ConfChem Conference on Case-Based Studies in Chemical Education: You (Want To) Call Yourself a Case Study Teacher?

Much has been written about case study teaching resources and methods and, more recently, about the learning benefits attributable to case-based methods. However, it is not enough to be an excellent case study teacher with excellent outcomes. Bias towards one's own personal teaching perspective, and the influence of how we were taught as students as opposed to how we were taught to teach, means that case study teachers may be vulnerable to self-doubt while wrestling with the perceived juxtaposition of content coverage versus contextualized instruction and also to an unpropitious peer reception. Effective case study teaching in chemistry requires not only effective pedagogies, but also effective politics, and success requires positive perceptions on the part of students being taught by the case study method, on the part of the case teacher him or herself, on the part of the case teacher's peers, and on the part of the case teacher's chair or department as a whole. This communication provides a brief synopsis of published research findings in this area, with opportunities to overcome barriers to the adoption of case study-based teaching in chemistry presented in Supporting Information.