The more students are permitted to do, the more they learn. When they listen to lectures, they retain 5%.
When they participate in a discussion, they retain 50%, if they participate actively. When they teach others,
they retain 90%. This article reports on two approaches I have used to move my students from the 50%
level to the 90% level.
 
Student Teams Discuss and Present Case Studies
 
 Students come to class having read and analyzed the assigned case. The instructor randomly selects
teams of students to discuss the case and to prepare a presentation of the case. The first team that is ready
presents. Teams compete for the privilege of presenting when class contribution is a substantial part of the
semester grade. The value of this approach is that students engage in teamwork and give presentations,
both of which are valuable in the business world. Very importantly, through repeated experiences in case
preparation, team-discussion and presentation, students develop and refine their ability to analyze a wide
variety of cases without becoming dependent on the professor to lead them through the discussion.

Students Write, Analyze and Present Original Cases
 
 Toward the end of the term, the instructor assigns students individually to write and analyze an original
case. Students interview local businesses and write reasonably detailed descriptions of the actual business
situation. They present their cases and analyses to the class. The value is that in real life, they may be
called upon to investigate and analyze real situations and this experience prepares them better for such
work than if they had analyzed only cases written by someone else. Another value is that in preparing the
original case, they may make personal connections for future employment or entrepreneurial partnerships.

Summary and Conclusions
 
 Customary case study teaching falls short of realizing its potential value. The teacher does too much and
the students do too little. Case study work prepares students much better to become productive in the real
world if they: 1. Engage in student team discussions and presentations instead of being mere players in
the teacher’s orchestra. 2. Write and analyze original cases.
 Both suggestions offered in this paper are based on extensive development in the author’s classrooms,
over a period of many years, with the help of thousands of students and managers. These methods are
recommended without reservations to all case study teachers who want to  prepare students to function
effectively in the real business world.
                                                                                    Leon Winer, Pace University, lwiner@pace.edu