ERIC Number: EJ1104738
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jul
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: N/A
Student Engagement, Accountability, and Empowerment: A Case Study of Collaborative Course Design
Jafar, Afshan
Teaching Sociology, v44 n3 p221-232 Jul 2016
This article describes an experiment in collaborative course design in a midlevel sociology course. Unlike most of the literature on collaborative teaching and learning, which often deals with collaboration among students, this article discusses collaboration between the instructor and students. The students in this course collaborated with the instructor in designing the course--choosing the readings and developing the assignments--from the first day of class. Student feedback on the experiment was overwhelmingly positive. Three major themes that emerged from the student feedback were (1) higher levels of student engagement, (2) a sense of personal accountability, and (3) student empowerment. While the results of the student feedback mostly point to positive experiences, collaboration between students and instructors does bring a high level of uncertainty and extra work for the instructor involved. The article ends with some further guidance for those considering collaborative learning in their classrooms.
Descriptors: Learner Engagement, Accountability, Feedback (Response), Sociology, Teacher Student Relationship, Cooperative Learning, Teaching Methods, Instructional Design, Student Empowerment, Critical Theory, Course Evaluation, College Students, Student Attitudes, Group Dynamics, Questionnaires, Time Management
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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: Connecticut
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A