Towards Case Method
Leonardo da Vinci
The project introduced is supported by Leonardo da Vinci, a programme of the EU which aims at improving quality of vocational training systems and practises in Europe. The programme supports projects that develop initial and continuing vocational training in European co-operation between training institutions and enterprises in order to create new employment opportunities.
The partners involved in the project come from Finland, Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Slovenia. The roles of the partners may differ, depending on their experience of using the case method.
For more information about Leonardo da Vinci, please click here.
The Aims of the Project
The project’s aim is to develop the use of the case method which is related to the Problem Based Learning thinking and research and development projects around that method. The case method aims at providing the student with possibilities to develop their problem solving skills with different learning tasks. Research shows that the Case method has proved to be effective in improving, for example, the following skills: analyzing, evaluating different possibilities of action, decision making and combining theory and practise. Studies show that companies are looking for graduates who have skills in problem solving.
Another goal of the project is to improve the use of the case method as a method of learning and teaching. The project will produce tools for new and experienced business teachers to move towards the use of learner-centred method, like case method. These tools include a guide with a case (will be produced in English, German, Dutch, French and Slovene), teaching notes and best practise-descriptions to support the planning of new learning and teaching methods in the curriculum. This would help to avoid the same possible problem situations when using case studies, and on the other hand, this would reveal information about successful case experiments.
European Cooperation
European cooperation is needed, because in Europe there is a big need for cases regarding small economies and small and medium-sized enterprises. From the United States it’s possible to acquire case studies dealing with large companies, but processing them is not very fruitful for those students who will place themselves in SMEs after graduation. The project aims at acquiring the case studies, which we will use in the local SMEs. The solutions will be presented to them, which will give on hand new, fresh ideas to the companies and on the other hand this will be a great opportunity for the students to get together with their potential future employers.
An important point is that the students will be provided the opportunity to work with other European students. The cases can be handled in cooperation with the students of partnering schools, by using new, computer-based applications and connections.
Dissemination
In the project, the case studies handled and evaluated by the partners are available for the partners for teaching purposes. The manual and experiences will be published in the www-pages for the use of other schools and teacher training organizations as well. The Case Method Guide will be distributed actively to all higher education institutions through project partners.