Contexts for Communication: Teaching Expertise Through Case-Based In-Basket Exercises

Abstract Stakeholders from both business and academe are challenging educators to integrate meaningful writing into the business curriculum. In this article, the authors describe the use of case-based in-basket exercises (CIBEs) as a particularly effective way to elicit such writing. CIBEs require students not only to master course concepts but also to learn how to communicate what they know to a variety of professional audiences beyond the classroom. CIBEs require students to combine specialized functional area knowledge with analysis of communication contexts; thus they lead students to expertise, or the ability to adapt disciplinary content to varied audiences and purposes.

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