Virtually all law schools rely on the
case method of instruction to teach and test legal analysis, which lawyers and academics refer to as thinking like a lawyer, say Bergman, Goodman, and Holm, but for decades, most law professors have left it to students to work out for themselves what legal analysis consists of and how the
case method develops analytical ability.
In this pilot study, physicians received intensive training in the
CASE method and motivational interviewing, and then they implemented these strategies with vaccine-hesitant parents encountered in practice.
Although the role of
case method is extensively documented, and this pedagogical tool has become ubiquitous in marketing discipline; there is a dearth of empirical studies that test the effectiveness of
case methods.
The
case method started in Moral Theology as the casus conscientiae, which moved on to the law school as the precedent method and moved on to the business school and lately to the medical school.
In addition to a few other schools around the country, HBS uses the
case method for teaching, which, according to Harvard, "is a profound educational innovation that presents the greatest challenges confronting leading companies, nonprofits, and government organizations -- complete with the constraints and incomplete information found in real business issues -- and places the student in the role of the decision maker." For students, Cohen admits, it's one of the scariest parts of the HBS experience.
Hans Klein, former president of the World Association for
Case Method Research and Application, has written, "During the past 30 years, the
case method has enjoyed a steady and continuing increase in popularity and use.
Demirel (2006) presented 'the lecture method', 'the discussion method', 'the
case method', 'the demonstration-performance method', 'the problem solving method', and 'the independent study method' as the common teaching methods used in education faculties.
of Illinois at Chicago) introduces undergraduate criminal justice students to criminal law through a
case method that incorporates classic and contemporary cases, legal issues, facts, and public policy.
ERIC Descriptors: Design; Engineering; Art; Theories; Methods; Problem Solving; Computer Assisted Design;
Case Method (Teaching Technique); Engineering Education
This paper discusses one particular form of participant-centered learning, the "
case method," and recounts the author's own attempts to introduce it into the classroom.
The history of the Harvard Law
case method, developed in the 1870s by Christopher Columbus Langdell, is well documented, and the magnitude of its influence in legal education has been immense.