Case Based Teaching: A Model for Interpersonal Communications
by Michelle Lee - Communications Department

In my first year here at Northeastern, I have learned that my role as a teacher encompasses a good deal more than the sharing of knowledge that I already possess. In fact, I would further the assertion that I have learned a good deal more from my students this year than I could have possibly expected when I arrived on this campus in September. With this in mind, I choose to see myself as a facilitator of learning in my classrooms - a person who has both a significant body of experience and knowledge to impart, as well as the capacity to learn from the 80-100 diverse educated adults I interact with on a three-month rotation.

     With this in mind, it is no wonder that Denis Sullivan's seminar last quarter, "Case-Based Teaching," presented in conjunction with the CEUT, meshed well with my goals for the coming quarter. The overall objective of this seminar was to define what a case-based method involves and to discuss ways of integrating it into any course, regardless of academic field. Some of the primary suggestions Denis made that 'stuck' with me included:

• Anything can be considered a 'case' - journal articles, real or hypothetical stories relevant to the topic, mathematical problems, fiction or non-fiction narratives, even - as he allowed the seminar participants to try out - a story of mythical political groups strategically working out their own fates;
• By allowing students to come to the class discussion having analyzed a common artifact, active and mutual involvement in nearly inevitable;
• Combining methods of critical analysis - by writing about the case and discussing it as a group in class - leads to deeper comprehension.
• A well-developed case-based curriculum can actually better reflect student learning than traditional formats of testing and evaluation.

At the time of the seminar, I had been struggling in my mind to create a better, more motivating curriculum for a course I would be teaching spring quarter, Advanced Interpersonal Communication. As an instructor of courses interpersonal communication, I am in the unique position of calling students to learn skills and theory around a subject that is best understood by doing it. The primary objectives for students enrolled in an Interpersonal Communication course are to gain a critical awareness of her/his own skills in one-on-one interaction, gain an understanding of conceptual frameworks for human communication, and to develop skills toward building and maintaining reflective relationships.

     Thus a central component of these courses is student interaction, in the form of small group and partner exercises, so that students actually engage the process of interpersonal communication as they critically analyze it. Often the lesson for a particular day is encoded in the group/partner exercise itself, so that learning occurs later, upon critical analysis of the activity employed. A major challenge in facilitation a course of this nature is to create a classroom atmosphere that is "interactive-friendly" around a subject that students are not always keen to publicly discuss - human relationships. Furthermore, it is imperative to discuss these matters from a critical standpoint that emphasizes the major theoretical development of this field as well as tangible examples of theory.

     Denis Sullivan's suggestions for an entirely case-based course were both timely and relevant to me. I applied his definition of 'cases' by using a short-story fiction anthology for the course. This collection provided me with twenty brief , but eloquently articulated, 'cases' in the form of short stories set in contemporary society, which I paired with my own class pack of theory-based articles and book chapters from the field. Each week, students read one theory-based article from the class pack and one short story from the anthology; class discussions attempt to link these various 'voices' of the course topics while allowing students' own voices to come through as unique perspectives in and of themselves.

     I recall from the winter seminar that one of the first questions raised was one that is a perennial concern to all instructors: "How do you know if they have really read the material?" Denis response, which he admitted creates a good deal more work for the instructor, was to require students to write a one- to two-page assessment of the case around a set of questions distributed by the instructor. The paper would then serve as "tickets for entry" into the class on the day of the discussion; students who do not complete the papers prior to attending class are welcome to join the discussion, but they lose points for not completing the written analysis. I have implemented this technique into my course this quarter, asking students to write a reflective, critical paper around a series of questions I provide each week. These papers comprise a considerable portion of the points earned toward the students' course grades, so there is both tangible and interactive motivation in writing them. There is also a trade-off cost/benefit in that, while the course currently requires students to write regular, short papers, there is no capstone major paper due at the end of the quarter as I have previously required.

     Thus far, the approach has been far more successful than I would have anticipated; rather than writing a minimal amount to barely satisfy the assignment, as I might have feared, students seem to enjoy the opportunity to demonstrate their comprehension of the material on a weekly basis. As well, it gives each student a chance to bring individual, studied interpretations of the class pack discussion. From my vantage point, this has ensured the integrity of each student's voice being recognized and validated as a unique, critical contribution to the class.

     Furthermore, students who come to class having read the cases and prepared written responses to them are much more likely to actively engage one another and the instructor. Each week, one days is designates as a discussion day for the 'case of the week' [i.e., short story]; I have found students to be timely and prepared, and ready to discuss their understanding of the material with other students. As the class facilitator, it is my role to guide their interpretations and discussions around the related theories and conceptual frameworks, and make the critical connections between theory and example.

     There are skeptics who may argue that case-based teaching 'takes away' from traditional lecture time, and shifts the focus of control over theoretical material from teacher's expertise to students' less educated interpretation. I disagree. I have found my students to be bright, capable, mature individuals who bring these cases to life and find some interpretations that I - in my more specific, academic grounding - failed to see. Students enjoy and learn more from classes in which they feel they have an active, participating role. And while I may not be able to impose a rigid formidable lecture agenda that can be covered and completed in ten weeks under a case-based approach, I am confident that these students are making vital links between theory and 'real life,' and this is a mark of authentic learning.