Today’s Classrooms Are More Neurodiverse: Here’s How to Make Case Teaching Inclusive for Every Student

When it comes to teaching today’s students, one reality stands out: more learners are identifying as neurodivergent than ever before. Some may face challenges with the case method, which can limit opportunities for meaningful participation. In this context, business educators are interested in creating classroom environments that support inclusive dialogue and collaboration.

This was the focus of a recent webinar, Neurodiversity in the Case Method: Creating Inclusive Case Discussions, featuring Rob Austin, a professor of Digital Innovation at Ivey Business School, and Jeff Szmyr, a disability inclusion and accessibility specialist.

“Around 15 to 20 percent of the world's population is neurodivergent,” said Szmyr. “That would be about one out of every five.” The figure includes individuals with autism, dyslexia, intellectual disabilities, anxiety disorders, and other neurological variations that shape how they process information and engage in class.

During the session, Szmyr outlined two competing ways of understanding disability.

“In the medical model, the person living with an impairment or condition is seen as the problem,” Szmyr said. “The focus is on curing the impairment or getting them to fit into the system.” The social model “says it’s not the individual who’s the problem, it’s the barriers in the environment around us,” he continued. “If those barriers were removed, then there wouldn’t really be a disability, only differences to manage.”

Inclusive Learning Through the Case Method

Austin, who has extensive experience with case method teaching and research on how organizations become more neuro-inclusive, noted that the intersection of neurodiversity and case-based teaching “is still an open question,” calling it “a complex topic with a lot to consider.”

He also emphasized the strengths of the method itself. “The case method immerses students in real-world business situations,” he explained. “They’re asked to take on the role of a protagonist facing a challenge and develop a decision and plan of action for what they would do in that situation. Learning happens when students do the heavy lifting involved in deriving the lessons and discover things for themselves, guided by an orchestrating instructor. They feel ownership of the ideas they’ve developed, which leads to better retention.”

By acquiring knowledge of theories and frameworks through specific contexts, Austin added, students “gain a stronger understanding of when and how those frameworks might or might not apply. Having struggled with a problem that feels real and important, they’re then ‘rescued’ by a theory or framework that helps them make sense of it. It’s like pouring glue on their brains.”

Both speakers discussed how, in traditional case classrooms, practices such as cold calling—where a student is called on to interact with the professor in front of their classmates for several minutes—could create stress for some learners. “You can see why there might be some anxiety there,” said Austin.

Szmyr agreed that for neurodiverse learners, these dynamics can sometimes create additional pressure. “For students who may struggle with executive functions like working memory, processing speed, emotional control, or shifting attention between tasks, those moments can be especially stressful,” he explained. “Because they’re often acutely aware of these challenges, anxiety spills out.”

The good news is that the case method continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s learners. “The case method is a very robust learning approach,” Austin said. “I strongly believe that there’s a version of it that preserves its benefits but is also systematically better for neurodivergent students. We’re working on it.”

Making Case Teaching More Inclusive

The good news? The case method already includes many elements of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework built on flexibility and multiple modes of engagement. By integrating UDL principles, business faculty can adapt case-based teaching to foster inclusive participation and stronger learning experiences for all students.

For educators interested in exploring this approach further, Szmyr recommends the Guide to Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education, from the University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. The guide offers helpful background and actionable steps for implementing UDL principles in university and college classrooms.

“UDL started with architecture,” Szmyr explained. “When cities cut curbs so people in wheelchairs could cross streets, it ended up helping parents with strollers, travelers with suitcases, and cyclists. The same principle applies in education. When we design for diversity, everyone benefits.”

UDL has three core pillars:

Present content in multiple ways, not just lecture or text.
Engage students in multiple ways, not just hand-raising discussion.
Let students show learning in multiple ways, not just written exams.

Practical Adjustments That Make a Big Difference

Szmyr urged faculty to plan each session by asking themselves questions like:

How will I support students with slower processing speed?
How will I support a weaker working memory?
How will I support disorganization?
How will I support heightened anxiety?

“Answering those four questions before you teach makes your class more inclusive for everyone,” he said.

Both speakers emphasized that inclusivity isn’t about giving neurodivergent students easier work, it’s about designing smarter systems. “Microsoft, for example, doesn’t lower expectations for neurodivergent employees,” Austin said. “They remove barriers. The bar is the bar.”

Some of the practical suggestions offered included:

Use multiple means to represent content, concepts, and skills and make sure content does not rely on a single sense like vision or hearing alone (write down or record what is being said, for example).
Give frequent and clear feedback and connect with students using positive interaction.
Provide students choices for their learning (choose roles within groups, choose assignments from a list, choose a topic for a project) and make the learning space safe for making mistakes.
Use humour or a thought-provoking question to gain student interest.
Design activities that get students to investigate, reflect, make, create, or dialogue.
Offer strategies for students on how to cope with frustration, anxiety, low confidence, and similar issues.

Austin concluded by noting that many case instructors are already experimenting with approaches that make the classroom more inclusive. “During the pandemic, we relied more on online discussion modes and began grading those as participation too,” he said. “Many instructors have also moved away from an older, more tense model of cold calling to a more supportive mode. When a student struggles, the instructor doesn’t have to pour on the pressure but can instead say something like, ‘Stay with me and let’s sort this out together.’”

Watch the full webinar to hear the complete discussion with Austin and Szmyr, hosted by the Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable and Ivey Publishing.

Log in or create an educator account to explore Austin’s full collection of cases or visit our full catalogue to browse all our learning materials.