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A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association
ABSTRACTS
Volume 33, Number 4, October 2005ARTICLE
- The High School Sociology Teacher ..... Michael DeCesare
- Creating a Successful International Distance-Learning Classroom ..... Craig B. Little, Larissa Titarenko, and Mira Bergelson
NOTES
- Sociology Senior Majors' Perceptions on Learning Sociology: A Research Note ..... Kathleen McKinney
- "They Make How Much?" Investigating Faculty Salaries to Examine Gender Inequalities ..... Peggy Petrzelka
- The Stratification Puzzle: An Active Learning Exercise in Hard Work and Success ..... Jeremiah B. Wills, Zachary W. Brewster, and Gregory M. Fulkerson
- Bringing Creativity into the Classroom: Using Sociology to Write First-Person Fiction ..... Laurie L. Gordie and Alexandria Peary
APPLICATION
- Using a Research Article to Facilitate a Deep Structure Understanding of Discrimination ..... Rebecca L. Bordt, in conversation with Devah Pager
CONVERSATION
- The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning--Done by Sociologists: Let's Make That the Sociology of Higher Education ..... Chad Hanson
The High School Sociology Teacher
High school teachers of sociology have long been neglected by academic sociologists and the ASA. Recent developments are encouraging, however. In 2001, the ASA appointed a Task Force on the Advanced Placement Course for Sociology in High School, and Teaching Sociology has published three articles on high school sociology since that year. Still, there is a dire need for research on the characteristics and experiences of teachers themselves, and for empirically-based recommendations for assisting them. The current study uses questionnaire data to examine the personal and professional characteristics of the teachers who offered a sociology course in Connecticut public high schools during academic year 2000-01. The results indicate that teachers have little formal education in sociology, are not involved in the professional activities of the discipline, and have virtually no exposure to sociology outside of their own courses. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and action.
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Creating a Successful International Distance-Learning Classroom
As the global economy becomes more integrated, incorporating international experiences into college curricula becomes increasingly desirable for American students and their counterparts abroad. This paper describes one model for creating an international, Web-based, distance-learning classroom that can be used as a guide for those who might wish to pursue similar endeavors. Our replicated experiences teaching a sociology course on social control, twice under slightly different conditions, provide the basis for identifying the conditions and practices that optimize the goals of providing a forum for international education and enhancing reading and writing skills. A content analysis of the online Student-Led Discussions provides evidence that cross-national knowledge and understanding can be enhanced in this learning environment. Enrolling students from the United States, Belarus, Russia, and Australia, our course demonstrates how instructors can create a successful virtual classroom that truly encircles the globe.
Sociology Senior Majors' Perceptions on Learning Sociology: A Research Note
In this research note, I report the results from semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 21 sociology seniors. My goal is to describe, from the viewpoint of these students, common strategies and difficulties in learning sociology. The students indicated that application/relevance is critical to their learning and that various writing-review study strategies as well as doing homework, primarily readings, are also important for learning the discipline. Working with peers in and out of class, having positive experiences with teachers, engaging in volunteer experiences, and hearing research presentations were also mentioned by the majority of these students as behaviors helpful to learning sociology. Finally, the students reported somewhat similar strategies for learning sociology in general, difficulties in learning sociology, and learning the sociological imagination.
"They Make How Much?" Investigating Faculty Salaries to Examine Gender Inequalities
Studies on faculty salaries in higher education conclude that women have lower average salaries than men, are disproportionately represented in traditionally female disciplines, and are underrepresented in full professor and administrative positions. The Faculty Salary Exercise was developed and implemented to find ways to illustrate this gender inequality that are engaging for students. This paper discusses the exercise and provides findings from student research on inequalities in faculty salaries. Conceptually, the exercise gives students a better understanding of gender inequalities occurring in their public institution. Methodologically, the assignment is an exercise in using available data, particularly secondary analysis of statistics, and helps the students realize both the strengths and weaknesses of using available data as a research method. Student evaluations show that this is a very popular exercise and one that opens students' eyes to gender inequalities in an environment with which they are familiar.
The Stratification Puzzle: An Active Learning Exercise in Hard Work and Success
We collected qualitative data to evaluate an active-learning exercise designed to allow students the opportunity to experience the consequences of stratification by social class. The activity specifically challenged students' ideas about success primarily being an outcome of individuals' hard work (i.e., the belief in a meritocracy). The learning activity required groups of students to compete as they worked with puzzles in a constructed classroom situation that provided a metaphorical representation of the American class system. To evaluate the pedagogical utility of the activity, we collected written data from students before and after their participation in the exercise. Students responded to prompts that invited them to describe their beliefs about hard work and success. Analysis of the data suggests that the activity was successful in inreasing students' awareness of social factors that can influence achievement independent of individual work ethic.
Bringing Creativity into the Classroom: Using Sociology to Write First-Person Fiction
The use of a creative writing assignment in the first-person narrative can enhance the sociological imagination by encouraging students to internalize sociological ideas in order to create a fictitious setting. This article presents assignment collaboration between a sociology professor and a writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) facilitator in which first-person narrative was used as a mode for sociological learning. When sociology students actually create the literature that they study for sociological purposes they are able to understand the interdependence between individuals (co-workers and family) and institutions (namely workplace and family). Specifically, the elements associated with constructing a narrative (setting, characterization, and details) foster students' recognition that individual lives are shaped by broader social forces. We provide evidence from student papers to suggest that creating a fictional, first-person futuristic piece enables students to learn how they as individual workers are influenced by others, by the workplace environment, and by the broader context of history and technological developments.
Using a Research Article to Facilitate a Deep Structure Understanding of Discrimination
This article suggests ways in which a current research article on employment
discrimination from the American Sociological Review can be used in the undergraduate classroom to facilitate deep structure learning (Roberts 1986,
2001, 2002). The exercises are designed for different levels of the undergraduate curriculum and adopt the strategies of benign disruption, inquirybased learning, and role taking so students can accomplish higher intellectual development.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning--Done by Sociologists: Let's Make That the Sociology of Higher Education
In the past decade, Paul Baker (1985) and Jeffrey Chin (2002) both established that the scholarship of teaching and learning (STL) is not informed by the sociology of education. Here, I suggest that the sociological perspective has been absent in the STL literature for at least two reasons: 1) STL evolved outside of sociology as part of a broad movement with predefined goals, and 2) the sociology of education lacks a coherent tradition of research in higher education. In this paper I challenge sociologists to see the social and historical nature of their work in STL, and without a well-developed branch of the sociology of education devoted to higher learning I call for sociologists to infuse their STL work with the sociological perspective, such that we may contribute to the small but significant body of research in the sociology of higher education.
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For articles, notes, and conversations, send manuscripts to: Liz Grauerholz, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Howard Phillips Hall 403, Orlando, FL 32816-1360. Phone: 407-823-2227, Fax: 407-823-3026.
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Page last updated: October 3, 2005
