Publication Date
October 2013
Abstract
This paper documents the pedagogical remodeling of an Introduction to Sociology course. The challenge is to transform the classroom culture, and ultimately the college culture, from a focus on grades to a focus on learning. This transformation is accomplished through a series of learning activities embodied in My Sociology resources, which have been designed to be not merely learner-centered but ego-centered. Seasoned professors have often commented that students seem to perk up when the lesson is about them. Taking advantage of this energy, the discussion of sociology in this course begins with a treatment of the self, and then branches out systematically to the global perspective. Preliminary experimental model research comparing this pedagogically remodeled teaching strategy to the traditional teaching model has shown the remodeled strategy to be statistically significantly more effective (p < .001) than the traditional model of teaching. This course remodeling can be done with any academic course and can be applied to many specialty areas.