SOC 989: Top Sociological Methodology, Instructor: Dr. Steve Gold; 462 Berkey Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 353-6352; gold@msu.edu
[my personal version of the syllabus]
- 2/3/10 Job finding strategy [blog post]
- Reflection papers on each guest speaker that discuss how you can incorporate his suggestions to achieve your career goals
- 2/17/10 Reflection 1: Impression Left from the Lectures of Kevin Johnson
- 3/3/10 Reflection 2: Reaction to Speaker Janet L. Bokemeier, Ph.D., Department of Sociology at MSU
- 3/17/10 Reflection 3:Reaction to Speaker Stephen Gasteyer (Assistant Professor) & Zhenmei Zhang, PhD – MSU Sociology
- 4/20/10 Reflection 4: Reaction to Dr. Louise Jezierski [MSU page] [blog post]
- 3/24/10 Course [syllabus] & Teaching [philosophy]
- 4/7/10 Planned revision [blog post]
- 4/20/10 Presentation
- 4/28/10 Research [agenda], teaching [philosophy], course [syllabus], job application [letter]
Grading:
- 40% Reflection papers on each guest speaker that discuss how you can incorporate his suggestions to achieve your career goals
- 10% Dr. Kevin Johnson
- 10% Dr. Janet Bokemeier
- 10% Dr. Stephen Gasteyer
- 10% Dr. Louise Jezierski
- 10% Course syllabus
- 8% Planned revision
- 8% Job finding strategy
- 8% Job application letter and vita
- 10% Teaching philosophy
- 8% Research plan
- 8% Attendance and participation
- 100% Total
Professional Development Seminar for Graduate Students in Sociology
Course Goals
This course provides a practical introduction to the achievement of career goals within the profession of sociology. It works to help students develop skills and insights in seven areas: designing courses, teaching, acquiring grants, performing applied research, engaging in outreach activities, writing and publishing.
In the course of developing basic knowledge about these activities, we will also reflect on the social and relational dimensions of sociological work, including associations with colleagues, mentors and students; and discuss how to use collective activities (such as study groups and networks) to acquire information, identify collaborators, and obtain social support.
Throughout the course, students will create documents of potential value in establishing a sociological career and securing employment. These include a course syllabus (stressing innovative plans to making one’s teaching effective), statements reflecting one’s teaching philosophy and long-term research agendas, a plan for revising written work as a scholarly publication (book, journal article or book chapter), outlining a strategy for finding a job, and writing a letter of application to a position advertised in the ASA Job Bank or other employment listing.
Because of the breadth of the field of sociology, it is impossible for any one instructor to be competent in these many areas. In order to increase our exposure to expertise, the course will include several guest lectures.
As in the development of your career, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial action are encouraged in this course and in the fulfillment of its assignments. At the end of the semester, students will present some of the results of their course work to the class.
Readings
Silver, I., & ASA Teaching Resources Center. (2008). Academic street smarts : informal professionalization of graduate students. [Washington D.C.]: American Sociological Association.
Becker, H. S., & Richards, P. (2007). Writing for social scientists. University of Chicago Press.
Lieberg, C. (2008). Teaching Your First College Class. Stylus Pub Llc.
Class Schedule
- Introduction
- Class 1, 1-13
- Informal Professionalization of Graduate Students in Sociology
- Class 2, 1-20
- Reading Silver and Shulman, Preface and Part One (pp vii-148).
- Class 2, 1-20
- Informal Professionalization of Graduate Students in Sociology II
- Class 3, 1-27
- Reading Silver and Shulman, part Two (pp. 151-276).
- Class 3, 1-27
- Teaching
- Class 4, 2-3.
- Assignment 1 Due: Write a job-finding strategy drawing on Silver and Shulman chapters as well as web resources
- Guest Speaker: Kevin M. Johnston, MSU TA Programs
- Readings: Here are some articles in support of our topics for these classes. Kevin Johnston has purposely picked web-based resources, for easy access, and has included references to other bibliographies and resources (including references to MSU TAP materials) for students interested in reading more about the topic. See also MSU F&OD Resources for resources on a wide range of issues related to teaching and learning in higher education.
- REQUIRED
- Morrissette, Patrick, Reducing Incivility in the University/College Classroom, 5(4) | IEJLL University of Calgary. (n.d.).
- Morrissette’s piece centers largely on the work of Robert Boice, whose 1996 article on classroom incivility remains pretty much the “industry standard.”
- Sullivan, R., & McIntosh, N. Lecturing Effectively
- A thorough, well-organized piece featuring guidelines for creating the “interactive lecture.”
- Klionsky, Daniel J. Tips for Using Questions in Large Classes.
- A focused approach to thinking about engaging students well in large classes.
- Metts, Sandra. Suggestions for Classroom Discussion.
- A short, to-the-point piece that engages general issues concerning questioning.
- Reis, Rick, Tomorrow’s Professor archives and website
- Morrissette, Patrick, Reducing Incivility in the University/College Classroom, 5(4) | IEJLL University of Calgary. (n.d.).
- For further reading (optional):
- Class 5, 2-10 Teaching II
- Guest Speaker: Kevin M. Johnston, MSU TA Programs
- REQUIRED
- Effective Testing/Test-construction
- Johnston, K. “How Was I Supposed To Know What You Wanted?” Effective Testing, Grading and Assessment. MSU Teaching Thoughts #16.
- Atkinson, Mike. Writing Effective MC Exams: concise piece focused on Bloom’s taxonomy.
- Visit Educause: Search out three answers to your most pressing question concerning classroom technology usage. Be prepared to share your question and findings with your peers.
- Syllabus design.
- See also, Teaching Thoughts #13, Creating the Complete Syllabus
- Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers
- Creating a Teaching Philosophy You Can Use
- For further reading (optional):
- Harvard – Derek Bok Center
- McKenna & Bull. Designing effective objective test questions: An introductory workshop.
- UT Austin
- Teachnology
- U of Oregon
- University of Wisconsin system
- Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching
- Casella, V. The Syllabus
- Haugen, L. Learning-Centered Syllabi
- Creating an Effective On-line Syllabus
- Class 4, 2-3.
- Teaching your first class
- Teaching – Syllabus and Teaching Philosophy
- Class 6, 2-17 Teaching
- Readings: Lieberg Ch 1-7 PRESENTATION ON CHAPTERS 3 & 4
- Assignment 2 Due: Reactions to Johnson’s guest lectures
- Class 6, 2-17 Teaching
- Applied Sociology
- Class 7, 2-24 Applied Sociology
- Guest speaker. Dr. Harry Perlstadt
- Reading: Harry Perlstadt, Applied Sociology, History of Applied Sociology (Both ANGEL)Funded Research
- Class 8, 3-3
- Guest Speaker: Professor Stephen Gasteyer
- Reading: Gasteyer, NSF Proposal; Gasteyer Dudley Smith, Gasteyer Carrera Embeddedness (All on ANGEL)
- Assignment 3 Due: Reactions to Dr. Perlstadt’s guest lecture
- Guest Speaker: Professor Stephen Gasteyer
- No Class 3-10 Spring Break
- Class 7, 2-24 Applied Sociology
- Teaching your first class (continued)
- Class 9, 3-17
- Reading: Lieberg, Ch 8-14.
- (leave at 3:15 pm: GUSP talk)
- Assignment 4 Due: Reactions to Dr. Gatsteyer’s guest lecture
- Class 9, 3-17
- Writing and Publishing
- Class 10, 3-24
- Reading Becker , Pref., Ch1-3.
- (leave at 2:30pm: APA talk)
- Assignment 5 Due, Draft syllabus and teaching philosophy. Describe how your syllabus reflects your philosophy
- Class 10, 3-24
- Writing and Publishing II
- Class 11, 3-31, Reading Becker 4-7
- Class 12, 4-7, Revising an article for Publication
- Reading: Becker, Ch 8-10.
- Assignment 6 Due: Create a revision plan based upon Becker’s instructions for an article that you have completed or are working on
- Sociology outside the academy: Outreach, etc.
- Class 13, 4-14. Outreach
- Guest Speaker: Dr. Toby Ten Eyck
- Reading: Catherine De Lorenzo “Creative Village” Jade 19(2) 2000: 153-160. ANGEL
- Class 13, 4-14. Outreach
- Book Publication
- Class 14, 4-21, Reading: http://www.routledge.com/info/authors, examples on ANGEL
- Assignment 7 Due: Reaction to Ten Eyck’s visit
- Student Presentations
- Class 15, 4-28, Student Presentations
- Job talk on teaching and research statement
- Hand In Revised Materials: Research agenda, teaching philosophy, course syllabus, job application letter.
- Web resources
- Kevin Johnston’s TA Programs http://tap.msu.edu/PDF/teachingThoughts2008.pdf
- A philosophy of teaching statement
- Web Resources for Teaching Sociology
- ASA, Teaching Sociology. http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/leftnav/teaching_sociology/teaching_sociology . THE place to start your search for resources, practical advice, and teaching as professional development.
- Bessel, Matteson, & Cattat. Teaching Sociology for Beginners. http://wings.buffalo.edu/soc-sci/sociology/.SGSA/teachasa.html . Slightly dated, but there’s a lot to glean from this effort by graduate students to help their peers. The authors have made some interesting choices about what to cover, how to cover it, and with the resources they’ve selected (definitely relevant for the time). I hold strongly to the belief (well documented for undergrads) that peers do the best job helping one another learn material. Perhaps there are some ways of thinking in this resources that resonate well with your students.
- Questia. Teaching Sociology. http://www.questia.com/library/education/curriculum-and-instruction/social-studies-education/teaching-sociology.jsp . A site helping us get to other resources, Questia’s not a bad resource search engine. Even if you don’t join, you can use the site to begin to explore other resources. I love the opening choices here, Merton and Spencer, both historical references, but relevant today.
- Sternheimer, Karen. and Raskoff, Sally. Teaching Sociology Using Current Events. http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/9/7/1/p109719_index.html . An unpublished manuscript that addresses choices we might make when considering topical relevance in the design and implementation of our courses. Perhaps more than any other issue, graduate students and new faculty in sociology have questions concerning how students learn to appreciate the difference between opinion and rational justification. I’ve covered that with several Soc. Grad students, but I’m no sociologist. This article, by your colleagues may make more sense to readers than my forays using philosophical and historiographical explanations for helping students understand the academic enterprise.
- A research plan
- http://career.studentaffairs.duke.edu/graduate/find_job/apply/research_statements.html
- [fixed link]
- Academic job application letter
- Write an academic vita
- Job search for PhDs, Academy and Beyond
- A book proposal
- Class 15, 4-28, Student Presentations
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