politics and the real world: a case study in developing case-based learning
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Abstract Case-based learning (also known as problem-based learning and by a variety of other names) is well established in disciplines like medicine, business and law. Drawing on experience from these and other fields, a project at the University of Huddersfield is developing case-based learning for use in politics. This article describes the processes of creating and using case-based learning resources, and examines what is already being done in this area.
Keywords
case-based assessment
learning;
problem-based
THE CONTEXT
T
he increasing emphasis on the role of British higher education in developing labour market skills, coupled with the drive for income generation, is having some interesting knock-on effects. Many institutions have responded to this imperative by developing explicitly vocational courses. This is particularly, but not exclusively, true of post-1992 universities, whose history as polytechnics and, in many cases, technical colleges before that, has bequeathed them a more vocational focus. Such courses often take the form of foundation degrees (these are equivalent to the first two years of an
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learning;
teaching;
undergraduate honours degree, developed in partnership with employers and with a clear vocational focus), in areas that have previously been seen as essentially academic. One such area is politics. New or expanded goals have led practitioners to seek new approaches to teaching and learning, and to look to practice in other disciplines for inspiration. Politics departments in post-1992 universities are frequently in a particularly strong position to learn from approaches already in use in professional training fields such as nursing and social work, through working in close proximity with researchers, teachers and practitioners in these areas. One such approach, currently being
european political science: 5 2006 (84 – 96) & 2006 European Consortium for Political Research. 1680-4333/06 $30 www.palgrave-journals.com/eps
developed at the University of Huddersfield with funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning, is case- or problem-based learning.
THE METHOD Many different terms are used to describe what at Huddersfield has been called case-based learning: enquiry/inquiry-, problem-, scenario-based learning and the case method. These different terms often denote differences of approach, but not in any consistent fashion (Figure 1). It is generally agreed that case-based learning is an innovative teaching method that has a great deal to offer tutors and students in the social sciences, including increased inclusivity, deep learning, better retention of knowledge, development of critical and analytical skills, greater student interest and the development of key employability skills. The use of casebased learning is widespread in the fields of medicine, law and business, to name but a few. These disciplines have previously tended to use fairly rigid, traditional, teaching methods, and much of the literature on
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