Using Decision Cases in Graduate Education: An Example

Abstract

Decision cases have been written for use in horticulture education for some time at the Univ. of Minnesota. How faculty involve graduate students in this process will be discussed using the decision case Sunny Hollow Orchard. This decision case concerns the need to make management decisions in a commercial apple orchard planted largely with Haralson, a russet-susceptible cultivar. The growers involved had to decide whether the application of GA4+7 for russet suppression was appropriate for their operation, given all the factors which required addressing. The case was written for use in fruit production or other intermediate-to-advanced undergraduate course. The case can be used to illustrate the decision-making processes involved in operating a commercial crop production enterprise encompassing such issues as cultural and environmental factors, financial viability and pesticide concerns. The case exposes students to a real-life situation and provides them with the opportunity to face a complex but not uncommon situation for producers in the horticultural industry. We will then focus on how this case fit into the entire PhD research program and how we hope to integrate this kind of experience into graduate education.