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A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association
ABSTRACTS--Volume 32, Number 2, April 2004
ARTICLES
- Greedy Institutions: The Importance of Institutional Context for Teaching in Higher Education ..... Mary C. Wright, Nandini Assar, Edward L. Kain, Laura Kramer, Carla B. Howery, Kathleen McKinney, Becky Glass, and Maxine Atkinson
- Teaching Community Development: A Case Study in Community-Based Learning ..... Lisa Marie Jakubowski and Patrick Burman
- "That's Not Fair!": A Simulation Exercise in Social Stratification and Structural Inequality ..... Catherine L. Coghlan and Denise W. Huggins
NOTES
- A Research Note Assessing the Benefit of Presentation Software in Two Different Lecture Courses ..... Karl L. Kunkel
- Teaching Sociology through Student Portfolios ..... Barbara Trepagnier
- Adapting Traditions: Teaching Research Methods in a Large Class Setting ..... Sue R. Crull and Susan M. Collins
- Hop on the Bus: Driving Stratification Concepts Home ..... Laura Nichols, Joshua Berry, and Demetra Kalogrides
- Bringing Theory Closer to Home through Active Learning and Online Discussion ..... Allen Scarboro
GREEDY INSTITUTIONS: THE IMPORTANCE OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT FOR TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
This article focuses on how the institutional contexts of colleges and universities shape these “greedy institutions.” We look at the current social, political, and economic trends affecting all postsecondary institutions, specifically the forces that encourage “greediness.” We examine the literature on structural arenas that influence teaching in higher education, including type of institution and departmental level characteristics, considering how the varied structural features of institutions and departments shape the conditions of academic life and demands placed on faculty. We identify the features of the institutional context that can help faculty manage demands on their time and enhance teaching and learning. The article closes with identification of areas for future inquiry and a challenge to sociologists to contribute to an examination of the contextual forces that shape the work lives of faculty and students.
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TEACHING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY IN COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING
The opportunities, challenges, and lessons of the pilot phase of a community development program in a small liberal arts college are presented and conceptualized in this paper. We based this program on an experiential learning model derived from Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy and Stephen Brookfield’s notion of critically responsive learning. A high value is placed on students’ participation, as their increasingly community-based learning enters into a fruitful dialogue with classroom knowledge and readings. Their experience of being both learner and teacher in a trusting, collaborative classroom community prepared them for their field placement. The qualities of resilience and adaptability to new needs and knowledge, modeled by their professors in class, become part of the template for their own community experiences. The qualitative data come largely from student accounts drawn from their course projects, field trips, and community journals and from the evaluations of and by the eleven participating students.
“THAT’S NOT FAIR!”: A SIMULATION EXERCISE IN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY
Social stratification may be one of the most difficult topics covered in sociology classes. This article describes an interactive learning exercise, using a modified version of the game Monopoly, intended to stress the structural nature of social inequality and to stimulate student reflection and class discussion on social stratification in the United States. The primary focus of this exercise is to help students experience different levels of social stratification and to challenge the idea that individual talents or aspirations are enough to overcome structural barriers to upward class mobility. Student reactions to the experience suggest that it is an effective tool for demonstrating the structural nature of social inequality in the United States and for stimulating discussion on social inequality and related topics. This exercise has worked well in introductory sociology, social problems, and social inequality classes.
A RESEARCH NOTE ASSESSING THE BENEFIT OF PRESENTATION SOFTWARE IN TWO DIFFERENT LECTURE COURSES
Teaching Sociology recently published several articles dealing with the use of computer-assisted pedagogical techniques. Many authors assess the effectiveness of specific computer-assisted instruction (CAI) forms by examining either student performance (Conklin 1976; Dietz 2002; Lavin 1980; Neapolitan 1989; Raymondo and Garrett 1998) or student course evaluation (Ammarell 2000; Fuller 1998; Hare 1999; Persell 1992; Valentine 2001). Some studies look at both (Dimitrova, Persell, and Maisel 1993; Fischer 1996; Magnuson-Martinson 1995; Pippert and Moore 1999; Reed-Sanders and Leibowitz 1991; Wilmoth and Wybraniec 1998). Most of these projects compare groups of students, such as course sections, within a specific course. Typically one group uses some form of CAI while the other does not. By not comparing these pedagogical techniques between different courses, previous studies do not focus on the types of courses where the use of CAI is more or less effective. This case study examines two different lecture-based courses comparing the use of a traditional, "chalk and talk" pedagogy with an approach complementing lecture through the use of computer-assisted slide-show presentation software. In order to see if the effect of using presentation software varies between particular types of courses, I compare a substantive, descriptive course to a theory course presenting abstract material and asking students to apply these concepts to concrete examples.
Student portfolios are an exciting trend on university and college campuses, and sociology courses—especially writing-intensive theory courses—are prime candidates for their inclusion. Student portfolios enhance learning in three ways: one, students' course grades include credit for revision of their work rather than consisting solely of what they did not know at particular points during the semester; two, students become active in the learning process as they reflect upon their own performances and apply what they are learning to their experiences; and three, students gain a sense of cohesion about the course material as they organize their course work and fashion a table of contents for their portfolios. This paper documents the value my students have received from the inclusion of student portfolios in a required theory course.
ADAPTING TRADITIONS: TEACHING RESEARCH METHODS IN A LARGE CLASS SETTING
Teaching research methods in a large class setting is effective if active learning techniques are used within the class and individual mini-projects are used to reinforce student learning. Scheduling students into two large lectures (70-105 students) and one small discussion section (35 students) each week conserves instructor time and provides several opportunities for group experiential activities. Pre-project activities and mini-research conferences held in discussion sections provide experiences similar to traditional group research projects in small class settings.
HOP ON THE BUS: DRIVING STRATIFICATION CONCEPTS HOME
To help students see the realities of inequality and poverty we present an assignment where students take public transportation and then write about the experience as part of a three-stage process. Students are first exposed to general statistics about inequality, rates of poverty in the United States, and the daily lives of the working class and those living in poverty. Then they have an experience riding the public bus where they consider what it would be like to be a single parent whose only transportation option is the bus, make observations, and notice changing neighborhood conditions. After writing a paper about the experience, as a class students compare their own experiences with statistics on bus ridership and descriptions of how inequality differs in various contexts. A copy of the assignment and tips on how to choose an effective bus route are included.
BRINGING THEORY CLOSER TO HOME THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING AND ONLINE DISCUSSION
Theory is a vitally important component of every undergraduate sociology program. Social theory classes are the heart of the undergraduate major in sociology: in these courses, students take on the professional and disciplinary roles of sociologists. This paper reports on two strategies that enlivened our social theory class, generating both greater enthusiasm and involvement in the course as well as greater understanding of the theorists we considered and the theories we were exploring.
This paper briefly describes the structure of our theory course before we introduced two innovations, describes each of the innovations-giving examples of each--and then reports student response to the innovation. We end with conclusions, implications, and suggestions.
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