This article details an exercise for the first day of class in an introductory sociology course. Students in two sections of Introduction to Sociology taught by the same professor and covering the same content, with the exception of the exercise on the first day of class, were surveyed at the end of the semester regarding the first day. Student…

This article discusses the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in the undergraduate sociology classroom. PBL shifts students from the role of passive listeners and learners to active knowledge builders and communicators through the use of concise and engaging social problem cases. PBL creates opportunities for building substantive area knowledge,…

This study analyzes the content and discursive strategies within 39 introductory-level sociology course syllabi published in TRAILS, the Teaching Resources and Innovations Library of the American Sociological Association, from two different time periods (2004 and 2010) to explore the syllabus as a tool for socialization. We find that syllabi,…

Graduate students occupy social positions within institutions of higher education that are rife with role strain and, relative to broader power relations within these institutions, are marginalized. In this study, we inquire how the social positions and concomitant roles of graduate students shape their mental health experiences, investigating…

Participants in the 2007 American Sociological Association teaching workshop, "Innovative Teaching Practices for Difficult Subjects," shared concerns about teaching statistics, research methods, and theory. Strategies for addressing these concerns center on building a community of learners by creating three processes throughout the course: 1) an…

This article describes the successful use of videoconferencing in a sociology capstone course as a way to introduce students to eminent scholars and authors across the country. The author begins by discussing the institutional context, and how videoconferencing fits with the departmental capstone philosophy and with her course goals. This is…

In this article I explore the ethical terrain of experiential learning activities drawing on my experiences leading college students on field trips into criminal justice settings. Though there are numerous educational benefits to adopting experiential learning activities, the rewards must be evaluated in light of the potential harms to nonstudent…

This paper describes a campus survey designed to enhance student learning while generating high-quality data for research and evaluation. Students enrolled in a research methods course pretest a draft interview schedule and interview randomly selected students; then, drawing on their interview experience, they write a paper that addresses…

Continues the discussion on graduate seminars begun in the authors' article "Rethinking the Graduate Seminar." States that the goal of the article was to encourage dialogue about how to teach the graduate seminar effectively. Addresses the responses from the other articles in this issue of "Teaching Sociology." (CMK)

Contends that professors of graduate seminars fail to provide the structure necessary for academic discourse. Describes four models for graduate seminars along with the disadvantages of each model. Discusses the issue of authority in graduate seminars. Provides an example of an effective graduate seminar. (CMK)

Explains that universal access to education has created a student body more diverse and less academically prepared for college. States that higher education, when viewed as a business, has shifted much of the learning responsibility from the student to the teacher. Offers guidelines for maintaining ethical standards of conduct in sociology…

Focuses on an exercise where students were assigned social roles based on gender, class, and race and then selected division of labor and reward structures in order to explore inequality in work and production. Offers a review of literature on the power structure of work and production and an evaluation of the exercise. (CMK)

Analyzes the structure of academic sociology departments. Stresses the competition for resources and symbolic capital among different groups including faculty, support staff, research staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Focuses on the complex role of graduate students, the constraints, and the opportunities it opens. Urges reform…

Proposes a conceptualization of the professionalization that is inherent in graduate school training as resocialization rather than developmental socialization. Discusses the possible negative effects of this process on students' self-concept. Responses by Jane Allyn Piliavin, Norman Goodman, and Joan Aldous follow. (LS)

This paper discusses learning communities as pedagogy for introductory sociology courses, which are often plagued by student apathy. Most importantly, it examines the potential for learning communities to incorporate active and collaborative learning techniques as a vehicle to subvert dominant views of diversity, to see diversity as intersecting…