Case Teaching and Analytical Tools
Blending What to Teach with How to Learn

CALIS received national recognition in 2005 for our direct service in classrooms and effective use of analytical tools at the high school level. Among 100 university nominations, the CALIS outreach program was selected by the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education as one of the top three in the United States.

As a university resource to the civic mission of schools, CALIS is pursuing adaptation of the Harvard case teaching method to high school history, government and economics. Case teaching challenges both teachers and their students to apply the concepts, theories, and perspectives of their field of study to the real world. Cases engage students in the process of using analytical tools and the practice of making considered, substantive responses.

With its focus on application, case teaching puts students on a direct path to determine lessons of history. CALIS emphasizes a constant return to the question of continuity and change – the elements of age-old issues in the human condition and the true instances of change. As the dynamics and impact of conflict and competition evolve, social studies is an increasingly critical linchpin for success, and for survival. Change is everywhere, but before America can change the way we teach our youth, materials must be in place for teachers to move effectively through provocative content and students to engage actively in managing information and problem-solving.

Systematic tools are necessary to manage complexity and approach controversy with depth and balance. As a professor in a law school or medical school uses cases so that students can practice law or practice medicine, so must a high school teacher of social studies use cases so that students can practice civic engagement with effective, empowering skills.

The collecton includes reference charts and worksheets for each of these standard tools:

Actors - Priorities - Power
Students must first know the players and the playing field. Resource sheets on this topic help students map out a case with who's who and how their interests and tools of influence differ. Once this foundation is laid, it is powerful to add the four worlds framework as a further step in thinking about how issues are interconnected across the varying groups of actors.
(Use a key word search: actors)

Four Worlds ~ Sets of Actors
The four worlds analytical framework distinguishes between the political-military, economic, social, and cultural worlds. Students can identify that each world has its own constellation of actors; each has differing priorities and tools of influence; and each affects the other. A case can illustrate how "the four worlds collide" and how any policy response will have trade-offs between the interests of different actors and between the needs of society.

Worldviews ~ Sets of Assumptions
The worldviews model is a framework for comparing multiple perspectives. Students identify different sets of assumptions and how these beliefs form a lens that filters one's view of the world. Using the DEPP process, students can trace how assumptions guide our analysis - how we Describe an issue, Explain its causes, Predict its evolution, and Prescribe action. A third "P" is sometimes added to consider how an individual can or does Participate at the international level.

Levels of Analysis ~ Sets of Variables
Levels of analysis is a framework for considering which factors are most important in influencing or determining international affairs. There are three levels: 1) human behaviour in general and the role of individuals, 2) state behaviour and the domestic needs of nation-states, and 3) international or systemic conditions of anarchy or balance of power. Students can evaluate an event, condition, or trend with greater clarity and depth in studying causes and possible solutions.

Continuum ~ Ideal Types in Perspective
Placing values, ideas, or policies along a continuum is an analytical framework that affords students a critical point of reference. Whether it is a spectrum of attitudes toward cultural inclusion or the range of beliefs on the role of government, placing a specific case along a continuum makes abstract concepts more clearly concrete - while revealing the complexities of nuance and ambiguity.

Concept Map ~ Relationships & Big Ideas
A concept map is a visual outline of terms, events, issues, and concepts that illustrates relationships. It is an important tool for the teacher to use in order to map the lesson - identifying the significant issues and big idea that will be explicitly explored throughout the unit of study. A concept map is also an excellent review or pre-write exercise. It clearly identifies vocabulary and content as specific criteria for assessment.

Two Search Functions

Browsing enables you to select entries based on format and sort by topic, time period, etc.

Key word searches allow you to search all fields for a more specific topic, concept, region, country, author, source, etc.

IMPORTANT
Analytical tools are not entered to this database as lesson plans. These reference charts, concept maps, and outlines are to be applied to cases. They are initially a teacher's guide to setting the context, relating key terms, linking and layering issues, or identifying dynamics. As a first step in a lesson, it is not always best to use these one-page overviews as student handouts. Placing "pieces" of a concept map on the board and asking students to anticipate a next step will allow them to build their own understanding, strengthened by their own a-ha moments. Otherwise, a handout that is "already a done deal" is not as meaningful as "piecing together" some of the ideas themselves.

START HERE
Search by key word:
mapping - tools and cases in this database are grouped into a variety of topics for case lessons
npr - results of a search are alphabetical so scroll down to where NPR titles begin
ipe - International Political Economy, globalization, WTO, market dynamics and the role of government
liberalism - perspectives on the role of government
mwh - Modern World History resources for the California state standards
primary source - applying case strategies to speeches and other documents
x-sat - mock SAT practice in critical reading using passages from the news, best-selling authors
hslc 2007 - simulation resources for Iran: building stability in the Middle East
hslc 2006 - simulation resources for Iraq: where do we go from here?
hslc 2005 - simulation resources for Human Rights & Natural Resources: the paradox of plenty

Favorites!
lifeline - Lifeline: Economics in Perspective for the Class of 2008
start the fire - series of lyrics by 8th grade US history students

As part of CALIS partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District, a key word search for LAUSD is available in order to circulate resources developed across the District.