Clearinghouse for Special Education Teaching Cases

Teaching cases as distinguished from case studies, are narrative about the universal challenges inherent in the "real world" of classrooms, teaching, and schools. The context of teaching cases provides rich social, political, and ethical dilemmas for preservice and inservice teachers to deliberate. Teaching cases, on the other hand, capture experiences from actual classrooms complete with the complex and multilayered problems that teachers face every day. They require the reader to develop his or her own way to look at and solve the problems inherent in the case. When the case is discussed (such as in a teacher preparation course), different perspectives are shared, theory is connected to practice, reflective and problem solving skills are developed and the participants are challenged to take responsibility for their own learning. Many of the cases can be adapted to school age care and youth services.