Hello, readers! It’s been quite some time since I have posted and it’s good to be back.
This entry will focus on an assignment that asked us to create a case study for a leadership class. We were given some examples from which to work and had the benefit of having read numerous case studies during the classes in our leadership program. Frankly, I feel like I have lived some of the studies I have been assigned to read and someone is getting credit for documenting my travails!
As I am a believer in the adage, “If you want to learn something, teach it”, I found this exercise beneficial. Initially, I thought the difficult part would be coming up with a story. Not so. The difficult part was coming up with a story that required the application of the leadership theories we are currently focusing on in class. That perspective gave me new insight to the development of the case studies I have studied to date. Like any other lesson plan, the learning points must be defined at the outset. With the clarity of the goal in mind, the story could be tailored accordingly. A second point is creating the questions that offer the student an opportunity to demonstrate the level of mastery for which the teacher/professor needs to see. Through this exercise, I realize these two points are critical in creating cases.
I found myself needing to refer to textbooks to ensure I was capturing the essence of the theories we had been learning about in the previous weeks. My examination of the theories now included my perceptions after having learned the material versus the time prior to my first exposure. What did I learn and how would I demonstrate understanding to somebody else? What was the delta in my knowledge base of leadership theory?
Some of the issues pertinent to case study development include:
-Providing enough detail to allow the student to build an adequate picture of the situation.
There needs to be enough to paint a picture, but not so much as to distract from the learning points to be conveyed.
-Describing a situation that may lend itself to applying what the students have learned.
Instructions and references can be used to assist in guiding the student in a direction. However, the directions need to be broad enough to allow the student range to expand their thinking or connect other ideas that may have been learned elsewhere.
-Creating questions that allow the student to demonstrate their level of knowledge.
The questions should not be leading, but also not so vague as to blur the focus on the learning points. The level of student the lesson is directed at must also be considered.
-Creating a situation that had was based in fact so the student can see themselves in the situation.
If the student cannot see themselves facing the situation, they may not be as enthusiastic or committed to solving the problem. As I said before, many times I see myself in the case studies I have read and the emotions created as I re-live the situations are sometimes very powerful. Taking time to review the experience has provided me with opportunities to grow and to find a bit of catharsis in the exercise.
What did I learn by doing the case study creation exercise?
I learned creating a case study of substance is a complicated task that requires planning and concentration. I learned that the story needs to be believable and relatable for the student to be able to see themselves in the situation. Creating questions that address the level of understanding and application capability of the student takes planning and understanding of the learning points.
The biggest learning point I took away from this assignment was that building high-quality case studies is not an easy task. From this experience, I would expect grading replies to case studies to require an even higher level of understanding and communication skills. Guiding students back toward where their comprehension and application needs to be while not demoralizing them would require skill and adroitness. A tangent to that thought would be that teachers/professors/instructors need to vet the case studies they select for students to analyze. A case study of poor quality could induce students to draw incorrect conclusions from the lesson and, given the law of primacy (FAA, 2008), create issues for the class and its leader that are very difficult to counteract.
See you next week!
Administration, Federal Aviation. (2008). Aviation Instructor's Handbook: U.S. Department of Transportation.
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