A student can define the concept correctly, yet struggles when you ask what to do in a realistic situation. That gap can be frustrating. Knowing the words and making a decision with them are different tasks.
The handbook recommends case studies as a way to connect course ideas to application. A useful case doesn't need to be long or dramatic. It needs a decision worth examining and enough information to support the reasoning.
Choose the thinking you want students to practice
Will they compare options, identify a problem, interpret evidence, or justify an action? Pick one central purpose. A case that tries to assess every concept in the course can become difficult to follow before the analysis even begins.
For example, future teachers could compare two responses to a classroom misunderstanding and explain which better fits the available evidence. Keep the scenario hypothetical unless you have permission to use actual material.
Give students information they can work with
Include the context and evidence needed for the decision. Avoid making the intended answer depend on a fact students couldn't reasonably know. If an uncertainty is part of the task, make that clear and ask what additional information would help.
That can reveal an important skill: recognizing when the evidence isn't sufficient for a confident recommendation.
Ask for reasons and alternatives
'What would you do?' is a start. Follow it with 'Why?' and 'What is the strongest alternative?' Ask students to connect their choices to the course concept and consider a tradeoff.
When more than one answer is defensible, explain how the reasoning will be assessed. Students shouldn't have to guess whether you're inviting analysis or testing a hidden preferred response.
Build in individual thinking time
Let students record an initial judgment before discussion. Then have them compare reasoning with a partner or group. This gives everyone a starting point and gives you something to revisit after the conversation.
Close the loop
Debrief the key choices, the evidence, and the connection to the theory. Ask what changed in students' thinking and why. An animated discussion can still leave the learning goal unclear if you don't return to it.
Make the debrief about reasoning, not guessing your answer
Choose two contrasting responses and examine the evidence behind them. What did each person notice? Which assumption changes the recommendation? What would make either response less appropriate? You can use fictional responses if that makes it easier to discuss the reasoning without putting a student's work on display.
If students change their minds, ask what new information or argument mattered. A changed answer isn't automatically better; the explanation reveals whether the discussion helped them think more carefully. A student who keeps the original choice may also have strengthened the reasoning.
Finish with a short transfer question. Change one relevant feature of the situation and ask whether the recommendation should change too. That gives students another chance to use the concept rather than merely remember how the class resolved the first case. It also gives you a practical indication of where the connection between theory and judgment still needs attention.
Take one concept students can define but struggle to apply. Write a brief scenario with two plausible options and ask them to justify a choice. Use their explanations to decide which part of the concept needs more teaching.
Adapted from The New Faculty Handbook by Zafer Unal, pp. 40-41.
