The first Showcasing Teaching session that took place on Wednesday, 14 October, focused on using case studies.

Christopher Walker from School of Social Sciences and International Studies presented the way The Social Science and Policy Case Studies course uses structured case studies to teach policy theory and its application. The course is structured around 3 consecutive case studies, each lasting 4 weeks and culminating in a role play where student groups present their analysis of the issues, including the group representing senior public officials response to the policy problem. Christopher explained the rationale, the process and the issues involved in organising the whole course around case studies. The presentation was followed by a fruitful discussion about applying case studies in different disciplines and contexts, such as medicine, business, postgraduate courses, etc.

Christopher shared some of study materials that he uses at the course and his recent journal article:

Walker, C. (2009). Teaching Policy Theory and its Application To Practice Using Long Structured Case Studies: An Approach that Deeply Engages Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(2). 214-225.

This session has been recorded. The video recording will be posted to this blog soon.

UNSW students