ERIC Number: EJ1085972
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jan
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: N/A
Pivot Points: Direct Measures of the Content and Process of Community-Based Learning
Wickersham, Carol; Westerberg, Charles; Jones, Karen; Cress, Margaret
Teaching Sociology, v44 n1 p17-27 Jan 2016
This research is an initial investigation into the ways community-based learning increase the cognitive skills central to the exercise of the sociological imagination. In addition to identifying a means to reveal that learning had occurred, we looked for evidence that the students were mastering sociological content, especially the concepts and habits of the sociological imagination. Using a grounded theory approach, a student/faculty research team conducted a content analysis of 160 field notes from 34 undergraduate participant-observers enrolled in an academically grounded, field-based sociology course. The analysis revealed patterns of "pivot points" where students' understanding is characterized by a noticeable jump rather than as incremental or gradual change in knowledge acquisition. These pivot points are fundamental, categorical shifts in understanding connecting particular observations to generalized theories or constructs.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Participant Observation, College Faculty, Content Analysis, Documentation, Sociology, Knowledge Level, Learning Processes, Cognitive Development, Social Influences, Grounded Theory, Notetaking, Experiential Learning, School Community Relationship, Community Programs, Place Based Education, Critical Thinking, Partnerships in Education, Coding, Metacognition
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A