Abstract:

There are two key elements in case method. One is the teaching material “case”, the other is the case discussion. Cases are richly detailed, contextualized, narrative accounts of teaching and learning. Cases should be sufficiently substantive and complex to allow for multiple levels of analysis and interpretation. Cases represent the problems, dilemmas, and complexity of teaching something to someone in some context. Case method is the practice of using cases as a pedagogical tool in fields such as law, business, medicine, and education. In case method, where discussion as a method of instruction, the purpose is to help engage students in a case and learn academic concepts in context by encouraging verbal interactions. To better understand teachers' use of case discussion in the classroom, this study examine a Taiwan educational professor’s case discussion in terms of the types of classroom discussion and student role. One Taiwan educational professor was purposively selected. Data were collected through her class, video tape then transcript word by word, and were analyzed using 6 types of class discussion and 7 student roles. The results show that the teacher speaks for 24 minutes in a 74 minute class case discussion, while students speak for 50 minutes. The most common type of classroom discussion is student and teacher inquisitorial dialogue, a total of 26 times; followed by a manage dialogue, a total of 7 times; then challenge-style dialogue, a total of 5 times; the least is student and student dialogue style, a total of 3 times. The assumption dialogue and teacher’s role play dialogue did not appear in this study. For the student role types, they plays expert for 20 times; consultant for 19 times; opportunist for 11 times; problems guider for 5 times; synthesis for 3 times; experience sharer for 1 time, There is no information sharer and role player role in this study. Implications of these findings for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers interested in case discussion are examined.

Keywords:

Case method, case discussion, teacher education.