The Case Method:Art and Skill

Narrative storytelling for interactive learning

Why cases?

Beyond reporting and writing

Build skills of critical thinking and judgment

Encourage students to think for themselves

Vicarious workplace experience

What a “teaching” case does

Vehicle for discussion

Tells story, stops at a decision point

Presents at least two equally compelling potential courses of action

Leaves to students hard work of deciding what to do next

Describes, does not prescribe

What a case class is

Participatory, interactive

Faculty as “guide”

3 levels of learning: content, skills, self-knowledge

“Less is more” from faculty

Vicarious experience

Case Method thought processanalysis

diagnosis

anticipate consequences

prescription

defend position

= Critical Thinking, Judgment

Our case focus: leadership, management, ethics

Sample questions:

Should an obit identify an Army officer as gay?Washington Post

Does crowdsourcing makes sense for community news?Fort Myers (FL) News-Press

What price press freedom? Far Eastern Economic Review (Dow Jones)

Case questions cont.In science reporting, what does “balanced”

mean?Milwaukee Journal SentinelYork Daily Record

How should a news organization react if attacked by the government of the day?BBC

How do you balance responsible reporting and competitive pressures?New England Cable News

Case topic areas(broadcast, print, digital)

International

Investigative reporting

Beat reporting (science, education etc.)

Crisis management

Ethics

Media business

Strategic management

Topic areas cont.Editorial decisionmaking

Newsroom management

Blogging

Crisis reporting

News graphics

Gender, race & ethnicity

Privacy

Celebrity reporting

We live onlinehttp://casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu

Or straight to library:http://casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu/collection

Or individual caseChristian Science Monitor