Assessment Framework of the Case Method in Yogo Teacher Training and Factors Affecting Participants' Satisfaction

The case method was developed to hone participants’ decision-making and problem-solving abilities through discussion based on simulated cases that engage the learner’s own judgment and response. It is a hands-on, problem-solving education method by which participants must consider and formulate how they would behave in the position of one party involved in a case (Takagi & Takeuchi, 2001; Takagi & Takeuchi, 2006; Takemura, 2002). Case examples used in the case method for participants’ training are educational materials including various problems based on cases that practitioners or professionals frequently confront in practical situations. Using the case method, participants engage in discussion in accordance with the educational objectives of the facilitating instructor, who presides over the lesson. The participants experience the process to discover problems and solutions. Through this process, they are not only trained to have more intensive discussion and judgment abilities but are also enlightened by other participants’ various senses of value. The participants receive the benefits of taking part in the case method instruction many times and thereby increasing simulated experiences to be more ready for cases that they will confront. Additionally, the method stirs participants’ interest more than a conventional lecture, increasing their understanding through concrete discussion, and fostering their ability to put their learned items to practical use (Okada & Takehana, 2009; Takagi & Takeuchi 2001; Takagi & Takeuchi, 2006; Takehana, Okada & Kamazuka, 2007b; Takemura, 2002). The case method differs from tradit ional Assessment Framework of the Case Method in Yogo Teacher Training and Factors Affecting Participants’ Satisfaction