Developing and Employing Case Studies for Competence ... · Developing and Employing Case Studies for Competence-Oriented Teaching and Learning in ... objectives/competencies (2)

Developing and Employing Case Studies for Competence-Oriented Teaching and Learning in Business Education –

Experiences from a Pilot Project in Austrian Business Academies

Christiane Schopf & Barbara Müllauer-Hager

SIEC-ISBE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2012 Denver, USA P03, August 2nd

Overview

Part I:

Why using case studies in business education?

Case study concept

Developing case studies

The pilot project KLEE

Evaluation research results

Part II:

Sample case study “Pizzeria Riva”

2

Motto Laotse

Give a man a fish and you feed

him for a day. Teach a man how

to fish and you feed him for a

lifetime. 3

4

(Weinert 1999; Bloom

1956, Posch/

Schneider/Mann 1994,

Fortmüller 2008)

Why using case studies in business education? - Competence model

Competence =

cognitive fitness

for a particular

class of tasks

Limitation to

cognitive

competence (Weinert 1999)

Why using case studies in business education? - Competence-oriented teaching

(Feindt 2010: 87)

Anchored instruction:

- learning activities are designed around an "anchor" – a realistic problem situation

- students identify with the situation/protagonist and become actively involved in generating solutions

- students develop intelligent knowledge structures, which are highly transferable to similar situations

(Bransford et al. 1990)

Case method:

„A case is a description of an actual situation, commonly involving a decision, a challenge, an opportunity, a problem or an issue faced by a person (or persons) in an organization.“ Cases can be used for research or educational objectives (Mauffette-Leenders et al. 2007: 2)

Why using case studies in business education? - Anchored instruction and case method

6

Motivation through authentic learning situations Action orientation – individual and group work, discussions

Promotion of different competencies

• cognitive competencies • methodological competencies • personal and social competencies

Why using case studies in business education? - Opportunities and risks

Time consuming and challenging for teachers!

Time consuming and challenging for students! How to find/develop appropriate case studies?

7

The didactic appropriateness of a case study depends on students´ previous knowledge, educational objectives and context factors.

Case study concept - types of case studies

Case studies

Case examples

„Armchair cases“

„Verfahrens-fall“

Short vignette

Harvard case

studies

Stated problem method

Case problem method

Case incident method

Case study method

8

narrow case studies

open case studies

(Wolff 1992, Heimerl/Loisel 2005)

Case study concept - types of case studies according to complexity

narrow scope of action

- well structured

- leading questions and

explanations

wide scope of action

- without a given

structure

- open questions

need for complexity reduction

students´ level of maturity

Case Studies:

• narrow, well structured

• based on real companies and dealing with real life situations

• complex and problem-oriented

• didactically adjusted and reduced

• should animate students to applicate their book knowledge in concrete situations and help them to build up competencies

• time requirement: 2-4 lessons

Case study concept - the KLEE case study concept

(e.g. Posch/Schneider/Mann 1994, Euler/Hahn 2004, Mühlhausen/Wegner 2006; Kempfert/Rolff 2005, Ballasch/Kiper 2006)

10

11

Cover: title, topic, short description, references, competencies

and educational objectives refering to the core curriculum,

estimated time need, necessary resources

Case: vivid and comprehensible description of a concrete situation

by using different sorts of texts and orginal material, definition of

student´s role, central question

Assignments: different levels of complexity working out

solutions in the form of decisions/suggestions/reflections/

evaluations step by step

Teacher‘s guide: didactic advices, sample solutions, further

information and hyperlinks, appendix (additional teaching

material)

Case study concept - structure of the KLEE case studies

Case studies should …

… be representative for the aspired learning objectives, lead students to high cognitive activation and promote joined-up thinking.

… be linked to students´ living environment and enable them to put

themselves in the position of the protagonist.

… contain all relevant information according to students´ previous

knowledge and learning objectives and offer an appropriate extent of complexity.

… comprise clear tasks at different competence levels, which require the application of various problem solving methods.

… be phrased comprehensibly.

… be designed attractively.

(e.g. Reetz 1988; Kaiser/Kaminski 1999; Fuchs/Blum 2008)

Developing case studies - didactic criteria for good case studies

12

(1) starting point = aspired learning objectives/competencies

(2) definition of a corresponding situation (consider which information is needed)

(3) selection of an appropriate enterprise

(4) collection of secondary data and establishing contacts

(5) interviews and visits

(6) work out the structure of the case study

(7) formulation of case, assignments and teacher´s guide

(sample solutions and didactic advices)

(8) check and approval by the enterprise

(9) revision if necessary

(10) test in class

(11) revision if necessary

Developing case studies - step by step

13

14

Topic Case studies

Overall – The St. Gallen

Management Model

Nr. 1: H2Ö (knowledge acquisition)

Nr. 2: Manner (illustration)

Nr. 3: Zotter (knowledge application)

Topic 1: start up and businessplan

Nr. 4: business plan – Fitness center Maximum

Nr. 5: business plan/franchising –

LernQuadrat private teaching

Topic 2: legal framework of

production

Nr. 6: legal structure of a company – Carpentry

Baumgartner

Nr. 7: companies register – Cafe Blaustern &

soft drinks supplier Mohr-Sederl

Nr. 8: authority – Easy Business Training

Topic 3: marketing Nr. 9: market research/location – Pizzeria Riva

Nr. 10: marketing concept – Andrea´s Delicacy

Topic 4: production Nr. 11: factors of production, ratios – Bakery Graf

Topic 5: materials management Nr. 12: procurement, logistics – Appel GmbH

Nr. 13: inventory management – RLG GmbH

Developing case studies - the KLEE case study collection

15

Background:

traditional input orientation of the Austrian school system

international shift towards output orientation

Objective:

concept for Austrian VET colleges

reasonable combination of

- improving teaching and schools (input, process) with

- external evaluation (output)

The pilot project KLEE - general idea

16

collection of

case studies to facilitate

competence

development

in-service

teacher training to support the

implementation of

the concept

comparative

assessment to evaluate

competence

achievement

core curriculum for the definition of

competencies and

educational

objectives

input process output

The pilot project KLEE - instruments

Konzept (concept)

K erncurriculum (core curriculum) &

L ernstandserhebung (comparative assessment) -

E ntwicklung (development) &

E valuation (evaluation)

The pilot project KLEE - realisation

Exemplary realization of the concept:

Type of school: business academy

Subject: business administration, 2nd year

17

Procedure:

1. elaboration of the concept and its instruments (involving

theory as well as expert´s knowledge)

2. implementation and evaluation of the concept in form of a

pilot project in all 13 Viennese business academies

(experimental intervention and observation of the process

using qualitative as well as quantitative methods) - academic

year 2009/10

The pilot project KLEE - research questions

19

(1) To what extent does the use of the instruments lead to

higher learning outcomes?

(2) To what extent are the instruments accepted

- utilised and

- appraised

by the stakeholders (headmasters, teachers, students)?

The pilot project KLEE - quasi-experimental design

20

process observation (qualitative and quantitative)

comparative assessment

group A

• core curriculum

• case studies

• in-service teacher

training

group B

• core curriculum

• case studies

group C

• core curriculum

group D

---

All business academies in

Vienna (13 schools, 35

teachers,

≈ 830 students)

pre-test

The pilot project KLEE - quasi-experimental design

21

process observation (qualitative and quantitative)


group A

• core curriculum

• case studies

• in-service teacher

training

group B

• core curriculum

• case studies

group C

• core curriculum

group D

---

Sample:

6 schools

16 teachers

405 students

pre-test

07.09.

2009

03.07.

2010

in-service

teacher training T (A)

comparative

assessment all S

01.06.2010

online pre-test all S

W38

online

questionnaire T, S (A, B, C)

W44-46

online

questionnaire

all T, S

W4

group-

discussion all T

W6/7

online

questionnaire all T, S

W25-27

(group-)

interviews all H, T

01.01.

implementation of core curriculum (A, B, C)

and case studies (A, B)

legend:

W = week

H = headmasters

T = teachers

S = students

groups A, B, C

The pilot project KLEE - research instruments

23

Means (basis = 100 points):

Mean group A: 31,7 points

Mean group B: 35,7 points

Mean group C: 32,4 points

Mean group D: 35,2 points

Hypothesis: X(A) > X(B) > X(C) > X(D)

X … achieved points at the comparative

assessment

Evaluation research results - learning outcomes

nu

mb

er

of stu

de

nts

achieved points at the


Vienna mean = 33,34

standard deviation = 12,521

N = 603

24

Estimated marginal means:

Mean group A: 32,7 points

Mean group B: 35,0 points

Mean group C: 33,6 points

Mean group D: 35,6 points

Factors:

Group

Gender

Migration background *

* = significant

Covariates:

Previous knowledge (points at test) *

Overall average grade in the subjects German, Maths and English at the school attended before *

Achievement motivation (PMI score)

Evaluation research results - learning outcomes

Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)

25

Criticism on

the comparative assessment and

its surrounding conditions

„Black Box“ teacher performance in class!

Actual use of instruments?

1 year is too short to achieve fundamental changes

Evaluation research results - learning outcomes – discussion

Evaluation research results - acceptance – appraisal – group concept

„Please mark your group concept (1=excellent; 5=not sufficient)!“

26

Hypothesis:

A(A) > A(B) > A(C) > A(D)

A … acceptance factor for the different group concepts

Teachers:

group A: mark 1.78

group B: mark 1.86

group C: mark 2.83

group D: mark 2.40

Students:

group A: mark 2.80

group B: mark 2.91

group C: mark 3.00

group D: mark 3.00

27

„Would you take part in the project again with your group concept?“

Teachers:

group A: 100 % yes/maybe

group B: 71 % yes/maybe

group C: 33 % yes/maybe

group D: 67 % yes/maybe

Evaluation research results - acceptance – appraisal – group concept

„Please mark the following instruments (1=excellent; 5=not sufficient)!“

28

Average marks for … Teachers Students

… the in-service teacher training

1.50

--

… the case studies

1.38

2.84

… the core curriculum

2.00

3.04

… the comparative assessment

2.70

3.11

Evaluation research results - acceptance – appraisal – instruments

29

number of case

studies used

group

total group

A

group

B

5 /13 3 3 6

6 /13 3 0 3

8 /13 1 0 1

10 /13 0 2 2

11 /13 1 2 3

12 /13 1 0 1

total 9 7 16

Evaluation research results - acceptance – use – case studies

Mean = 7,56 used case studies (out of 13)

selection necessary because of time restrictions

Number of case studies used:

30


0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

80 %

Erarbeitung neuer Inhalte

Übung/Anwendung WH/SA-Vorbereitung

6

75

50

n = 16to acquire new

knowledge to exercise / apply

knowledge to prepare for tests

Purpose of use: Work with case studies: 50 % in class 50 % homework

Students´ ability

to solve case studies: 25 % completely autonomously 70 % partly autonomously 5 % not autonomously at all

31


Conversation about case studies amoung colleagues:

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

13

38

56

60

n = 16

31

32


Has teaching changed because of the case studies? Has workload changed

because of the case studies?

47 % 53 %

no

yes17 %

50 %

33 %

n = 12

decreased increased no changen = 15

33

„Case studies in general promote competence- oriented teaching!“

Evaluation research results - acceptance – appraisal – case studies

„Teaching with case studies is generally reasonable!“

beginning of academic year end of academic year

34

Mark

Request for further use


35

Detailed quantitative feedback on the case studies:

100 % agreement of teachers with the following statements:

„I believe teaching with these case studies to be reasonable.“

„I enjoyed working with these case studies.“

„These case studies are practical.“

„These case studies help my students understand economic connections.“

80 % agreement

Very good feedback for the teacher´s guide.


36

Results from qualitative interviews with teachers:

Students enjoy working with the case studies.

The case studies are also used for other students and in other subjects.

The biggest problem is the lack of time in class!

Very positive statements:

„high quality“, „good selection“, „very useful for teaching business administration“

case studies allow practical experiences

Different opinions about length and complexity:

Very good and important as there are no complex case studies in school books!

Texts too long – too ambitious for that age!


37

Case study „Pizzeria Riva“

Topics: marketing, location

Case: marketing decisions, market research and choice of location for a Neapolitan pizzeria in Vienna

Student´s role: student

Reality check: real enterprise, real situation

Time need: 3-4 lessons

Media: paper and pencil, calculator, if available computer and internet

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva - overview

38

Summerstage

– a summer location in the city center of Vienna nearby Donaukanal – sports facilities, cultural events and gastronomy

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva – idea/development

Christian Leyerer - entrepreneur

Citythai - Thai restaurant in the city center of Vienna

Please put yourself in the following situation:

On a hot summer day during breakfast you thumb through the newspaper „Wirtschaftsblatt“. Especially one article attracts your attention…

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva – case study part I

newspaper article about the brand new Neapolitan Pizzeria Riva on Summerstage

info box about Summerstage

As Pizza is one of your favorite dishes and you think that you should at least once try an original Neapolitan one, you decide to visit Pizzeria Riva on Summerstage the same evening together with some friends...

short description of the visit

spontaneous dialogue with Christian Leyerer about a winter location for Pizzeria Riva

info box about Leyerers´ settled restaurant City Thai

http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/lifeandstyle/businesstaste/378220/index.do

„Maybe you could really help me reflect the whole business idea again and think about further steps!“

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva – case study part I

Please analyze the business idea – along the following questions.

product, USP, target group, market segmentation, price policy, promotion

Completely open is yet the question of an appropriate (winter) location for the Pizzeria. importance of the choice of location, locational

factors

To make a good decision some more data should be collected.

definition of five important questions, outline of appropriate market research instruments

Design of a short questionnaire to find out more about the target group

Internet research of data about potential competitors

Appraisal of the business idea from an ecological perspective 40

In October the entrepreneur contacts you again and asks you to help him with the concrete choice of location.

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva – case study part II

report of Christian Leyerer about his investigations and thoughts about the location

collection of information about three different potential locations

1st district, Franz-Josefs-Kai 37

Size: 200 m2

Facilities: no furniture

Condition: under construction

Rent: 2500,- Euro

Investment cost: 350000,- Euro

Together you try to arrange the collected material and to make a reasonable decision…

Sample case study - Pizzeria Riva – case study part II

Compare pros and cons of the three locations using a table

Rate the three locations using the scoring method

Come to a decision and make notes of your argumentation

Locational factors Weight 1-10 F.-J.-Kai …

Rating 1-5 Points

(1) property 33

- size 10

- garden 5

- rent 10

- investment cost 8

(2) market … …

(3) infrastructure … …

(4) other … …

score

How to Develop and Employ Case Studies for Competence-Oriented Teaching and Learning in Business Education –

Experiences from a Pilot Project in Austrian Business Academies

Christiane Schopf & Barbara Müllauer-Hager

Thank you for your attention!

Department for Management Institute for Business Education Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna, Austria Dr. Christiane Schopf T +43-1-313 36-5392 F +43-1-313 36-767 [email protected] www.wu.ac.at/wipaed

Contact

Department for Management Institute for Business Education Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna, Austria Dr. Barbara Müllauer-Hager T +43-1-313 36-4855 F +43-1-313 36-767 [email protected] www.wu.ac.at/wipaed

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Developing and Employing Case Studies for Competence ... · Developing and Employing Case Studies for Competence-Oriented Teaching and Learning in ... objectives/competencies (2)