Case Studies | Embarking on an academic year like none other
Masked bands of students in matching t-shirts marked the onset of a new kind of normal here at Georgetown University, as orientation programming for new students began in-person on campus last week. The return to the physical classroom for the first time in over 17 months at Georgetown represents a moment of both anticipation and reflection on the struggles and successes of the recent semesters.
With a widespread return to in-person learning with some lingering hybrid elements, professors and instructors are busy devising syllabi which “keep the best and ditch the rest” from all that we have learned over the last year. ISD has resources to help prepare for the year ahead, and tips for how to get the most out of our case studies library.
[Explore all ISD’s blog posts on case studies and teaching]
- Promoting active student engagement will be key in the early weeks of the semester. Seasoned instructors recount that students are most engaged when they are able to take ownership over their own learning and have some control over their experience. Case studies provide a unique tool to promote critical thinking, decision making, and experiential learning, encouraging students to consider policy problems from a decisionmaker’s perspective. ISD’s library of case studies also includes resources to help instructors get the most out of case sessions, including webinars, articles, and frameworks to enhance classroom discussion and analytical skills.
2. Different forms of communication help to keep students engaged, and asynchronous methods still have their place in the physical classroom. Chat apps like Slack provide ways for students to share real-time reactions and responses to articles and stimulus material. Instructors can also use Google Docs to run both asynchronous and real-time discussions with students, which enable them to draft joint pieces of writing and respond to written questions individually. Each of these tools became more popular with instructors during the pandemic, but they have their place in the in-person classroom as well, particularly to facilitate student engagement that goes beyond the traditional class discussion.
3. Consider adding a negotiation simulation to your syllabus, to use either in-person or online. Simulations are a great way to bring experiential learning to your classroom, giving students the chance to negotiate complex diplomatic challenges. ISD negotiation simulation materials on the conflicts in Syria and Colombia, Iran nuclear negotiations, and, most recently, the Libyan civil war, explore multilateral efforts to solve complex global challenges. Simulations work well in both a virtual and and allow students to interact and solve problems through role play and experiential learning.
4. Perhaps most importantly, the semester ahead will require flexibility and good judgment. First-year students enter college with vastly different experiences of the pandemic, even more so than in previous years. Others have seen their lives turned upside down by grief and loss. Instructors and students have all experienced disruption to their routines. Empathy and compassion will need to be at the center of every instructor’s pedagogy. With that in mind, the coming semester will be one for adaptation, kindness, and open-mindedness.
Alistair Somerville is the publications editor at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and editor of The Diplomatic Pouch. He was previously a public school teacher. Follow him on Twitter @apsomerville
Read more from ISD on case teaching:
