Developing and Using Teaching Cases in a Partnership Environment

Abstract

Teaching cases, which are true narrative accounts of authentic situations presented within their original contexts, are being used increasingly by teacher educators as a vehicle for reflective interaction about actual teaching practice. A collaborative research team at the University of South Florida has been developing, modifying and evaluating the application of teaching cases in the teacher education program. In this article, a brief history and rationale for the use of teaching cases in teacher education is presented with a description of how teaching cases are being used by the collaborative team. Cases developed by the group and the results of case teaching with undergraduate and graduate students are discussed.