Annotated Bibliography

What follows is a bibliography and list of sources that provide background information and research about case-based and related teaching methods.

Bibliography

Business Literature

• Louis B. Barnes, C. Roland Christensen, and Abby J. Hansen, Teaching and the Case Method, 3rd ed. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994).

An in-depth manual resulting from a long running seminar program intended "to help case method instructors become more adept in their craft." Includes cases describing classroom situations.

• P. C. Bell and C. H. von Lanzenauer, "Teaching Objectives: The Value of Using Cases in Teaching Operational Research," Journal of the Operational Research Society 51, no. 12 (2000): 1367-1377.

• Franz Böcker, "Is Case Teaching More Effective than Lecture Teaching in Business Administration? An Exploratory Analysis," Interfaces 17, no. 5 (1987): 64-71.

Böcker's experimentation determines that "case teaching is more effective than lecture teaching with regard to attaining cognitive as well as motivational aims in the classroom."

• Robert Bruner, "Why Do We Discuss Cases?" Dean’s Blog, Robert Bruner, Dean Darden School of Business. (January 1, 2008) Available: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/deansblog.aspx?id=12694 (December 5, 2008).

A brief description about the case method and the importance learning management skills through an MBA program. Bruner discusses the seven key ways that a great MBA program should strengthen your skills such as the "capacity to think critically," "ethical intuition," and "pragmatism."

• Ram Charan, "Classroom Techniques in Teaching by the Case Method," Academy of Management Review 1, no. 3 (1976): 116-123.

Charan looks deeply into what techniques must be used to teach the case method effectively. He explains that the "teaching process must effectively integrate the course design, class preparation, and conduct of each class sessions for the quality of each session is dependent upon the design and the classroom pedagogy."

• J. J. Cochran, "Introductory Business OR Cases: Successful Use of Cases in Introductory Undergraduate Business College Operational Research Courses," Journal of the Operational Research Society 51, no. 12 (2000): 1378-1385.

• David A. Garvin, "Making the Case: Professional Education for the World of Practice," Harvard Magazine 107 (September–October 2003): 56-65.

A brief overview of the development of case-based teaching in legal, business, and medical contexts at Harvard University. A thorough exploration of case-method teaching in the professional schools.

• I. Georgiou, C. Zahn, and B. J. Meira, "A Systemic Framework for Case-Based Classroom Experiential Learning," Systems Research and Behavioral Science 25, no. 6 (2008): 801-819.

• Edward A. Henninger and Janet McNeil Hurlbert, "Critical Thinking and Information Across the Undergraduate Business Curriculum," Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 2, no. 1 (1996): 29-40.

To prepare for the real world, business students need to be able to monitor, analyze and interpret data and their sources, and this may best be accomplished through the development of a cooperative assignment and workshop wit the college library. Utilizing active learning techniques, the marriage of critical thinking and information retrieval in an undergraduate business program is integrated into a typically quantitative course offering. An instructional services librarian and a business faculty member collaborate to create an assignment designed to help students gain confidence in using print and automated resources and understand applications of particular business models while furthering their critical thinking abilities. This article presents a model assignment, outlines a library workshop, and offers an evaluation of the project.

• Louise A. Mauffette-Leenders, James A. Erskine, and Michiel R. Leenders, Learning with Cases, 2nd Ed. (London, Ontario: Ivey Publishing, 2001).

"This book is about learning by the case method. Written from a student perspective, it focuses on learning fast and effectively. Provides in-depth coverage of the three stage learning process: (1) individual preparation; (2) small group discussion; and (3) large group discussion. It also gives useful aids through the Case Difficulty Cube, the Short and Long Cycle Processes of individual preparation, the Case Preparation Chart; and suggestions for small and large group effectiveness as well as case presentations, reports and exams. This text focuses on a professional and ethical approach to learning, invaluable for those who wish to distinguish themselves in their future career."

Library Literature

• Michael Pelikan, "Problem-Based Learning in the Library: Evolving a Realistic Approach," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 4, no. 4 (2004): 509-520.

This article examines issues encountered over a two-year period by a faculty librarian at the Penn State University Libraries while developing and delivering course-related library instruction employing problem-based learning (PBL) in the First-Year Seminar (FYS) of the Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). The process of curriculum development involved close cooperation between the school's instructional designers, faculty, and the libraries' faculty. Findings regarding the practical aspects of delivering information literacy instruction using PBL are discussed, including the issues of transitioning to PBL from more traditional forms of course-related library instruction. The evolution of the instructional goals is expressed in the terminology of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education."

• Loanne Snavely, "Making Problem-Based Learning Work: Institutional Challenges," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 4, no. 4 (2004): 521-531.

This article on problem-based learning (PBL) explores the advantages of its use as a teaching/learning strategy for introducing information literacy to students. The author reviews the various methods presented in the literature for integrating PBL and information literacy, examines the unique challenges PBL presents for instructors, librarians, library instruction programs, and institutions, as well as presents methods for library administrators to support these efforts. This is fourth in a series on PBL and the library.

• Andy Spackman and Leticia Camacho, "Integrated, Embedded, and Case-Based: Selling Library Instruction to the Business School," in Librarian as Architect: Planning, Building and Renewing: Thirty-Sixth National LOEX Library Instruction Conference Proceedings, edited by Brad Sietz, Susann deVries, Sarah Fabian, Suzanne Gray, & Robert Stevens (forthcoming from Ypsilanti, MI: LOEX Press, 2009).

Discussion of the origin and implementation of the Business Research Clinics and the application of case method learning at Brigham Young University.

• Andy Spackman and Leticia Camacho, "Rendering Information Literacy Relevant: A Case-Based Pedagogy," The Journal of Academic Librarianship 35, no. 6 (2009): 548-554. (Published version, Pre-print version)

The authors describe the use of case studies in a program of extracurricular library instruction and explain the benefits of case teaching in developing information literacy. The paper presents details of example cases and analyzes surveys to evaluate the impact of case teaching on student satisfaction.

• Larry Spence, "The Usual Doesn’t Work: Why We Need Problem-Based Learning," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 4, no. 4 (2004): 485-493.

Difficult to teach and learn, information literacy is a set of skills and knowledge that must be mastered through practice. Advances in the learning sciences reveal that students are not receptacles for wisdom deposits. They decide what they will learn. Problem-based learning exploits that insight. It calls for faculty/librarian collaborations. The following articles recount the steps in one such collaboration. Beginning with this article, they in turn, formulate the problem, design a plausible solution, apply that solution, and explore the implications of the process for libraries, librarians, and their resources.

• Debora Cheney, "Problem-Based Learning: Librarians as Collaborators and Consultants," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 4, no. 4 (2004): 495-508.

Problem-based learning (PBL) presents an opportunity for librarians and instructors to collaborate on designing learning experiences that will allow students to acquire information-gathering skills as part of their subject curriculum. This article describes a pilot course that incorporated PBL in the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) First-Year Seminar (FYS). The focus was on using questions to solve problems, evaluating information resources, using appropriate research and information sources to answer a research question, and defining course expectations for information gathering. The process of how the instructor and librarian worked to develop an appropriate learning experience, lessons learned, and the advantages of PBL are described. The article is second in a series of articles describing the instructor perspective (Larry Spence), later developments in the same course (Michael Pelikan), and the role of the libraries' instruction programs in furthering such approaches (Loanne Snavely).

• Annie Downey, Lilly Ramin, and Gayla Byerly, "Simple Ways to Add Active Learning to Your Library Instruction," Texas Library Journal 84, no. 2 (2008): 52-54.

This article discusses the importance of student's active participation in information literacy sessions. For example, they disscused how adding a worksheet to their session increased retention for 11% to 38% for catalog searching skills.

Instructor Literature

• Linda Carder, Patricia Willingham, and David Bibb, "Case-Based, Problem-Based Learning: Information Literacy for the Real World." Research Strategies 18, no. 3 (2001): 181-190.

Case-based, problem-based learning (CBPBL) is a student-centered approach that uses tightly focused minicases to help students demonstrate their ability to identify their information needs. It has been used successfully in science and medical learning, and lends itself easily to helping students develop the critical thinking skills that lead to information literacy. In this approach, after students are provided with a minicase, they control the chalkboard and direct their own learning by initiating the topics and setting the agenda that will lead to solving the case. The instructor’s task is to serve as a facilitator, asking questions only when it serves to help clarify students’ thinking, and guiding group processes when necessary.

• Paul Frantz, "A Scenario-Based Approach to Credit Course Instruction," Reference Services Review 30, no. 1 (2002): 37-42.

What would a library credit course look like if the syllabus and course content were based on the type of daily questions that undergraduate students regularly present to librarians at the reference desk? The scenario-based approach to credit course instruction integrates such real-life situations into its syllabus. Examples of such scenarios include determining if a library owns materials on a reading list or bibliography; using a subject-specific database to find articles from peer-reviewed journals; finding reviews of books on a reading list; "packaging" a list of citations and then sending it via e-mail to a home account; and creating a personalized "library gateway" through a Web authoring exercise. This article includes the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and student evaluations from such a course.

• Barbara Ferrer Kenney, "Revitalizing the One-Shot Instruction Session Using Problem-Based Learning," Reference & User Services Quarterly 47, no. 4 (2008): 386-391.

Problem-based learning (PBL) provides the theoretical framework for a learner-centered active instructional experience that relies on collaboration, critical thinking, and hands-on interaction with resources. When used in a one-shot session, PBL challenges the instruction librarian to strengthen and renew their pedagogical skills. Sessions are lively and provide the opportunity for students and faculty to experience library instruction in a new and dynamic way. PBL and information literacy are ideal partners with limitless possibilities for enhanced library instruction.

• Sara Kim et al, "A Conceptual Framework for Developing Teaching Cases: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature Across Disciplines," Medical Education 40, no. 9 (2006): 867-876.

• Patricia R. Krajewski and Vivienne B. Piroli, "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Active Learning in the Classroom," Journal of Library Administration 36, no. 1/2 (2002): 177-194.

Shippensburg University Library has created an online Information Literacy skills tutorial for freshman College Writing students, called Ship to Shore. This tutorial makes use of the distance education software BlackBoard. The primary areas addressed in the planning and creation of the tutorial were the past experiences of Shippensburg University and other universites in creating such tutorials. ACRL Information Literacy standards, the input of Ship's College Writing faulty, and the BlackBoard software itself.

• Alexius Smith Macklin, "Integrating Information Literacy Using Problem-Based Learning," Reference Services Review 29, no. 4 (2001): 306-313.

Teaching information literacy skills is increasingly difficult as the number of students entering the university demonstrate an extraordinary confidence using technology. Students and subject area faculty often do not grasp the subtle difference between being technology proficient and being information literate. Some faculty are even beginning to dismiss library instruction by saying "my students already know how to use the Internet". This paper introduces a new method for teaching essential information literacy skills, combined with problem solving techniques, to develop, promote, and assess critical and analytical thinking of students further (and faculty) using information technologies today.

• Roldan Malu and Yuhen Diana Wu, "Building Context-based Library Instruction," Journal of Education for Business 79, no. 3 (2004): 323-327.

Information overload and rapid technology changes are among the most significant challenges to all professions, particularly information technology workers and librarians. Little is known about the effectiveness of partnerships among librarians and faculty members that result in context-based library instruction. In this study, the authors evaluated one particular partnership focused on improving the information competence of management information systems undergraduates. A comparison of pre- and postlibrary-instruction surveys showed that students developed greater confidence with course activities and higher standards in research.