I love to teach with case examples.
They permit the right mixture of generalization and specific, elicit discussion among class members, and reinforce the key principles. This means, of course, that the instructor must be ready to handle interruptions as well as questions out of left field but those factors add to the energy of the session.
This interaction gives the instructor the ability to determine whether or not the information is being absorbed. You can explain a concept one way and some people won't grasp it. Add another explanation or two and finally all of the lights go on. Teaching management and EEO workshops has made me appreciate the excellent teachers I've had over the years.
It has also made me cringe at the poor ones.
2 comments:
Sitting in the student's seat, I really enjoy hearing / reading about the real-world examples.
One thing I like about getting my MBA online is I can take time to read through everyone's personal work experiences as they relate to our lessons. In a classroom setting, I have found that two or three extroverts can easily dominate the discussion, while the rest of the class sits there and contributes very little.
I also like hearing from the professor or speaker about alternate ways to handle the situation, or tangent lessons that directly relate to the "real world" case that someone shared. Good professors are great at this. Bad professors expect us to "read the powerpoint".
Cincy Cat,
That's good to hear. My of the compliments that I cherish from my students is "He uses real world examples."
People want to see a connection. All theory + no connection = big problem.
Michael
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