Developing a National Model for a College-level Introductory

Sociology CourseDUE-0442836

      Caroline Hodges PersellDepartment of Sociology

New York Universitychp1@nyu.edu

In collaboration withBarbara Schneider

Michigan State University

What should the curriculum for an innovative Introduction to

Sociology course be? • Started with a draft curriculum and

resource materials developed by an American Sociological Association (ASA) Task Force. 4 goals of project.

• First, wanted to see if leaders in the field shared the learning goals of the curriculum.

Goal 1: To refine conceptions of what should be taught in an

Introduction to Sociology course.

Actions: 1) Telephone interviews with 44 leaders (elected heads of sociology professional associations, winners of awards for their research, NSF sociology grant recipients) to learn what they think students should understand after taking an Introduction to Sociology course, and how they teach sociology. 2) Brief electronic survey ranking Task Force goals.

Results: Leaders identified 9 Themes

1) Thinking sociologically.2) Thinking scientifically. 3) Thinking critically.4) Understanding inequality.5) Sociology as a field. 6) Social construction of ideas.7) Distinguishing sociology from

other social sciences.8) Improving the world.9) Understanding social

institutions in society. article:

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/persell/aIntroNSF/Documents/WhatShouldStudentsUnderstandOctober2007TeachingSociology.pdf

Goal 2: To learn more about how leaders teach important principles

• Interviews with 44 leaders.

• Comparisons with other research on teaching in the field.

• The article: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/persell/aIntroNSF/Documents/HowSociologicalLeadersTeachApril2008TeachingSociology.pdf

Results: Teaching Sociology paper

• Leaders involve students in research much more than seen in studies of general syllabi or courses.

• This includes data collection and analysis, field projects, or other research projects.

0%

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44Leaders

418Syllabi

229Courses

% involved inresearch

Goal 3: To assess whether the curriculum increases students’

understanding of important principles.

Actions: 1) Keeler, Fermin, and Schneider, collaborative partner, developed a rubric for assessing critical thinking. Applied it to student learning in an Introductory course in a large public university. Paper forthcoming, Teaching Sociology, October 2008.

2) Persell conducted focus groups with undergraduates at a selective private university. Working paper written with Mateiro.

Keesler, Fermin, & Schneider

Measured the effectiveness of the curriculum by three goals:  student knowledge of sociological content, the development of critical thinking skills, and the interest of students in studying sociology. 

Found that, overall, sociological knowledge and critical thinking skills appear to have increased in the course of the semester and that students expressed greater interest in the application of sociology to their daily lives.

Persell and Mateiro:Assessed whether students’ understandings of

complex and abstract ideas benefit from the strategies used to teach them, and how and why.

Showed the value of using multiple methods for assessing teaching strategies and student learning, including before and after essays, discussion questions, and open-ended discussion in focus groups.

Revealed how focus groups provide insights into students’ thinking and illuminate student perceptions of a given teaching strategy, such as an exercise, game, or film.

Goal 4: Dissemination of the curriculum, pedagogical resources and research

Actions: Developing a web-based gateway to the curriculum, teacher and student resources.

Outcomes Website http://www.nyu.edu/classes/persell/aIntroNSF/home.html

Website designed to make resources available to college and high school

teachers and students• Materials include original resources, carefully selected existing materials, and links to high quality outside websites. • Flexibly framed by substantive curricular themes and issues.

• Organized by units, type of resource, and audience (teachers and students).

• Involve active learning including data exploration, scientific approaches and reasoning, simulations, streaming video, and multiple media and senses.

•Each page contains an interactive feedback form.

We Hope You Visit the Website and share your reactions

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/persell/aIntroNSF/home.html