How Case-Based Teaching Transforms School Leadership Training

Case teaching method, also called case‑based learning, originated at Harvard University in the United States, first used in law and medical education, and later introduced to management education in 1921; it matured in the 1960s and has been widely adopted in China.

Advocates argue that case teaching is the most time‑ and cost‑efficient learning approach, allowing learners to assume various roles—principal, vice‑principal, middle manager, teacher—and to analyze real‑world situations, extract lessons from successes, failures, dilemmas, and crises, thereby boosting motivation and engagement.

Effective case teaching relies on two key stages: posing questions and analyzing problems. Questioning drives knowledge exploration and motivation; ten question types are commonly used:

Open‑ended questions (e.g., “What is the key issue?”)

Diagnostic questions (e.g., “How will you analyze it?”)

Information‑seeking questions (e.g., “What is the school’s size?”)

Challenge/validation questions (e.g., “What is the basis for your judgment?”)

Implementation questions (e.g., “If you were the principal, how would you act?”)

Priority questions (e.g., “In what order will you address the issues?”)

Predictive questions (e.g., “How might veteran teachers react?”)

Hypothetical questions (e.g., “Would the problem persist without a new principal?”)

Extension questions (e.g., “What inspiration did you gain from this case?”)

Generalization questions (e.g., “What is a school’s core competitiveness?”)

The goal of case learning is not to find a single correct answer but to develop the ability to think, decide, and reason in complex situations, strengthening analysis, judgment, and decisive courage through reflective discussion and multi‑perspective evaluation.

To deepen reasoning, learners should examine the same problem from different angles—different school types, roles, and management theories—thereby enriching insight.

Practically, the method works best in small discussion groups of three to seven participants, where diverse backgrounds generate varied analyses, rapid feedback, and heightened engagement.