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Teaching OR/MS with Cases: A Review and New Suggestions

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  • Matthew J. Drake

    (Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282)

Abstract

Teaching cases have become a cornerstone of operations research and management science (OR/MS) education since the early 1990s, when the focus of the pedagogy largely shifted to an applied, model-building emphasis. I provide a review of the literature related to the use of teaching cases in general as well as their use specifically within OR/MS courses. I discuss the pedagogical benefits and the challenges in using teaching cases to teach OR/MS methods and their application. I conclude by offering some practical suggestions to assist instructors looking to implement cases in their classrooms for the first time or to improve their effectiveness in using teaching cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew J. Drake, 2019. "Teaching OR/MS with Cases: A Review and New Suggestions," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 57-66, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orited:v:19:y:2019:i:2:p:57-66
    DOI: 10.1287/ited.2018.0204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Dries Goossens & Jeroen Beliën, 2023. "Teaching Integer Programming by Scheduling the Belgian Soccer League," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 164-172, May.

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