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The project will develop a case method capstone course for a new multidisciplinary Master's degree program in Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida (USF). It extends a project that focused on developing a capstone course for an undergraduate program employing the case method pedagogy. That study demonstrated the feasibility of building a course entirely around discussions of local case studies and demonstrated positive learning outcomes using a variety of instruments. The new MS-Cybersecurity program has been designed as a multidisciplinary offering by collaborating departments of Information Systems and Decision Sciences; School of Information; Criminology; and Instructional Technology. The case studies to be developed will all have a common focus, decision making related to cybersecurity, and will be published as an open-access textbook. The Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program funds proposals that address Cybersecurity from a Trustworthy Computing Systems perspective; a Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences perspective; and proposals focusing entirely on Cybersecurity Education.
In fields such as business and education, the constructivist paradigm employed by the case method has proven to be an effective tool for developing judgment, problem solving and communication skills for complex situations. The focus of the capstone curriculum being developed is on improving the decision-making skills of individuals designing and using Information Technology systems. Additionally, the prior study found strong evidence that the process of developing cases can play a pivotal role in strengthening relationships between researchers, practice and students; this study will allow faculty teaching in the program to strengthen their ties with Cybersecurity professionals. This effort will contribute to the development of a repository of open access cases and teaching materials, and will provide training to a diverse set of faculty members in the use of case method instruction and case development. Specific project deliverables include development the Cybersecurity case studies; workshops offered to faculty members from other institutions; and an open access textbook that includes the cases and supporting materials along with a controlled-distribution instructor's manual that pays particular attention to the effective online use of the cases.
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EDU: Developing Open Authentic Case Studies for a MS in Cybersecurity Capstone Course