Examines the importance of cultural literacy for the mastery of introductory sociology. Administers cultural literacy test to 709 undergraduate students. Finds that females and Blacks score lower than non-Black males, but women subsequently exhibit higher overall academic performance. The Cultural Literacy Test is appended. (NL)

Describes a method of encouraging student participation in large classes where students make brief notes of their participation to turn in at the end of class. Explains that credit is given for each acceptable item up to three a day. Suggests that this system encourages more participation by rewarding participation with higher grades. (DK)

Assesses the introduction of a computer-laboratory experience using a popular statistical package into a behavioral-science statistics class required of all sociology, psychology, and business-administration majors at a liberal arts college. Indicates that the laboratory did not improve student comprehension or performance, possibly due to poor…

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…

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)

Presents the address of the recipient of the Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Sociology. Focuses on educating for sustainable communities. States that higher education, in particular sociology, must adopt postmodern strategies to educate for survival. (CMK)

Presents a simulation exercise that was used to teach undergraduate students about professional ethics standards. Students participate on a mock institutional review board and formulate decisions about hypothetical research projects. Summarizes three projects and discusses the students' reaction to each. (CMK)

Discusses the role of antiracist praxis in teaching and learning. Focuses on the experiences and reflections of the participants of the course "Racism and Intellectuals." Addresses the "beloved community," a community of equals with a shared vision, and the student organization PEACE: Promoting Equality and Community Everywhere. (CMK)

Explains the interest of sociologists in feature-length film analysis. Discusses the problems with using films in sociology courses. Describes two analytic devices to help students interpret films. Presents a teaching strategy that groups films to convey certain sociological theories. Appends a schedule of films and readings. (CMK)

Discusses research on the effectiveness of service learning. Reviews the work of John Dewey and C. Wright Mills, indicating how their philosophies serve as a springboard to service learning. Presents potential problems with service learning and discusses service learning at Millikin University (Illinois). (CMK)

The author describes a teaching innovation in which undergraduates were used to lead weekly discussion sections of lower division sociology courses. The selection process of teaching assistants, student reactions, and possible solutions to potential problems are presented. (Author/DE)

The use of senior undergraduate students as lab-discussion leaders in an experimental introductory sociology course is examined. Results of the program indicate little or no increased learning over a control group. Student reaction to the course was favorable. Further utilization of undergraduates and careful study are emphasized. (Author/DE)

Outlines a strategy for sociology curriculum review based on the use of goals and objectives. The strategy involves selection of a set of goals, their specification as objectives, their arrangement in a hierarchy of goals and objectives, and establishment of levels of competence for each goal and objective. Potential difficulties in using the…

How student journals were used in a college-level sex/gender sociology course to facilitate student learning through writing is described. Students are required to formulate journal entries based on an issue or question that they raise for themselves. Learning occurs as students make connections in developing answers to their own questions.…

Notes that one-semester field methods courses in sociology often lack adequate time for students to learn appropriate techniques and still collect and report their data. Describes how undergraduate students bypass this problem by using multiple observations of a single event to quickly form a corpus of ethnographic data. (JDH)