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 Forms of Assessment

Case-Studies

Description

Range from simple vignettes illustrating issues in the practice of a discipline, through to complex sets of documentation which may require analysis and research. Questions may be short answer: "Was Anne within her rights to insist on a refund? What legislation governs this situation?" to complex plans for a marketing strategy, or proposals for a design solution.

Indications

• Excellent for asessment of application of principles to real-world situations. Can reach all the way up Bloom's original taxonomy to "synthesis" and "evaluation".

• Provides useful information for formative purposes, including diagnosis of problems, because answering the questions or meeting the requirements is often a multi-stage process.

Contra-Indications

• Do not use where criteria for assessment of correct or successful answers are contestable or unclear (although it is acceptable for there to be several �correct� answers).
  

• Requires a degree of sophistication on the part of students when used at any level beyond the "single-issue" case.

Special precautions

• The level of detail has to be addressed carefully. If too sparse, it may well suggest its own answers: if too complex, students can get lost. Distracting information is legitimate, but should be introduced with care. Do not carried away with the story!

• Case-studies are usually presented in textual form, although videos and spreadsheets have their place in appropriate disciplines. Note that the translation of material into text presents its own problems.

Notes

• Both the design and the marking of case-study based work is time-consuming, and they really need to be piloted and revised in the light of feedback, which makes them problematic for use for examinations.

• Can be used in conjunction with several other methods: they may shade into simulations, can form the basis of project briefs, and lend themselves to collaborative working

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 See also Problem-Based Learning