Darden Faculty Research - Seminars & Conferences - Darden Business Publishing Case Teaching Seminar

Student-Centered Learning:

Enhance Engagement and Learning with Proven Case Teaching Techniques

(SEMINAR) 

Darden Faculty: Marc Lipson and Yael Grushka-Cockayne

June 5-6, 2025 / UVA Darden Grounds in Charlottesville, VA

Cost: $1,485.00

Early bird rate of $1,200 through March 31, 2025

To register, please click here.

Location and Accommodations:

Charlottesville, VA is home to a regional airport with direct flights from several major East-Coast and Midwest cities, and is only eight miles from the University of Virginia Grounds. Charlottesville is also centrally located: an hour from Richmond, VA, and approximately 90 minutes to two hours from Washington, D.C. Airport and Driving Directions

UVA Darden Grounds
100 Darden Boulevard
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Nearby Accommodations:
The Forum Hotel
5540 Massie Road (Adjacent to Darden)
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Seminar Group Rate Reservation Page

DoubleTree by Hilton Charlottesville
990 Hilton Heights Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Seminar Group Rate Reservation Page

Program Format: June 5-6, 2025. The two-day seminar will be conducted on-site at the Darden School of Business, located on the North Grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, just an hour outside of Richmond and two hours from Washington, DC. The course has two parts. The first day and a half will focus on structured learning sessions with both full-group and breakout portions. Participants will have many opportunities to discuss and explore. The latter half of the second day will be a practicum during which participants will be able to lead the discussion, observe others doing so, and both provide and receive feedback.

Tuition and Certificates: $1,485.00 covers materials, breakfast, and lunch during the program. Early bird rate through March 31, 2025, is $1,200. For additional information, please email Elliot Leflar at leflare@darden.virginia.edu.

Program Overview: The two-day program is a high-energy, high-engagement introduction to the strategies and methods essential to creating a student-centered learning environment—the environment central to successful experiential learning and at the heart of most case method teaching. The faculty leaders will describe the tools and techniques commonly employed by the best case method teachers, explore with participants the appropriate use of student-centered learning in a variety of settings, and help participants build their own unique teaching styles using techniques learned during the seminar. The experience will benefit anyone interested in creating a compelling learning environment—university professors, corporate university instructors, and consultants—by strengthening their ability to enhance student learning. The program will focus on (1) tips and techniques to engage students in the classroom and foster better learning; (2) strategies and structures to help achieve the learning objectives specific to each case; (3) advantages and disadvantages of student-centered learning, with emphasis on mitigating the disadvantages and leveraging the advantages in a variety of settings; and (4) unique approaches some participants will want to use when including these techniques in their learning environment.

Darden Faculty Leaders: The conference will be led by Darden faculty with a track record of classroom excellence and award-winning performance. Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Marc Lipson have taught extensively and in a broad variety of contexts, including open-enrollment and customized executive education, undergraduate and MBA classes, and speaker engagements. Their expertise ranges from the area of Leadership to Decision Sciences, Project Management, and Finance.

Participants: This program is designed for faculty and corporate/organizational trainers and educators who wish to master the case method’s pedagogical approach and to develop further their own unique teaching styles. This seminar is appropriate for new and experienced instructors in any area of business study. The sessions will be highly interactive—to model the processes and techniques discussed in class as well as to generate learning by-doing opportunities for the participants. Preparation for the seminar will include a modest amount of preseminar reading.

Program Outline: The program will emphasize and model its key learning objectives by implementing the techniques being taught and by requiring participants to engage actively in the sessions. The seminar will include little advance preparation, but participants will be expected to prepare during the day for various activities and to share their perspectives throughout the program. By leveraging unique participant questions and challenges arising from their own instruction environments, the seminar leaders will engage with a broad range of contexts and emphasize the general applicability of student-centered learning