Case Study Method of Instruction in Engineering Classrooms1 P.K. Raju, Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering 201 Ross Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 (334) 844-3301;
[email protected] Chetan S. Sankar, Professor Department of Management 415 W. Magnolia Avenue, Suite 401 Auburn University, AL 36849 (334) 844-6504;
[email protected]
Introduction For more than a decade, American businesses and industries have complained that the skills of engineers entering the workforce are not sufficient to meet the challenges of a high-performance workplace. Despite progress on strengthening the bond between higher education and the needs of industry, a systemic customer-supplier relationship between the two sectors has not yet matured (Van Horn, 1995). U.S. universities lose 40 percent of freshmen students admitted to engineering programs by the end of their sophomore year. Discussing this trend, NSF Acting Deputy Director Joseph Bordogna states that developing their communication and leadership skills are critical since in a single project an engineer may have to learn how to approach not just a product but finance, safety, environmental, and public policy issues (Codispoti, 1997). Stressing these requirements, ABET requires engineering programs to develop students' ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice (Schmitt, 1996). The need for engineering courses that integrate theory and practice was very well articulated by Prados (1997), Editor of the ASEE Journal of Engineering Education, when he said, "Today, the environment for engineering practice is changing dramatically and irreversibly… Employers increasingly emphasize that success as an engineer requires, in addition to strong technical capabilities, skills in communication and persuasion, ability to lead and work effectively as a member of a team, and understanding of the non-technical forces that profoundly affect engineering decisions. Acquiring such characteristics in a four, five, or even six year program is unlikely with traditional, 1
Presented at the 1999 SEATEC Forum, Feb. 1999. Performed at the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE), Auburn University, AL 36849 (www.auburn.edu/research/litee). We acknowledge Dr. Gerald Halpin, Dr. Glennelle Halpin, and our graduate and undergraduate students for their contribution to this project. This case study is based upon work partially supported by the Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9752353. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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lecture-based instruction. A totally new engineering education paradigm is needed built around active learning techniques." A review of instructional methodologies and results from an ongoing project (detailed at www.auburn.edu/research/litee website) conducted by the authors show that the case study method of instruction is the most suitable for enhancing active learning techniques in engineering classrooms. The authors have developed engineering case studies along with background competency materials, instructor’s manuals, videos, and CD-ROMs in partnership with industries (Raju and Sankar, 1998; Sankar, Raju, and Kler, 1999; Hicks, Sankar, Sankar, and Raju, 1999). Professors from education and psychology provide the necessary expertise in the research design, evaluation, and assessment aspects of this project. These instructional materials were tested in engineering classes at Auburn University. The feedback from the students was very positive and the results showed that in addition to integrating theory and practice, the students perceived an improvement in their higher-level cognitive skills such as problem identification, critical thinking, analyzing alternatives, making decisions, and defending them.
Traditional Case Study Method The case study method emerged as a method of teaching in the Harvard Law School in 1870 but was formalized as an effective teaching method by the Harvard Business School (HBS). The written case study method has since then become a wellestablished teaching method in many disciplines and fields of study. A case as defined by HBS is typically a record of a business or technical issue which actually has been faced by managers, together with surrounding facts, opinions, and prejudices upon which managers' decisions have to depend. These real and particularized cases are then presented to students for considered analyses, open discussion, and final discussion as to the type of action that should be taken.
Modification Of The Features Of Case Study Method For Teaching Technical Content The case study method is a cost-effective means of bringing real-world problems into the classroom as popularized by case studies available from Harvard Business School, Case Research Journal, and Business Case Journal for a reasonable price or for free. Unfortunately, a review of literature reveals that there are very few case studies available for use in engineering classrooms. MIT has developed a series of case studies that deal with ethics in engineering. South East Advanced Technological Education Consortium (SEATEC) has identified case studies as an important methodology for improving technological education. They have created 25 case studies for use in twoyear technical colleges (Ballance, Barrott, Bogarty, Jackson-Jones, Rogers, and Theus, 1998). Overall, there is a lack of case studies that bring in realism and challenges that happen in engineering industry to the classroom. Validated evaluation instruments to measure the effectiveness of using case studies in engineering classrooms are also not available. The authors have been working for the past five years in adopting the case study methodology to teach technical content. Different sponsors including the National Science Foundation, Thomas Walter Center for Technology Management, and several industries have supported their work. They have developed several case studies that
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integrate theory, practice, and design together for use in engineering classrooms (Raju, 1996; Raju and Sankar, 1997; Raju and Sankar, 1998). The authors are developing a textbook using this new methodology for use in engineering classrooms. The material in this paper has been excerpted from the chapters in the textbook. Based on their experience in developing case studies that could be used in engineering classrooms, the authors have developed a set of features that they believe need to be present in case studies that emphasize technical education: 1. tell a story that has a beginning, background, a middle, and a conclusion. 2. trigger the students' interest. 3. portray the situations accurately. The case study reports the reality of what happened in an unbiased and non-judgmental manner. 4. have a decision focus so that the students have to consider alternatives and make decisions. 5. are self-contained so that the student has all the information needed to identify alternatives and make decisions. 6. have real characters to identify so that the student can role play one of those characters. It helps bring out the subjectivity of decisions and how credibility of a person influences decisions. 7. generate conflict among the teams. Each case has more than one viable option for the decision-maker. The students learning experience is enhanced as they identify criteria and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each option. 8. based on field research. Each case study has to be based on research conducted by the authors and the student teams by going to the plants and interviewing the managers. 9. bring out the real-world issues alive. Videos, photographs, and multi-media technologies need to be utilized so that the students can get a good understanding of the technologies involved in each case study. 10. include technical issues. Detailed technical information relevant to the case studies have to be provided to the students so that the students understand the technical issues clearly. 11. include business issues. Industry overview and the environment in which each company is working needs to be provided. This helps the students learn about these industries and the link between their decision and the industry dynamics. 12. integrate technical, managerial, and ethical issues. 13. include an instructor's manual that is thorough and detailed. The instructor's manual needs to include a synopsis of the case, educational objectives, definition of the intended field for the case, possible format for class discussion, theoretical basis of research, and short and detailed answers to questions for class discussion. Frequently, the length of the instructor's manual is as much as the case study itself. 14. include multi-media technologies so that the connection between theory and practice is explicit. Student learning will be enhanced as they read the written case study, work with the CD-ROM to understand the problem visually, and learn the linkages of the problem with technical and business issues.
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15. use information technologies to show the links between engineering education and real-life situations. These could include links to references and on-line resources. 16. test and evaluate the effectiveness of each case study in classrooms. A set of evaluation instruments need to developed that could be used to assess the effectiveness of the case studies.
Example Of A Case Study Incorporating These Features We worked with Southern Company and have created the Della Power Plant case study as part of our textbook. The objective of the Della case study was to show that good decisions require that managers become involved in understanding unfamiliar technologies and strike a balance between technical, financial, and management issues. The case study discusses the heavy vibration when the 120,000 pound turbine-generator unit at Della Power Plant was taken up to a high speed during start-up. The unit started to vibrate and many employees were scared and started moving away from the unit. The manufacturer's representative said the problem was due to possible breakage of some parts and recommended that, at a cost of $0.9 million, the unit be disassembled and retainer rings be inspected. The plant engineer thought that the problem was due to an oil whip and recommended that the turbine-generator unit be restarted immediately. The cost would be nil if the unit functioned properly and could be as high as $19.5 million if the unit failed during a restart. The plant manager had to make a difficult choice between restarting the turbine-generator unit or shutting it down for maintenance considering the financial, technical, and safety issues. As we developed and tested the Della case study in the classrooms, we realized that creating a multimedia version of this case study might add to the learning experience of the students. Therefore, we created a multimedia CD-ROM that includes photographs of the plant, equipment, competency material on power plants and vibration technologies, on-line references, videos of problem statement, and the decision to be made by the manager (Sankar and Raju, 1998). The case study was administered over a 2-year period to teach undergraduate students in a mechanical engineering program. As part of evaluation of the effectiveness of the case study, students were given an evaluation form at the end of each case study. The results presented herein represent the reactions of 23 students to the Della Steam Plant Case Study who used the CD-ROM in their discussion. Evaluation I consisted of 24 bipolar descriptors. In other words, an item on the evaluation form represented the concept of clarity on a 5-point continuum from unclear to clear, or the case study’s relevance on a continuum from irrelevant to relevant. Because the four constructs derived from the evaluation yielded substantial reliability levels (with anything above .60 considered acceptable), the 24 separate questions within the survey were organized and reported by four distinct descriptors, useful, attractive, challenging, and clear, of the case study. The medians for all four constructs are well above a rating of 3, indicating that students rated the case study on the positive side of the continuum. The students found the case study particularly important and valuable as well as relevant and useful-important elements in effective learning. A second evaluation instrument asked the respondents to indicate the extent of their agreement with 16 evaluatory statements on a 5-point Likert scale in order to
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measure their perceptions on achievement of higher-level cognitive skills. Some sample items include statements such as “I improved my ability to evaluate critically technical and managerial alternatives” or “I learned to design.” The response scale progressed from a rating of 1 that represented the least positive or least favorable response of “Strongly Disagree” to a rating of 5 that represented the most positive or favorable response of “Strongly Agree.” Substantial reliabilities for this evaluation suggested specific constructs of "perceived skill development," "self-reported learning," "intrinsic learning and motivation," and "learn from fellow students." The reliabilities were above the established criteria of .60 for all the constructs. The reactions of the students to these various aspects of the Della Steam Plant Case Study were favorable and above 3.8. In other words, the Della Steam Plant Case Study appeared to be well received and educationally advantageous to the students. The students found the case study to be beneficial to themselves, to the instructors, and to the companies. A student commented, "The student is exposed to other issues besides mechanical engineering such as cost, managerial considerations, presentation, and delivery of gathered information. An entry-level engineer who has these basic skills can surely be expected to make significant contributions to the company. I believe that the case study approach should be effectively used in other mechanical engineering courses." The engineering manager who sponsored the project was enthusiastic about developing the case study. He stated, "A good case study gives the students business aspects that you don't normally cover in engineering undergraduate classrooms. This experience is difficult for an average undergraduate engineering student because he or she doesn't have an equation to solve; there may not be one right answer in the case study. The value comes from evaluating the options presented in the case study, not from obtaining the correct solution."
Conclusions We have developed four case studies similar to the Della Steam Plant and have administered them in engineering classrooms. These case studies bring together technical, business, and ethical aspects involved in real-world problem solving by engineers. Another feature is that the decisions faced by the managers in these case studies are very critical to the well being of the company and involve millions of dollars in expenses. The responses from the students to the administration of the case studies in their classrooms have been extremely positive and we are in the process of putting these case studies and relevant competency material in the form of a textbook to be published by Addison Wesley Longman Publishers. As we move into the next millenium, technology is becoming a strong driving force that impacts the life of citizens around the world. It is essential that we as engineering educators develop new paradigms so that the students can meet the challenges of the high-performance workplace. We believe that the case study methodology of teaching engineering students will evolve into one of the new paradigms in engineering education. It has a great potential to integrate theory, practice, and design together and develop critical thinking skills in students.
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References Ballance, C., Barrott, J., Bogarty, L., Jackson-Jones, M., Rogers, S., and Theus, L., Summary Proceedings from the Tennessee Exemplary Faculty for Advanced Technological Education Project, 1998. Codispoti, A., “New Engineering School to Reflect NSF Philosophy,” IEEE Institute, August 1997. Hicks, J., Sankar, A., Sankar, C.S., and Raju, P.K., "Design of the Solid Rocket Booster Field Joint: 19721980 (Cases A and B), Accepted for presentation at the 1999 South East Case Research Association Conference. Prados, J.W., "Engineering Curricula 2000 - A Change Agent for Engineering Education," Journal of Engineering Education, 86(2): April 1997, pp. 69-70. Raju, P.K., “Educational Initiative in Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University: Case Studies,” Report of NSF Workshop for U.S. Mechanical Engineering Departments, Heywood, J.B., Mikic, B., and Suh, N.P. (eds.,), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oct. 7-8, 1996. Raju, P.K. and Sankar, C.S., “Teaching Real-World Issues in Engineering Classrooms Through Case Studies,” Thomas C. Evans Instructional Unit Award Lecture, 1997 ASEE Southeastern Conference, Atlanta, GA., April 1997. Raju, P.K. and Sankar, C.S. “Della Steam Plant: Should the Turbine be Shut Off?” Case Research Journal, Volume 18, Issues 1 and 2, pp. 133-150, Winter/Spring 1998. Raju, P.K., and Sankar, C.S., "Della Steam Plant Case Study Presentation," Invited Lecture at the 1998 FIE Conference, Tempe, AZ, Recipient of 1998 Premier Award for Engineering Education Courseware, 1998. Schmitt, N.M. "Meeting Educational and Outcome Assessment Requirements of Criteria 2000," 1996 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, Vol. 2, 1996, pp. 579-583. Sankar, C.S., and Raju, P.K., "Impact of Della Case Study CD-ROM in Integrating Research and Practice," in the Proceedings of the 1998 NACRA Conference, 1998. Sankar, C.S., Raju, P.K., and Kler, M., "Crist Power Plant: Planning for a Maintenance Outage," Accepted for Publication in the Business Case Journal, 1999. Van Horn, C.E., “Enhancing the Connection Between Higher Education and the Workplace: A Survey of Employers,” A Joint Publication of the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the Education Commission of the States, October 1995.
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