Topic > The concept of the case method

A fantastic interview by Eduard Punset with Roger Schank, where he exposes important and very real points of view on the work of schools and teachers. It calls into question the current role of schools, which are more focused on expounding theory than encouraging practice and gaining experience. They are all about learning through memorization and that's how it ends up being forgotten. Consider that the only effective way to learn is by doing. Roger Schank, Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas, is an Artificial Intelligence expert who studied how to educate computers and ended up discovering that humans educate us poorly. Schank was a professor of computer science and psychology at Yale University and, later, director of the same institution's Artificial Intelligence Project. In 1989 he launched the Institute for the Education Sciences (ILS) at Northwestern University in Chicago; At ILS he focused his research on the development of educational software, particularly for the field of employee training. He was also a professor at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon Universities. According to Roger Schank you "learn by doing" and you cannot learn without practice and experience... but schools don't do that. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned'? Get an original essayThe education system has remained the same for several hundred years: "a man comes in and gives a lesson ....", Which then few remember. Computers are a solution, but they don't have to be “the solution,” because the key is the education system. The computer itself has no relevance, it is a device that allows you to gain experiences if you create good software to accompany it. For Roger Schank, teachers should focus on trying to understand what students can do and try to help them do it by practicing and improving. Many times we study piles and piles of books, we prepare ourselves on a certain topic, we think we understand everything we read but... after a while (not necessarily very long) we feel that the information has disappeared from our brain. Not to mention when we find ourselves facing the world of work and we are far from knowing how to apply all this "learned" theory to real situations. However, putting this knowledge into practice in everyday life cases, we notice how we began to understand in detail the previously studied theory. And this is why today the case method is considered an effective methodology for learning which has been increasingly extended in educational fields. What is the case method? Wikipedia defines it like this: "The case method also called case study or case method is the study of a specific situation to learn or improve in a field of knowledge." In other words, through this method students have the opportunity to deal with real cases, analyze them, propose actions and discuss them in groups, allowing them to put the theory learned into practice and evaluate possible solutions. The origin of this methodology dates back to the year 1914, in the Law School of Harvard University, with the aim of which students learned laws through real-life situations... And it gave results. Why is this method considered effective for learning? Complete the theory The case method connects theory with practice, knowledge with the real world. In this way the student applies his theoretical knowledge in real situations of professional practice. This allows you to fix knowledge. Encourages the development of critical judgment and decision making. The student is required to study a case and, based on the data presented, propose solutions or improvements. That's how it is.