Publish at February 21 2024 Updated February 21 2024
Making the link between the usefulness of certain theoretical knowledge and its importance in real life sometimes seems rather complicated. In fact, the way traditional schooling is structured doesn't give students the chance to really make this connection, because the teacher is content to teach concepts without actually putting the learner into a situation. As a result, we end up with full heads but no skills. We've all taken courses during our school or academic career whose concepts seemed difficult to relate to real-life problems.
To remedy this situation, in a global context where knowledge alone is no longer enough, certain pedagogues, notably Christopher Columbus Langdell, responsible for the emergence of the case study (CS) in academia, have helped to put this pedagogical strategy into practice. What does it involve? What is its added value? What are its drawbacks?
If there's one flaw in traditional pedagogy, it's the difficulty of linking theory to practice, because the learner is seen as a sponge who simply absorbs the knowledge imparted by the teacher. In short, the learner lacks autonomy and is a passive receiver. As Van Stappen (1989b) puts it, the case-study approach is designed to "indirectly seek out a substitute for experience in concrete problems", thus facilitating the transition from theory to practice.
If we also look at the definition of this pedagogical strategy, this link is also raised when Davis and Wilcock (2003) state that it is "a student-centered, theme-based activity that demonstrates theoretical concepts in an applied setting". The case study offers the learner the opportunity to understand abstract concepts in order to put them into practice in concrete situations. This implies a focus on analytical skills.
The development of a case study is based on the general and specific objectives determined by the teacher. In most cases, it highlights a specific problem worthy of the student's interest, which he or she will set about solving according to his or her cognitive resources, bearing in mind that for one and the same problem, several solutions are conceivable.
The aim is not necessarily to find the right solution, but rather "to use a coherent approach that can be applied in real life".
From this perspective, solving a problem based on a complex scenario leads learners to analyze, synthesize and solve problems. In this way, the case study reinforces students' critical thinking and informed decision-making. This is all the more true given that Alice Delserieys and Perrine Martin recognize the case study as a "miracle cure" that "goes beyond concepts to transmit to students a posture, a critical sense and a more general culture".
As we can see, case studies not only help students to develop the critical thinking skills they need in their working lives, they also help to motivate learners.
Following the socio-constructivist perspective, teaching is co-constructed, with the learner at the center of the learning process, supported by a teacher-facilitator who is sure to reinvigorate motivation. Given that motivation is one of the driving forces behind learning at school, and that its absence leads to failure, at some point we had to set up educational tools to encourage student commitment.
This is the background to the pedagogical strategy of the case study, which is, in the words of Altet (2004), quoted by Delserieys Alice and Martin Perrine, "a desire on the part of teachers to respond to current issues of student demotivation".
The case study has many strong points. Despite this, we have observed a number of elements that may render this strategy wanting.
There are
In short, the case study is a pedagogical strategy designed to help the learner move from theory to practice, develop analytical skills and maintain motivation.
Although it has many advantages, this pedagogical approach provides conclusions that cannot be generalized, and it is time-consuming.
Illustration: Artursz - DepositPhotos
References
Delserieys Alice and Martin Perrine, 2016, "L'incontournable usage du cas et de l'exemple dans l'enseignement universitaire", Recherches en éducation, 27, online
http://journals.openedition.org/ree/6173
Lalancette Rosalie, 2014, L'étude de cas en tant que stratégie pédagogique aux études supérieures : recension critique Québec : Livres en ligne du CRIRES. Online
https://lel.crires.ulaval.ca/sites/lel/files/etude_de_cas_strategie.pdf
Lamy Erwan, Lapoule Paul, 2015, " La méthode des cas, instrument du rapprochement entre éducation et recherche en management ", In Management & Avenir Vol 5 (N° 79), p 15 à 31 online
https://www.cairn.info/revue-management-et-avenir-2015-5-page-15.htm
UQTR, "Étude de cas et enseignement", online
https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/gscw031?owa_no_site=76&owa_no_fiche=247
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