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As an instructor, how you deliver your course material is up to you. You always have a choice. But it’s not a choice between good or bad; rather, it’s a choice between what would work, and what would work best.
And using the case method, you have thousands of options, literally: business cases from all industry sectors of varying lengths, designed for analysis and conceptual understanding, that allow you to meet your learning objectives.
“I find with the short cases, the instructor can ask probing questions that make the students consider factors that they did not think about during their individual prep,” says Fraser Johnson, a professor of operations management at Ivey Business School, who has written several short cases ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 words, and uses them regularly in his courses “Long cases give students more data than they need, and it is up to the students to parse the information to determine what is relevant. In short cases, the instructor may want to, for example, create a list in class of information needed or analysis required.”
The Canadian Marketing Association has cited that individuals are bombarded with 5,000 messages every day. And in this age of worldwide information glut, educators must navigate tight class times, and grab and hold the attention of students who are in a constant state of information overload.
While the demand for decision-based case studies remains strong, the cognitive load on students and the tolerance for multiple hours of pre-class reading isn’t always aligned.
Consequently, teaching with short case studies (defined here as three pages or less) can help meet this modern reality head-on without sacrificing rigorous learning expectations. Short cases can be a valuable signal that cuts through all the noise, a signal instructors can use as a reliable way to get students to a decisive moment quickly, so the focus of the discussion shifts from superfluous backgrounder to conceptual understanding and in-depth analysis.
Flexibility and Innovation in the Classroom
Instructors can leverage the lack of detailed information and background in short cases to encourage students to bring in their own real-world experiences to fill in the gaps, experiences that make the discussion more relevant to the professional knowledge and interests unique to the classroom.
And as a further innovation, instructors can get creative with extension activities as another piece of their teaching toolkit.
“First, in a longer class session (such as a double class or a four-hour executive class), short cases can be combined easily with other experiential activities, such as role plays and simulations. Second, short cases allow the instructor to add in on-the-spot, in-class new information, such as B and C cases, or even just new case information,” says June Cotte, a professor of marketing at Ivey Business School. “Both [teaching approaches] are valuable to assess students’ ability to pivot based on new information, and react in real-time to changing circumstances.”
Short cases do not necessarily make teaching easier. Similar to writing short cases, teaching with short cases is a more involved and worthwhile endeavour rooted in thoughtful design. This allows the instructor to actively shape the discussion for more focused conversations, deep skill development, and analytical engagement.
Intentional Instructional Design
A common assumption is that longer cases lead to richer discussions, as short cases mean less reading; by extension, there’s the erroneous belief that with less reading, it means faster planning and quicker discussions.
“I don’t think the depth and richness of discussion is a function of case length,” says Henry Lane, a professor emeritus at Ivey Business School and at D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University. “Rather, [depth and richness come from] the quality of the case issue, purpose in the course, writing, and, of course, the professor.
In practice, teaching with short cases demands a different teaching approach, one that requires sharper facilitation, more intentional questioning, and a deeper focus on how teaching skills, concepts, and analysis actually happens in the room.
Johnson adds that the pace of teaching short and long cases is similar. But where things diverge is in how to draw out information from the students about the industry and general assumptions about the company, all of which require a different line of questioning.
Short cases compel the instructor to shift the focus away from how much information students receive to how effectively they are guided to use what they know.
For instructors, short cases are increasingly and easily adoptable, useful for in-person, hybrid, and online teaching environments. They can fit all education levels and subject areas for undergraduate, graduate, executive education, and professional programs. They can be used as warm-ups, ice-breakers, introductions, or for summative activities. And because they demand less reading time from students, they lower a common barrier to classroom effectiveness.
In simplest terms, students are more likely to actually read short case studies and, by extension, have an increased ability to contribute to the larger discussion and engage with new skills, concepts, and ways of thinking.
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Professor, Operations Management, Ivey Business School
Professor, Marketing, Ivey Business School
Professor Emeritus, Organizational Behaviour, Ivey Business School
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