In our teaching pedagogies, case-based experiential learning is perhaps one of the most powerful pedagogies we have.
But it’s worth remembering what a case actually is — and what it isn’t. A case is not a problem in the traditional sense, the kind with a single, clean, correct answer waiting at the back of the book. A case is a decision.
And it’s a decision the protagonist has to live with.
No decision is ever perfect. Every choice carries intended consequences — the outcomes we hoped for — but also unintended ones we might not have seen coming.
The protagonist has to live with both.
The art of good decision-making isn’t about eliminating the unintended consequences, because you can’t. It’s about anticipating them and reducing their impact.
This is why I have always encouraged students to prepare a decision sheet — a structured way to capture both how we arrive at a decision and what we finally recommend. At IIMA, back in 2007–08, it was adjudged the best pedagogy tool by students.
I found it serving three purposes.
First, it reinforces learning by forcing deeper engagement with the context and the choice at hand, including the risk assessment. Second, it builds skill — developing a systematic habit of decision-making that stays with you long after the classroom. And third, it works as an assessment, revealing a student’s critical thinking and business judgment far better than a generic answer ever could.
If you’d like to use the decision sheet, both tools — the Decision Sheet and the Learning Diary — are available at academicos.co.in/decision-sheet/.