  The case-study teaching method has a long history (starting at least with
Socrates), and wide current use in business schools, medical schools, law
schools, and a variety of other disciplines. However, relatively little use is
made of it in the physical sciences, specifically in physics or astronomy. The
case-study method should be considered by physics faculty as part of the effort
to transition the teaching of college physics from the traditional
frontal-lecture format to other formats that enhance active student
participation. In this paper we endeavor to interest physics instructors in the
case-study method, and hope that it would also serve as a call for more
instructors to produce cases that they use in their own classes and that can
also be adopted by other instructors.
