Today was day one of the HHMI Inclusive Excellence workshop at NC State. It was fun to see people and interact (not over Zoom). I just finished reading one of the two articles assigned as homework and paused to watch a 2021 Lilly Conference Online recorded session by Maung Min, Laura Cruz, Jennifer Parker, Kelsey Klinger, and Denise Ogden from The Pennsylvania State University. This is another session with Laura Cruz, so I was excited to see what they did this time! This session was entitled “Real World Case Study Design for a Complex World.” This session was about the development of a case study that was used in multiple courses in Penn State. Cruz thinks this case study could be the basis of an interdisciplinary multi course case study. Using the topic of Top Chief, the group thought this topic could be used in courses beyond business. The first question Laura Cruz asked the audience was: have you used case studied in your teaching? Maung Min then discussed how the case was used in a Management course to talk about Daniel Maher and culinary business. Denise Ogden used the case topic in a Business course. Ogden conducted the case as other cases focusing on the role of a fictional consultant for Maher and handling the business during the pandemic. The first task was to do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). According to Ogden, students were critical at first but then when they got to speak to Maher and learn their perspective, were more receptive. Jennifer Parker teaches a social science and humanities course that they call “interdomain.” In Parker’s course, they case study was approached through a historical filter after reading George Orwell’s book Down and Out in Paris and London. The case provided real-world situation: how Danny Maher pivoted the role of his restaurants during the pandemic. Cruz mentioned the case was also used in two additional courses! The group invited Danny Maher to an event held via Zoom where students and faculty asked Maher questions moderated by one of the faculty members. Klinger spoke about the preliminary analysis of a pre-survey and post survey. Students felt that the case studies helped them understand course concepts. Klinger emphasized that “case studies serve as a robust vehicle for cross-disciplinary teaching and learning” and exploring this is a topic I too want to explore through HITS and other case study initiatives. I love how the group held an event with the case study “character” and brought together students and instructors. I wonder if this would be possible for high-throughput themed cases?
