Narrative forms of thinking are far more compatible with the ways teachers actually organize their experiences and develop professional knowledge. In fact, professional knowledge in teaching and in other fields consists in large part of the accumulation of experiences in the form of concrete cases. Experienced professionals develop knowledge of the kinds of problems they are likely to encounter, what these problems actually look like, what usually causes them, and which approaches are likely to be productive in solving the problems. By providing vicarious experience with a variety of concrete cases, the case method expands and sharpens students' understanding of the profession. Case method teaching also provides models of how to think professionally about problems.
Students learn how to use theoretical concepts to illuminate a practical problem.
They learn how to spot the larger issues implicit in what might seem to be a minor classroom decision. Teaching by the case method helps students learn how to think productively about concrete experience. The case method thus enhances their ability to learn from their own experiences. Cases can describe in vivid and rich detail what happens in small, rural schools. Such schools, unfortunately, are difficult to use as field placement sites for student teachers, primarily due to their distance from most university campuses.