Sociology instructors have begun adding student response systems to support conceptual application in college courses. While little has been published about how these devices affect learning behavior in our discipline, research from other fields suggests clickers may enhance learning by encouraging engagement through collaborative talk. This paper…

In this study, I set out to gain a better understanding of the learning strategies typically used by sociology majors, whether and to what extent they engage in metacognitive strategies, and whether teaching about learning results in students reporting greater use of self-regulatory behaviors. I discuss the importance of self-regulated learning…

Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests to assess students'…

Quantitative literacy is increasingly essential for both informed citizenship and a variety of careers. Though regression is one of the most common methods in quantitative sociology, it is rarely taught until late in students' college careers. In this article, the author describes a classroom-based activity introducing students to regression…

In recent years, academic programs have increasingly documented student learning. For many, this practice of measuring and analyzing student learning outcomes continues as an elusive endeavor fraught with resentment and misgiving. This article describes the development of a student learning assessment plan for the University of Wyoming's Chicano…

The increasing ubiquity of PowerPoint in the university classroom raises complex questions about pedagogy and the creation of dynamic and effective learning environments. Though much of the sociological teaching literature has focused on engagement and active learning, very little of this work has addressed the presence of PowerPoint in sociology…

Sociology instructors strive not only to teach their students the essential aspects of sociology but also to help students develop their critical thinking abilities. One way to help students become better critical thinkers is to assign projects that encourage students to critically assess their world by relating the course content to their…

Inspired by inquiry-guided learning and critical self-reflection as pedagogical approaches, we describe exercises that encourage students to develop critical thinking skills through inquiry and reflective writing. Students compile questions and reflections throughout the course and, at the end of the term, use their writings for a comprehensive…

How can instructors use experiential learning strategies to enhance student understanding of research ethics and responsible research conduct? In this article, the authors review literature on using experiential learning to teach research ethics and responsible research conduct. They present a three-step exercise for teaching research ethics and…

This article introduces a sociology role-playing game (RPG) used to demonstrate the broad range of social forces, institutions, and structures in a semester-long series of in-class and homework assignments. RPGs and other simulation games have been frequently suggested as a useful teaching methodology because of their unique ability to allow…

One useful, but underutilized, strategy to increase quantitative literacy and promote critical sociological thinking is to have students investigate demographic trends in their local community. In this article, the authors describe a project in which students compare and contrast the demographic characteristics of two counties in their state using…

Because lecture-based teaching limits student learning, many instructors are interested in pedagogical strategies that support critical thinking, student participation, and group discussion in large classrooms. Audience response systems, or "clickers," are an emerging tool for addressing this problem, but predominant pedagogical models for clicker…

The purpose of this article is to document how a course in the fundamentals of sociology encouraged students to rethink negative impressions about people with AIDS. Multimethod, active learning processes were utilized to introduce the sociological imagination, critical thinking, and theory and methods in sociology. The intent was to apply basic…

Although we may claim our students are developing a sociological imagination, it is quite another to realize this in our teaching and our students' performances. Through a professional move from teaching in Chicago to Maine, I was led to rethink how I teach the sociological imagination. I argue that if we are to teach the sociological imagination,…

One of the unique promises of sociology is to illuminate the intersection of the personal and public by encouraging largely individually-oriented students to examine interrelationships between themselves and the social world. This can be an especially challenging task when teaching introductory sociology courses that are populated largely by…