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A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological AssociationA Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association
ABSTRACTS--Volume 26, Number 1, January 1998
- Volume 26, Number 1- January 1998
- The 1996 Hans O. Mauksch Award Presentation: Are We Really Doing All We Can for Our Undergraduates? Professional Socialization Via Out-of-Class Experiences .....Kathleen McKinney, David Saxe, and Laura Cobb
- Teaching Quantitative Research Methods: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis .....George S. Bridges, Gerald M. Gillmore, Jana L. Pershing, and Kristin A. Bates
- Assessing the Introduction of a Computer Laboratory Experience into a Behavioral Science Statistics Course .....James C. Raymondo and James. R. Garrett
- Revisiting "The Eye of the Storm": The Subtleties of Gender Bias .....Robert W. Volk and Mark Beeman
The 1996 Hans O. Mauksch Award Presentation: Are We Really Doing All We Can for Our Undergraduates? Professional Socialization Via Out-of-Class Experiences Research indicates that some of the most important factors in promoting individual development and academic achievement for undergraduate students are student involvement, student integration, and high effort at academic tasks (e.g., Astin 1984; Kuh 1996; Pascarella and Terenzini 1991; Terenzini and Wright 1987). Student involvement and integration are often measured by frequency of academic and social interactions with faculty members, participation in student organizations, integration into the major program, and participation in research projects. These experiences can be conceived of as part of the academic and professional socialization of students and often occur outside the traditional college classroom. In this paper, we discuss the importance of these out-of-class experiences and review the literature on outcomes of this “other” or “informal” curriculum. In addition, we argue, by sharing some data on academic and professional socialization from students, faculty members, and departments, that most departments do not adequately provide these beneficial opportunities. After a discussion of barriers to providing these experiences, we conclude with a call, and some suggestions, for increasing these important learning opportunities for our undergraduate students.
(Kathleen McKinney, David Saxe, and Laura Cobb)
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Teaching Quantitative Research Methods: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis Courses on quantitative research methods play a central role in many undergraduate programs in sociology. However, students’ anxiety over the courses is a major concern for instructors. Many students perceive the subject as inherently uninteresting and difficult. This paper describes an experiment designed to introduce aspects of quantitative reasoning into a large substantively focused class in the social sciences. The experiment assessed whether students can learn quantitative reasoning skills in the context of a large "nonmethods" class in sociology. The experiment measured students’ mastery of these skills by comparing their competence at quantitative reasoning at the beginning and end of the class term. The results revealed that students’ abilities to interpret and manipulate empirical data increased significantly. Further, the increase occurred independent of students’ basic reasoning skills as measured by baseline SAT verbal and math scores. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for teaching quantitative methods in sociology undergraduate curricula.
(George S. Bridges, Gerald M. Gillmore, Jana L. Pershing, and Kristin A. Bates)
Assessing the Introduction of a Computer Laboratory Experience into a Behavioral Science Statistics Course This article assesses the introduction of a computer laboratory experience using a popular statistical package into a behavioral science statistics class required of all sociology, psychology, and business administration majors at a small, liberal arts college. The computer exercises were expected to improve student performance and student comprehension of the material presented in the course. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare student performance for a group of students prior to the introduction of the computer exercises with a similar group of students after the introduction of the computer exercises. Results indicate that the computer laboratory experience did not improve student performance or student comprehension of basic statistical concepts. This article suggests that computer skills are an important part of the sociology major and that the acquisition of computer skills should be regarded as a curriculum goal in and of itself rather than as a mechanism for improving knowledge of statistics or research methods.
(James C. Raymondo and James R. Garrett)
Revisiting The Eye of the Storm: The Subtleties of Gender Bias The award-winning documentary “The Eye of the Storm” has been used in the classroom to sensitize students to the dynamics of discrimination and prejudice. We argue that instructors can guide their classes beyond the conventional approach to this important teaching tool. While intending to focus on discrimination based on color, the video unintentionally provides a documented classroom experience that is valuable to discussions of gender interaction and gender discrimination. In our alternative reading of “The Eye of the Storm,” we utilize content analysis as a point of departure to explore the subtle nature of prejudice and discrimination against females. The exercise also provides a perspective that challenges instructors to critically evaluate their teaching materials.
(Robert W. Volk and Mark Beeman)
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