Taking it to the streets: Experiential learning and community-building activities in Introduction to Sociology tutorials.


Melissa McLetchie, York University

Rarely, if ever, are undergraduate sociology majors and non-majors given the opportunity to practice methods, apply theories, and share knowledge learned in the classroom in real-world environments. However, experiential learning is essential to students grasp of complex sociological theories, methods, and concepts while community-building activities can strengthen their ability to transfer this knowledge to non-academic audiences. Given that introductory courses are large classes, it is challenging for course directors to facilitate experiential learning and knowledge-mobilization opportunities. It becomes incumbent upon teaching assistants to create innovative learning and capacity-building opportunities for their students and the community. Using examples gathered through five years as a teaching assistant for an Introduction to Sociology course at York University, as well as my work facilitating social justice programs for youth in the community, my presentation will explore the challenges of teaching Introduction to Sociology and the solutions that experiential learning in tutorials and community-building activities can offer. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: