This article discusses some of the challenges departments face as they embark on curriculum development. The interpersonal dynamics of a department are often the first and most difficult obstacle to overcome but are often overlooked. The author suggests some strategies for how to address these issues as they arise.

Content analysis of 77 college and university catalogs and department websites assesses conformity with select recommendations for the sociology major. The majority of institutions have programs that fulfill some recommendations examined, but the minority fulfills most of the recommendations. Some sociology programs are much more coordinated than…

The teaching and learning movement in sociology in general and within the American Sociological Association specifically has a surprisingly long history. This history can be divided into three periods of activity: early efforts (1905 to 1960), innovation and implementation (1960 to 1980), and the institutionalization of gains (1980 to 2009).…

Increasingly, educators have called on colleges and universities to prepare their students for a more interdependent world. While sociology has begun to heed the message to globalize the curriculum, efforts to implement relevant teaching practices are hampered by lack of consensus on what "internationalizing" or "globalizing" the classroom…

The sociological literature on teaching and learning includes a number of discussions devoted to the importance of multicultural education. Much of this literature encourages educators to revise the curriculum and shows how the experience of multicultural education can stimulate student's sociological imaginations. To this end, some scholars have…

Academic sociologists have recently increased their focus on improving high school sociology. Reform efforts include networking between teachers and universities, improving curriculum, and enhancing teacher training. I propose that this list be expanded to include setting curricular standards. Current trends in educational reform center on…

The NSF-funded Integrating Data Analysis (IDA) Project undertaken by the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the Social Science Data Analysis Network sought to close the quantitative literacy gap for sociology majors. Working with twelve departments, the project built on lessons learned from ASA's Minority Opportunities through School…

Although the literature on social networks has made a considerable contribution to the sociological imagination in recent years, it has been largely ignored in conventional course materials. Such an omission is curious, considering social networks' intuitive imagery, broad theoretical relevance and extensive empirical application. This article…

Offers ideas for developing distinct deviance, delinquency, and criminology curricula. Discusses how to reduce theoretical and content overlap, paper assignments, course readings, and departmental issues. Finds overlap and review of basic theories were helpful to students. Recommends deviance, criminology, and delinquency courses be theoretically…

Presents a strategy for the curricular design and assessment of one multidisciplinary program goal: understanding human behavior. Discusses how to assess a desired outcome based on four specific areas: (1) organizational context; (2) articulation of a learning model; (3) program design and implementation; and (4) outcomes assessment. (Author/KDR)

Presents a sociology program through three models of curriculum: (1) faculty centered; (2) discipline centered; and (3) student community based curricula. Explores the experiences with these models and reveals that curricular development as a social process can be used to lay a foundation for social context based assessment. (Author/KDR)

Describes different assessment designs available for different types of curricula. Reports results from a quasi experimental design comparing the level of critical sociological reasoning skills among students near the beginning and those finishing their studies. Believes the multi dimensional diversity within sociology presents the greatest…

Offers a description of innovations in the sociology program at Santa Clara University (California) focusing on the three stage approach to program improvement: (1) mission/vision; (2) time budgets (continuity between goals and effort); and (3) effectiveness. Discusses additional lessons that may be useful for other campuses. (CMK)

Provides suggestions for creating a writing-intensive course. Focuses on meeting course goals or objectives with student writing, describing the different types of writing assignments and discussing the mixture of assignments, amount of writing, and ensuring success. Includes a syllabus for a writing-intensive undergraduate sociology course. (CMK)

Describes an experiment designed to introduce aspects of quantitative reasoning to a large, substantively-focused class in the social sciences. Reveals that participating students' abilities to interpret and manipulate empirical data increased significantly, independent of baseline SAT verbal and mathematics scores. Discusses implications for…