11 - Case teaching notes: getting from here to there

Summary

Even with the best of maps and instruments, we can never fully chart our journeys.

– Gail Pool, Professor of Anthropology, University of New Brunswick

As discussed in an earlier chapter, well-crafted teaching cases are rich in what is and is not stated; bringing to life the case characters; detailing the situational context and how it arose; and in giving students a sense of where the issue/situation is headed. Thus, cases are like a richly textured aerial photograph of a landscape with an arrow on it pointing to a spot that says, “You – the student assuming the role of the businessperson facing a decision and having a particular learning agenda – are here.” Well-crafted teaching notes, on the other hand, are a map of that landscape. That map poses for the case discussion leader, ideas, suggestions, and routes for getting students from here to there on two levels. One level pertains to the business situation in the case that warrants a plan of action to address a business problem or seize a business opportunity. A second level pertains to the means for crafting a high-potential learning experience for the students who are discussing the case.