Given the massive volume of course-relevant videos now available on the Internet, this article outlines a pedagogy to facilitate the instructional employment of such materials. First, we describe special features of streaming media that have enabled their use in the classroom. Next, we introduce a typology comprised of six categories (conjuncture,…

There are many things that sociology faculty have to consider as they begin planning a student course such as: (1) why students need to understand scientific methods, by conducting research for themselves; (2) What specific learning goals and objectives will be met by students doing research, either individually or collectively?; (3) Why do…

Classes of hundreds pose special challenges for teaching and learning. Notable among these challenges is the tendency for students to feel like anonymous spectators rather than active, collaborative participants. To combat this tendency, we used the popular social networking site Facebook to cultivate a sense of community among 200-plus students…

Sociologists have developed compelling pedagogical strategies to focus the undergraduate gaze on problems of gender and sexuality. Nested within the social construction of gender norms, the sexualization of girls and women negatively impacts individual, interpersonal, and societal levels of social interaction. Nevertheless, this important issue…

Introductory sociology casts a wide net with regard to its audience and plays an important role in capturing the public eye as well as helping students to make more informed choices in their lives and communities. I ask six questions that help us as sociologists to think about how introductory sociology can better serve our discipline, our…

We describe a semester-long active learning project in which students practice the skills of synthesis and analysis by developing portfolios organized around a topic of their own choosing (relevant to their substantive course). We build on prior contributions in four ways. First, we offer a project that is indicative of basic skills in the…

In 2009, a faculty-reviewed student undergraduate journal titled "Socheolas: The Limerick Student Journal of Sociology" was officially launched. The journal, now in its fourth volume, is produced, edited, and managed by a small team from within the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick in Ireland. The objective of this student…

This article describes and evaluates an activity designed to demonstrate how biological factors (e.g., genetics), individual-level behaviors (e.g., smoking), and social factors (e.g., socioeconomic status) shape health status and access to health care. Active learning techniques were utilized to introduce the sociological imagination as it…

This project was designed to assess whether a collaborative learning approach to teaching sociological theory would be a successful means of improving student engagement in learning theory and of increasing both the depth of students' understanding of theoretical arguments and concepts and the ability of students to theorize for themselves. A…

Sociology majors learn that sociological theory is foundational to our field; it frames the way we look at the world and provides guiding questions for our social inquiry. But sociology instructors know that teaching theory is a challenge. A number of activities have been created to engage students in sociological theory courses. This note…

The authors explore the challenges inherent in traversing the multiple boundaries between sociology and social work, and the academy and the community, by examining a service learning course on hunger and homelessness taught by two sociology professors and two social workers on the staff of a community service organization. The authors draw on…

Social stratification is a core substantive area within sociology. There are a number of textbooks and readers available on the market that deal with this central topic. In this article, I conduct a comparative review of (a) four stratification textbooks and (b) four stratification readers. (Contains 2 tables.)

The authors provide a brief case study of a three-strategy approach for teaching undergraduate research methods that (1) incorporates active learning assignments and discussion-based learning, (2) integrates a cross-discipline and cross-method faculty guest discussion facilitators series, and (3) focuses on the challenges and rewards of conducting…

Two significant challenges in teaching college courses are getting students to complete the readings and, beyond that, having them engage in deep reading. We have developed a specific group work format within our courses to facilitate both deep reading and active discussion of course material. Early in the semester, students are assigned to their…

This article discusses an application of the Lewinian/Kolb experiential learning model in the context of undergraduate participation in the Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) program. CAPS is designed to simulate common, everyday experiences among people living in poverty as participants take on the roles of family members working…