How do you measure and improve the quality of case study learning?

1 Define clear objectives and criteria

Before designing or selecting a case study, you need to define what you want your learners to achieve and how you will assess their performance. What are the learning outcomes, skills, and competencies that you want to develop or reinforce? What are the criteria and indicators that will show if your learners have met the objectives? How will you provide feedback and guidance along the way? Having clear objectives and criteria will help you align your case study with your curriculum, select appropriate scenarios and tasks, and evaluate your learners' progress and results.

2 Choose realistic and relevant scenarios

The quality of case study learning depends largely on the quality of the case itself. You want to choose or create scenarios that are realistic, relevant, and challenging for your learners. Realistic scenarios will help your learners connect with the context, apply their existing knowledge, and transfer their skills to new situations. Relevant scenarios will help your learners see the value and purpose of the case study, motivate them to engage and learn, and relate the case study to their own goals and interests. Challenging scenarios will help your learners develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, as well as stimulate their curiosity and creativity.

3 Incorporate active and collaborative learning

Case study learning is not a passive or individual activity. You want to encourage your learners to actively participate, explore, and experiment with the case study, as well as collaborate and communicate with their peers and instructors. Active and collaborative learning will help your learners deepen their understanding, apply their skills, and reflect on their actions and outcomes. You can incorporate active and collaborative learning by using various methods and tools, such as questions, prompts, tasks, simulations, role-plays, discussions, feedback, peer review, and reflection.

5 Evaluate and improve the case study

Finally, you want to evaluate and improve the case study based on the feedback and data that you collect from your learners and yourself. Evaluation and improvement will help you measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of the case study, as well as identify the strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. You can evaluate and improve the case study by using various sources and methods, such as surveys, interviews, observations, tests, analytics, and self-assessment.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?