Increasing Student Participation in Case Discussions: Using the MICA Method in Strategic Management Courses

Abstract

The traditional approach to case discussion relies primarily on the students' responses to the professor's questions. However, even experienced teachers often have problems with the lack of active, intelligent, in-depth student participation. In the context of a strategic management course, this article describes the MICA method, an alternative means of analyzing cases, designed to encourage and increase student participation. Student teams administrate the flow of the discussion while the professor grades student participants on the relevance, value, and originality of their verbal arguments.