On Writing Teaching Notes Well

Abstract

What material should be included in a teaching note, the instructional tool that accompanies your business school case study—and makes its use far more likely? All good teaching notes have several characteristics in common. This technical note can help any business school professor, case writer, or collaborator create a teaching note that helps an instructor use your case to its fullest potential. Excerpt UVA-PHA-0062 Rev. May 9, 2014 ON WRITING TEACHING NOTES WELL If you want to stimulate discussion, knowing everything about the subject is only half the battle. Equally important, if not more so, is the need to have organized your thoughts well in advance. A good teaching note helps instructors do exactly that: prepare. It also helps the instructor evaluate the appropriateness of a given case. Every well-written business case study should come with an equally well-written teaching note. Sometimes called an instructor's manual, a teaching note suggests how the case may be used—not the only way, but the way the author planned to use it as he or she wrote it (see Exhibit1 for a template). Indeed, even with a road map, many instructors will choose their own routes. There is some debate about whether the optimal time to write a teaching note is before or after the case is taught. In fact, the most effective teaching notes are written both before and after. A solid teaching plan provides a framework for reviewing the case and determining whether enough information is provided for a good analysis and discussion. This note offers suggestions on when to write each part. . . .