Case studies provide students with practical examples of real life management decisions, walking them through the problems that can arise, showing how decisions are made and providing an opportunity to strategize about how to make better decisions in the future. Case studies show students the processes behind small group thinking, as well as the thinking of management, according to "Case Study Research: Design and Methods" by Robert K. Yin. In the online classroom setting, use case studies to spark a virtual discussion in the absence of a formal classroom setting.

Preparation

Choose a case study that is relevant. If students have a working knowledge of the subject matter, they will be more interested in following through and reading the entire case study, thus fulfilling the learning process.

Use an online search engine for audio and visual resources. If choosing a more popular case, television and radio interviews are available, thanks to news coverage. In an article at nova.edu titled "An Assessment of Faculty Usage of YouTube as a Teaching Resource," the authors write that in today's tech-savvy generation, using technology can often engage learning and increase participation.

Keep it short by limiting the entire case study to seven to ten pages.

Create learning objectives by emphasizing what students need to learn in the course. Before giving the assignment, put together a checklist of goals that are important. Ask yourself what in the case study is relevant to the subject matter of the current lesson and how it relates to other issues throughout the course.

Generate Discussion

Create an online discussion board so students can write their initial reactions to the information. The discussion board should be set up so the instructor can see all posts and also be able to post, so the whole class can read the instructor's comments.

Require students to post their opinions about what their classmates are writing. This step encourages collaborative learning and interaction among students and can show the instructor who read the material and who didn't.

Ask students what they thought worked or didn't work in the case study and what strategies they might implement to produce a different outcome.