The author looks at a definition of the term "case study" and notes a lack of empirical evidence to substantiate many of its claims. Some of the limitations and pitfalls of the case study method are discussed. (Author/CH)

The author describes the use of the case study method as a teaching tool for preservice teacher education. Potential problems with the use of this method are discussed, as well as the benefits it can produce. (CH)

For years, the case study approach to learning has helped connect formal learning with real life situations. Cases offer a means of combining the content to be taught and processes by which it will be taught, and it provides students with a situation for learning that makes sense to them and connects them to what they know in a meaningful way. The…

Cases are stories that are meant to educate. Teachers can deliver cases by lecture, through Socratic questioning, through discussion leading, and in small group learning. Some cases are fact driven and deductive, whereas others are context driven. Science appears to demand closed-ended cases with correct answers; however, in frontier science,…