Strategic Design toward Foundational Learning Goals in Introduction to Sociology

Abstract

Scholars of teaching and learning in sociology have argued that introductory courses should teach toward foundational learning goals instead of providing an exhaustive review of the discipline. Nevertheless, prior research has provided far more guidance on what instructors ought to teach than how they can cohesively support learning across the goals advocated. Additionally, few studies have considered whether introductory course designs adequately address students’ diverse reasons for enrolling. To address this gap in the literature, we offer insights from our experiences with a redesigned introductory course tailored to support student learning in the areas recommended by earlier work. After describing our learning goals and the elements of our course design, which are grounded in empirical findings from the literature, we present evidence for the efficacy of this design in achieving key disciplinary learning goals, serving students’ personal learning goals, and attracting new and existing majors and minors.

Dimensions of Application of Cooperative Script Method in Sociology Learning

“…Selain itu, siswa juga aktif pada proses belajar. Karena dalam pelaksanaan metode ini interaktif, maka suasana pembelajaran secara menyenangkan dapat diciptakan (Rogers, Nemeroff, & Caputo, 2020). Peserta didik lebih mudah dalam menyerap materi yang dipelajari serta aktif dalam pemecahan masalah.…”

Using Sociological Images to Develop the Sociological Imagination

“…We designed this series based on pedagogical literature, particularly situated learning theory and research on active learning (Bonwell and Eison 1991), which suggest that students engage in higher order thinking and learn better when concepts are contextualized and made applicable. This assignment series embeds the sociological imagination into the course (Rogers, Nemeroff, and Caputo 2019) and encourages active learning by using visual media and a blog and allowing students to exercise their sociological analytical skills beyond the classroom and books—actively engaging in rather than simply reading about sociology. Being based on digital media, the assignment series is particularly useful in the current teaching and learning context because many courses have shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”