How I get people into the learning with case studies
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There are a lot of good uses for custom business cases. They can expose people to new ideas or situations or document important decisions made by the organization. A good business case tells an exciting story right up to the point of the critical decision. Readers are hooked, they are into the story, they understand what’s at stake and how it matters. Then the story stops and asks, “What would you do?” This gets them to move from passive consumption to active thought and innovation. The benefit of a business case for learning is asking—“What would you do?” When learners wrestle with the concepts, the constraints, and the situation, they are learning something. In order for this learning to lead to applicable performance in their own jobs, they need these things:
In my 5-Step Simulations™ method, I always save the “Reveal the Result” step for last, making sure that people get the resolution to the story. That works for business cases, too. If you are using a case that is based on real life, what really happened is usually of keen interest to the audience. Depending on how the learners' decision making and discussions go, however, the “real life answer” may be less important. The main difference between a case and a simulation is that cases are 3rd-person—learners look in from an outside, advisory perspective—and simulations are 1st-person, where the learners are in the situation themselves and must act, and not merely advise. If this is of interest to you, check out the Custom Business Case Template on my LearningSim.com/Resources page. This offers a simple, one-page guide for selecting, organizing, and using business cases. Stories matter. If you want to develop skill with this, or would just like help writing or using custom business cases, let's explore how I can help! --Steve P.S. If you would like an example or two of good business cases for learning, contact me. |