Presents a learning activity designed to illustrate the concept of positive social deviance to introductory sociology students. Describes the background to the lesson, the assignment, student observations during the activity, student reactions to it, and warnings to instructors considering replicating the assignment. (DSK)

Presents an active learning project for use in teaching social activism and social movements. Discusses students' backgrounds, the course outline, the context of the assignment, the project itself, measures of the effectiveness of the assignment, and limits and problems with it. Notes other topics for which the assignment could be adapted. (DSK)

Presents a learning activity for students in a sociology-of-education course in which they produce their own critical-education autobiography. Describes how to prepare students for the project, the assignments used, samples of student commentary and evaluation, and potential uses and risks of this approach. (DSK)

Discusses the use of popular music to illustrate key concepts and topics in a course on ethnic minorities in the United States. Demonstrates that the lyrics of contemporary music can be used to illustrate concepts, theories, and general topics in sociology. Includes analysis of students' responses to the use of music. (DSK)

Reports on an experience using a teaching technique designed to promote active learning in an undergraduate social-problems course through student analysis of real social data. Discusses course materials and teaching procedures used, advantages and disadvantages of the approach, and student reactions. (DSK)

Offers a nonparticipant observation exercise that allows students to engage in research quickly, while keeping in mind constraints created by one-semester introductory courses. Discusses the selection of observation sites and topics, ethics and policies of human-subject research, procedures for taking notes, classroom discussion of student…

Argues that students are apprehensive about theory courses, in part, because they require abstract, detailed reasoning skills. Presents a puzzle exercise developed to allow students to break through their "theory anxiety" without minimizing the complex thinking skills necessary for theorizing. Discusses preparation and implementation, and…

Believes that graduate students can gain skills that will help them in the future by participating in the textbook writing process. Describes six activities for graduate students including preparing a text-reader for a course, writing a panel essay for a textbooks, and acting as a textbook intern. (CMK)

Describes a collaborative exercise used in a labor-force class to help students apply course concepts and learn collaborative skills. Discusses the structure of each of the four group assignments, the group evaluations and grading, and problems with having groups and the solutions. (CMK)

The majority of literature regarding problem-based learning demonstrates its usefulness as a teaching technique in the natural sciences curriculum. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the broad purpose is to illustrate the application of problem-based learning for instructing students about controversial issues in sociology. Within the…

Theory is a vitally important component of every undergraduate sociology program. Social theory classes are the heart of the undergraduate major in sociology: in these courses, students take on the professional and disciplinary roles of sociologists. This paper reports on two strategies that enlivened their social theory class, generating both…