CASE QUIZZES
Many of our courses (though not all, so check your Syllabus if you're not sure this applies to you) use a grading scheme for cases based on ensuring you have prepared for the case before you attend.
- Typically this is done by asking you to take a Case Prep Quiz where you show that you are prepared.
- If you pass this quiz (75%+) and fully participate in the actual discussion, you receive full credit on the case. However, if you do not pass this quiz then you cannot get more than a C for participation in the case discussion.
For any case, what you need to do before you take the quiz is know the key players, events, decisions, and results - and have put a little bit of thought into what the case is all about. That's it. What you don't need to do is have made your final decisions about the entire case before you take the quiz, we'll do that together, you just need to know the important parts of it, the people involved, the main events, etc. to be sure you can discuss it without needing to refer to your notes the entire time. Your quiz will ask about those kinds of things.
Sample Case Quiz Questions + Answer
Students asked to prepare for a case that focuses on the Leader specifically such as Spider Old Woman: Tales from the Hopi first covered relevant topics like leadership styles and traits in the weeks leading up to the actual case discussion. Then in the week before the discussion they would review an in-depth case (5-15 pages) as well as background information on the Hopi People - including summaries of their social structure, values, and other relevant themes. They would also be provided with prompts of what they should be sure to know about the case to help focus their preparation (these directly relate to the questions on the quiz).
On the untimed Case Prep Quiz for Spider Old Woman, here is a sample of questions students were asked to reply to (briefly summing up what they know from the case and their preparation):
- Describe at least 4 of the key actions and decisions of the Spider woman. Please number each one.
- Do the leaders of the two villages value the contributions of everyone? In any case, what does this indicate about their leadership?
- What does the fact that the Tsikuvi chief agrees to let the women go show about his leadership style?
- What leadership style does the Old Spider Woman exhibit? Describe it briefly and give an example.
Answering these questions showed how well the student has prepared for the case by demonstrating the following:
- An understanding of topics covered in the weeks leading up to the case (leadership styles, etc.)
- An understanding of the characters in the case, the pivotal events, and the results of events and decisions
- It also fully answers (and then some) the question being asked.
Do the same and you'll pass the case quizzes with no problem at all! Remember: We just want to know you prepared properly for the discussion. We don't want to trick you - just test your knowledge. Be prepared and you'll do fine.