This paper examines the use of case studies as a teaching strategy under the paradigm of students as partners, aiming to promote their motivation, engagement and learning. The ‘students as partners’ paradigm promotes working together with students beyond traditional hierarchies and expectations about expertise and responsibility in teacher-student relationship. It puts an emphasis on a more authentic co‐inquiry and shared responsibility for learning among students and teachers. We analyze two Political Science courses taught in international and intercultural settings to demonstrate how case studies can be used at BA and MA levels to target development of different academic skills. Both courses engage students in course design, an area in which students have traditionally been excluded. This means that the students participate in content selection through choosing personally relevant case studies as empirical material within the course framework. Because of that, they are better able to link the cases with the concepts and theories, which facilitates authentic co-inquiry, enhances motivation and improves student engagement.
The aim of this paper is to inquire into case teaching in diverse settings on both BA and MA levels by including students in course content selection. It contributes to better understanding of strategies for practicing student-centered teaching and improving the classroom experience. The colleagues will specifically benefit from learning about different ways to design a student lead case study as a course assignment for BA and MA level. Moreover, the paper also emphasizes how to use these student selected or designed case studies to teach academic way of thinking through application of theory (BA level) and how to engage in critical evaluation and assessment of case material (MA level) based on research and practice. Assignments such as student lead case studies contribute to more inclusive classroom environment, encourage students to act as ‘experts’, and support peer learning. This classroom-based research relies on instructor’s observations and students’ assignments.
Keywords: case teaching, students as partners, learning, teaching
