Doing Sociology: Connecting the Classroom Experience with a Multiethnic School District

Critical Experiential Pedagogy: Sociology and the Crisis in Higher Education

“…We offer these observations here so that those who wish to adopt a critical experiential pedagogy in their classrooms may replicate our successes and avoid our mistakes. First, the practical roadblocks to this type of teaching, as noted elsewhere (Calderon and Farrell 1996;Scarce 1997), are considerable. The logistics of Lobby Day were particularly onerous.…”

“…Common examples of experiential education include field trips (Boyle 1995;Scarce 1997), observation and participant observation (Calderon and Farrell 1996;Manning et al 1997;Nichols et al 2004), service learning and cooperative education (Everett 1998;Hollis 2002;Jakubowski and Burman 2004;Wright 2000). These scholars describe three main benefits of experiential education: (1) to encourage students to learn concretely about abstract sociological concepts (e.g., Mooney and Edwards 2001;Wright 2000), (2) to create practical work experiences (e.g., Corwin 1996), and (3) to develop students' sociological imagination-the ability to relate their own personal experiences to broader structural issues (e.g., Stanley and Plaza 2002).…”

“…Scarce (1997) identifies administrative issues, such as arranging transportation, accounting for students' work and class schedules and insurance concerns as points of contention. Calderon and Farrell (1996) describe the challenge of establishing and maintaining access to off-campus sites, while Wright (2000) points out that time spent outside of the classroom comes at the expense of time in the classroom. As teachers of sociology, we are encouraged by the persistence of our colleagues in implementing experiential education despite the challenges.…”

A Year of Reflecting on Teaching: What We Know about the Classroom and What We Don't Know about the Hallways

“…This theme continues throughout published articles in Teaching Sociology. The community becomes many things-including taking students to prisons, attending AA meetings, taking field trips to museums, attending church services of various types, going to malls, schools, and becoming involved in communitybased research centers (Greenberg 1989;King 1992;Puffer 1994;Cohen 1995;Boyle 1995;Calderon and Farrell 1996;Pestello et al, 1996;Corwin 1996;Scarce 1997;May and Koulish 1998;Wright 2000).…”

Designing Your Community-Based Learning Project: Five Questions to Ask about Your Pedagogical and Participatory Goals

“…Other studies discuss how student and community characteristics, such as ethnic diversity, can affect the integration of course content and volunteer experience (Parker-Gwin 1996a). There are also examples of ways to address certain logistical problems, including transportation and geographical difficulties (Porter and Schwartz 1993;Scarce 1997), serious budget constraints (Corwin1996), and maintaining continuity in long-term programs (Calderon 1996).…”