The Integration of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning into the Discipline of Sociology

The learning outcome, “Students will learn to engage with and impact society,” is common in curricular frameworks addressing undergraduate sociology education; however, it does not receive adequate coverage compared to other competencies. The lack of attention to this outcome coupled with the tendency to focus heavily on social problems may cause some students to leave sociology classes with increased cynicism and helplessness. This research therefore assesses an upper-level elective sociology course designed to challenge this proclivity by guiding students toward the recognition of their agency. Precourse and postcourse surveys (N = 47) are analyzed to uncover student attitudes regarding agency and social change. Results indicate the course prompted an increase in the students’ optimism and confidence in their ability to impact society. This type of course, both as an entity and in its transferable components, can provide support for students who want to learn how to engage with their world.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Help Me See the “Magnificent” Side of Sociology: The Outcomes of a Community Action and Involvement Course Designed to Help Undergraduates View Themselves as Agentic

Savage

2022

“…Over the past 30 years, the SoTL movement has been ascendant within higher education as a whole and specifically within sociology (Howard 2010; McKinney 2017). One defining feature of the SoTL movement is its commitment to applying scientific best practices to the study of teaching and learning.…”

Section: The Sotl Movement and The Methodological Sophistication In T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociological Imagination within Teaching Sociology: 1973–2020

Palmer

2022

The sociological imagination is widely considered essential to sociology and sociological scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning research. Still, sociologists have struggled to agree on precisely what it is and how to measure its development effectively. A content analysis of every article published in Teaching Sociology was conducted examining where the sociological imagination appeared in the journal, where authors claimed to develop students’ sociological imagination, and the methodological sophistication of the evidence they provided to substantiate those claims. Analysis confirms the importance of the sociological imagination, appearing in a fourth of all published articles and nearly half of the articles published between 2010 and 2020. Just over a fourth of claims-making authors provided no evidence to validate their claims, and the frequency of making unsubstantiated claims persists even as the methodological rigor of the journal overall increased. Among the studies that provided evidence, however, the methodological sophistication appears to be increasing.

“…. The act of writing helps define the writer and gives meaning to one’s everyday existence.” These kinds of subtle, personal learning objectives are difficult to shoehorn into a neoliberal assessment structure (Lucal 2015) but are already highly valued by sociologists who define civic engagement, self-reflexivity, and sociological imagination as central aims of the discipline (Greenwood 2013; McKinney 2018).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The humanist ideals set forth by Banks and Inoue are also elevated in scholarship on teaching and learning (SoTL) in sociology that prioritizes the discipline’s highest ideals: civic presence, self-reflexivity, sociological imagination. Yet, as McKinney (2018) explains, SoTL is marginalized within mainstream sociology exactly because its values, epistemologies, and genres are non-normative (McKinney 2018:124). Banks and Inoue ask us to reconsider our role in the classroom, and the values upon which enacting that role rests, in radical ways that challenge the entire system of managing status and distinction within academia.…”

Section: Cultural Rhetoricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assigning Authenticity: Future Directions for Undergraduate Writing in Sociology

Lewis

2021

Social movements seeking to dismantle white supremacy within academia cast long-running debates over writing instruction in a new light. This conversation approaches these critiques as an opportunity for pedagogical reinvention. I put forward new theory that centers the social performance and psychological rewards of authenticity. I first review two essential literatures on writing instruction in sociology: (1) writing in the disciplines and (2) cultural rhetorics. This twinned review focuses on the values that inform curriculum design and how these biases and ideals shape instructors’ perceptions of student writing. I then apply research on authenticity to reflect on the self-formative challenges today’s undergraduates encounter and how these obstacles shape their relationship to learning. I argue that centering authenticity in writing instruction can help the discipline achieve its inclusive ideals because it enhances students’ sense of belonging in the discipline.