This week, Emily Jones – Professor of Practice in Public Policy, Karthik Ramanna – Professor of Business and Public Policy, Aaron Maniam – Fellow of Practice and the School’s Case Centre on Public Leadership ran the Case Method for Public Policy Workshop. This two-day professional training programme equips faculty and civil service trainers with the skills for interactive and immersive teaching.
The cohort of more than 30 participants included experienced instructors from India, Poland, Romania, South Africa, the UK, and the US and represented a range of roles, including programme directors from academia and training managers from various governments. While their areas of expertise ranged from climate science to education policy, all of the participants were united in their goal of bringing real-world policy challenges to the classroom to enhance their students’ learning.
Over the course of two days, participants had the opportunity to shift between learner and teacher. They first engaged in case discussions to experience the learner perspective of an interactive classroom. Then, after dissecting the key tips and techniques for effective case teaching, participants got to put the skills into practice by trying out the dynamic teaching style for themselves. The Blavatnik School team also covered how to identify and develop effective teaching materials to suit public leaders at all career stages.
‘This was an extremely well curated programme! The systematic introduction to nuts and bolts of the case method was really interesting and opens up so many ideas and possibilities for using the method to enhance capacity building activities and improve general teaching altogether.’ - Sourav Das, Training Manager, J-PAL South Asia
The case method is an interactive and immersive style of teaching that puts participants into the shoes of senior decision makers, requiring them to distil information, apply academic concepts, and practice vital skills such as communication and empathy through peer discussion.
If you are interested in developing your capacity in interactive and effective teaching, please register your interest or visit the Case Centre’s website for more information.
