abaho (2015) mentions in his article
Students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy: does the teaching method matter?, that social learning
has a positive effect on self-efficacy and creates a certain behavior, especially with positive
rewards. On the other hand, he also mentions that the behavior reduces when students
consider the reward begin to less or not enough, if the student doesn’t understand what he or
she is doing it can lower their confidence, since the learning part is considered a confidence
builder (Howorth, Smith, Parkinson 2012).
Author Jackie Campbell (2012) writes in his article Inquiry-based learning case studies for
Computing and Computing Forensic students, about students who studies computing with the
help from teaching applications. By implementing inquiry based learning in a student’s
studies, Jackie Campbell (2012) means that it will be a beneficial experience which will give
meaning and motivates the student, the author also speaks well of technology enhanced
learning, which can help students to spread their wings and explore new depths of their own
studies.
The interaction that occurs between students and their teachers during a case study pedagogy
is said to enhance students’ self-management, their ability to solve problems, to communicate
and making decisions by using a not fictive company (Barnes et al., 1994). The Author
Mathews Nkhoma (2013) refers in his article Examining the mediating role of learning
engagement, learning process and learning experience on the learning outcomes through
localized real case studies, to (Kim, H.J, Pederson and Baldwin, 2012) that the learning that
comes from cases-based teaching have had notably improvements in usefulness and the
perception of satisfaction from a learner point of view.
Time aspects varies in case study writing and can be divided into three categories; the first
one is a historical study where he researcher examines what has happened, the second is a
study in present time, where the researcher digs into a current problem and its effect, the third
and last one is something called a long-term case study researcher tries to see how something
develops over a long time (Iveroth, 2012).
Iveroth (2012) also mentions pro’s and con’s in his presentation, some of them are that they
can be used to test theories as well as develop new ones, it generates more qualitative data
that is more attainable then just numbers and diagrams, the researcher can show the
complexity that mirrors the reality and he also high lights that it is the Empirical study that
pull the strings rather than the theory. Other authors high lights that case studies are
something that can help scientific experiments conduct (Psud43, 2012).
Some disadvantages or negative aspects of case studies are according to Einar Iveroth (2012)
that some scientist do not like the way a case study is case executed, and therefore miss the
scientific reliability, he also mentions that it can be difficult to find something fun and/or
interesting to research, the fact that people change their behavior when they know they are
being studied, changes the outcome for researchers, and can therefore not have a genuine
case, the last disadvantage that Einar Iveroh (2012) mentions is that it can be difficult to know
how to analyze the data that has been collected, since they have been collected differently,
studies are often inductive and abductive and not deductive. Mark Murphy (2014) also
mentions in his article that that some researches have to many biases, if a case study is done
on a company, that company sometimes tell the authors what to write about and demands that
the research must be approved by the company before published.
In the article Supercharging case-based learning via simulators written by Bennet, Davidsen
& Lopez (2014), the authors describe the traditional case studies and discussion as something
that is not up to date or well suited for students to explore the path-dependent causes of a
variety of choices, the feedback provided is limited, the one that is given is often criticism
from the teachers or peers. The limitation of feedback is said to be a good way to refine an
action plan, the knowledge gained on the other hand is to be questioned (Bennet et, al., 2014).
In the article, Impact student learning using a living case study, written by Grassberger &
Wilder (2015) the term significant learning is being described as a something that will make a
difference, not only how people act, but how they live and open their eyes for what they can
become (Grassberger & Wilder, 2015). Another author that talks about Significant learning is
Dee Fink (2013), he describes it as a teaching method that gives the students a deeper
knowledge, beyond application learning.
Dee Fink (2013) writes in his book, Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated
Approach to Designing College Courses, that the main problem today is that factually
members which for their students to have a higher level of learning. Even if the teacher’s do
want that, they still use a variety traditional and ineffective way of teaching methods. The
methods are ineffective because they do not promote to achieve such level of learning (Fink,
2013).
Author Mathews Nkhoma (2013) mentions in his article Examining the mediating role of
learning engagement, learning process and learning experience on the learning outcomes
through localized real case studies seven different hypotheses, which are:
H1.”The case study method is positively correlated to undergraduate students’ learning
outcomes” H2a “The case study method is positively correlated with undergraduate
students’ learning engagement” H3a “Undergraduate students’ learning engagement is
positively correlated with their learning outcomes” H2b “The case study method is positively
correlated to undergraduate students’ learning process” H3b “Undergraduate students’
learning process is positively correlated to their learning outcomes.” H2c “The case study
method is positively correlated to undergraduate students’ learning experience” H3c
“Undergraduate students’ learning experience is positively correlated to their learning
outcomes.” (Nkhoma, 2013 p. 288-290)
Nkhoma (2013) says that case studies play an important role in the learning process of
students and their creative thinking, this is something that gets strengthened by the authors
Grassberger & Wilder (2015) whom explains in their article Impacting student learning using
a living case study that there are two different types of case studies.
The living case study and the traditional case study, both increasing the students interests as
well as understanding the subject, enhancing the learning satisfaction, giving them a deeper
knowledge and increasing their capability to think critically, it has also been demonstrated
that students, who have had a teacher using the case study method has developed a better
retention, than students who have just had the original lecture formats (Grassberger & Wilder,
2015). The living case study, mentioned by Grassberger & Wilder (2015), is said to be an
advanced version of the traditional case study. This is because a living case study concern an
ongoing problem, with a real company in present time (Raelin, 2008). Raelin (2008) also
states that living case studies are supposed to give the students a greater satisfaction to solve
problems that are not fictive.
Analys
Klaus Solberg Sølien, writes in his book that the students who studies economy, medicine and
psychology are the students that most likely will use case studies (Solberg Sølien, 2006). The
students seem to prefer to use the deductive way of learning, with minimal effort, and a vision
of a clear picture, students want to make it easy for them self by not doing more what it takes
(Felder, 2002). This attitude or behavior gets reinforced by the authors Henke, Höttecke and
Reiss (2007) who have done studies about students’ attitude towards reading texts. Some of
the students seem to want to do good in school and achieve high scores on their tests, Bandura
(1990) explains that the people who do want high test results are people who consider them
self’s having a high level of self-efficacy.
Dee Flink (2013) mentions in his book that one of many problems with todays’ society is that
teachers are not willing to change their teaching methods. Most all teachers still use the
traditional teaching method that according to the author is ineffective, it is shown by the study
from the English university where students lowered their test result by almost 50% in one
week (Flink, 2013). By using case studies as a teaching method, the students will be more
motivated to learn more, the information that is given will make people transfer their
knowledge into different novel situations (Grassberger & Wilder, 2015). Case studies are
something that Grassberger & Wilder (2015) describes as significant learning, by having a
deeper knowledge about a subject, students will tend to both understand and remember it
better, which could prevent misunderstandings and low test results.
The significant learning is said to include or lead to a more motivated student because of a
greater understanding (Grassberger & Wilder, 2015). Greater understanding of a subject is
something that author Felder (2002) talks about in his article, he refers to Bandura (1990) and
her self-efficacy description which suggests that students will be gain more confidence and a
higher level of self-efficacy when they learn more about a subject, this is being strengthened
by the authors Howorth, Smith and Parkinson (2012) whom suggest that social learning has a
positive effect on self-efficacy. Positive feedback or rewards will form a certain behavior
(Abaho, 2015), but it is not only a positive attituded that will change the behavior, if the
student does not understand the assignment and feedback is left out, it may lower the
confidence of the student, which Howorth, Smith and Parkinson (2012) reinforce with
statements that the learning and understanding part of a new subject increases the confidence
and therefore also motivation.
Barnes, Christensen and Hansen (2012) says that when students and teachers interact using a
case study pedagogy method the students’ ability to solve problems will increase. The way
they communicate with one another will come more easy and their decisions will be more
accurate if the students work with a non-fictive company. Mathews Nkhoma (2013) is another
author whom speaks well of case-based teaching and the positive effects that comes with it,
including improvements in the students’ perception of satisfaction, from a learner point of
view. Something like non-fictive case studies is also mentioned by Grassberger & Wilder
(2015), the authors have decided to name it living case studies. It is described as an enhanced
version of a case study and the benefits are better understanding, more motivated students and
better problem solving skills, Raeiln (2008) also high lights the non-fictive case study, saying
that it will bring greater satisfaction to the students.
Not all types of case studies are being highlighted (Bennet, et al., 2014), the traditional one is
said to not be up to date or tailormade for today’s students, the reasons they are not up to date
is because the feedback is said to be limited, which gets reinforced by Howorth, Smith &
Parkinson (2012) and their article about lower self-efficacy, the feedback that is given is often
criticism (Bennet, et al., 2014) which will lower the students confidence and therefore reduce
their motivation and understanding (Bandura, 1990). Some disadvantages using case studies,
are that the data collected can be difficult to analyze, scientists do not approve of the studies
scientific reliability, one of the reasons that studies lose their reliability is that people change
their behavior when they know that they are being studied (Iveroth, 2012), something that
Mark Murphy (2014) brings up in his article about doing studies on real companies.
Konklusion/slutsats
The impact that case studies has on teaching and learning differs from person to person.
Something that can be shown in this research is that the teaching method that includes case
studying is more effective than the ones that are not. What most of the authors are saying is
that by using case studies, the students will be more motivated to do further studies and their
hunger for more information and knowledge increases. Because of a better understanding, the
students will have a higher level of confidence and self-efficacy for as long as they get the
feedback and help that they need.
The traditional way that case studies have been used doesn’t seem to be wrong, but not all
authors agree on that it is executed the right way. By using living case studies, the students
will gain a more realistic picture and because it is a study based on a real company, students
tend to treat it in a different way. On the other side, by doing researches on a real company,
limitations are unavoidable. The company wants to be seen in the best way possible and
therefore biases are a common fact, this leads to skepticism from scientist and therefore the
entire truth is rarely presented.
The final thought about this study is that case studies should be used more frequently, not
only to satisfy students, but to increase their understanding and knowledge. This is because
the school system is old, students has an attitude that do not involve the preference of reading
long texts or listening to lectures. Students seems to be interested in a different learning
method that involve discussions and problem solving.
Further studies
Since it was easier said than done to find information about how the case study impacted the teacher, I
would suggest to do more research about that. Most of the information that was found in this paper is
from a student’s point of view and therefore it only answers half of the questioned asked.
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