All those who teach in higher education like to think that students taking their classes will derive more from them than mere course credits and will retain what they have learned well beyond the final exam. However, as sociologists, we tend to have particularly high expectations of our discipline’s capacity to change our students’ thinking, in so far as it prompts them to question their taken-for-granted understandings of everyday social life.This session is designed to provide an opportunity for us to – first, examine the extent to which our collective belief in the transformative potential of studying Sociology is/is not supported by evidence from research on student learning; and second, to discuss how such knowledge can inform efforts to assist students in developing a sociological imagination that will enable them to think more critically about the relationship between the individual and society. Those interested in contributing to this session – either by presenting research on student learning or by addressing the teaching of sociology – are encouraged to contact Dr. Alison Thomas, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Douglas College, New Westminster, B.C.
Session Organizer: Alison Thomas, Douglas College, New Westminster, B.C., thomasa@douglascollege.ca
Session Chair and Discussant: Katherine Watson, University of the Fraser Valley
Session Code: Edu5
Schedule, location, and presentations
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