Critical analysis of business decisions and organisational behaviour is one of the main skills the case method helps to develop. But what if there’s a way to go even further and bring students into the writing process itself? This is something Amanda Bullough does when she writes cases with students.
We spoke with Amanda about how this can be an effective teaching tool, as well as a great way to demonstrate a school’s excellence.
It all started with an immersive assignment.
When Amanda was teaching Women Entrepreneurs Business Development and Consulting at Thunderbird School of Global Management, she started asking her students to write their own cases as assignments. Students were matched with female entrepreneurs in developing countries with a view to consulting with those entrepreneurs and collaboratively creating a business plan. As part of this process, Amanda asked the students to write a case around the process and the business dilemmas they’d worked on.
Amanda discovered that the immersive nature of these assignments meant that students could learn by doing, critically analysing business decisions as they were being made in real-time. It was so effective that she went on to expand the practice, using it in her Organisational Behaviour and Global Leadership courses.
Over time, Amanda started spotting cases that were good enough for publication. This led her to co-author a number of engaging and effective cases with students, which were then published in her Women Leaders case series.
The process
Amanda always starts her case writing assignments by giving ample guidance. She gives students the option of writing a full or a compact case, with a full case contributing to more of the final grade. Amanda has created a written outline for students that provides full guidance on choosing an idea for a case as well as how to go about researching and writing. Students work in teams of three for the assignment, and while allocation of tasks can vary from group to group, Amanda is clear that the final case must have one singular voice.
Amanda also provides clear criteria for choosing a protagonist and ensuring that the core issues align with course content. For example, on Amanda’s Global Leadership course, students must find a case with a global leadership issue at its heart, and a central individual with a decision to make. With Flex Co Global Expansion, for instance, the protagonist had a social impact company and wanted to remain profitable, but in order to expand her reach globally she needed to educate the African market. This was an ideal core issue that aligned with the course subject matter.
Initial feedback on students’ case proposals is also an essential part of the process because it helps to narrow students’ focus and ensure their research questions are relevant.
While Amanda is grading the final case projects, if she spots an engaging, high-quality case, she will approach the student authors about working toward publication. Then starts the process of transforming the class project into a publishable case with a teaching note.
Amanda will work with the students to get the case ready for publication, while working with a student assistant to identify content that can be pulled from the assignment and incorporated into the teaching note as questions. Amanda will always lead on writing the teaching note and will test the case in the classroom.
What are the benefits?
Amanda told us how asking students to write together in groups can be an excellent exercise in collaboration and working in teams. It also gives them an opportunity to do a deeper dive into issues related to course content.
The overall experience of getting a case published is a wonderful way to highlight students’ work. And for the business school, publishing these cases demonstrates excellence, allowing future students to see the kind of work being produced.
In fact, Amanda’s case series put her school in The Case Centre’s Impact Index - an annual ranking of organisations based on the global reach and impact of their case writing, which supports schools’ accreditation bids.
Amanda also highlighted how writing with students brings diverse perspectives and international voices into cases. And in her experience, the students do tend to come up with interesting protagonists and fresh angles.
Tosin Idowo-Kunlere, a graduate student who has co-authored cases with Amanda, described the process as “eye-opening” and said, “you get to apply what you are learning to the real world”. For example, exploring organisational structures and how different personalities impact on leadership styles. “Finding leaders who defy the odds and take unconventional routes, challenges students to look beyond themselves and learn from established leaders.”
Tosin also welcomed the opportunity to delve deeper into issues she’s interested in. She says, Amanda’s input always helps her to consider alternative perspectives that provoke a deeper level of thinking.
As part of the process, Amanda is also open to learning from students and considering alternatives, which leads to rich classroom discussions. As Tosin told us, “this gets everyone talking, you cannot be in Mandy’s class and not be engaged”.
What are the challenges?
Time and quality.
Writing cases with students is not a part of Amanda’s teaching load, so getting cases ready for publication needs to be done around her usual day to day. This means it can take considerable time to get identified cases ready. For this reason, only cases that are already written to a high standard are taken forward for publication.
Amanda also utilises the support of graduate students to flesh out research, so that she can focus on editorial support.
From Tosin’s perspective, you might think you’ve got the case figured out but then when the case is tested in the classroom, other issues and questions are raised. You can’t incorporate it all but equally, you don’t want to miss out on any of the key points. Pulling this together and not missing anything relevant can be a challenge.
So, what makes a good student case?
For Amanda, a good case means a good story that’s well written, with a clear structure, accurate citations, and themes that are relevant to course content.
The make-up of student groups is also an important contributor. When assigning groups, Amanda takes into account students’ natural strengths and drivers, and it’s often the cases produced by a cohesive team that are the best ones.
And in terms of Amanda’s Women Leaders case series specifically, if students want their assignment to be considered for publication, then the business leader does have to identify as a female.
Thinking of trying it?
Amanda was very clear that she would encourage more faculty to co-write cases with students.
“Having students apply content in a course to a real-world scenario is the holy grail of learning. Asking students to write cases means they can be the leaders of their own learning while practising their writing and communication skills.”
Tosin would also advise students to get involved if given the opportunity. “I’d encourage companies as well, especially start-ups, to collaborate on cases. This gives them an invaluable opportunity for consultation and visibility.”
If you’re thinking about writing cases with students, Amanda is happy to be contacted. You can reach her via email at bullough@udel.edu. And why not browse cases in the WLI Womens Leaders Case Series? They are available free and can be downloaded from The Case Centre website.
In the meantime, how many wonderful case ideas are simmering away under the surface in your classroom?
This article was published in Connect, June 2025.
