Collaborative Research: Developing a National Model for a College-level Introductory Sociology Course

该项目正在完成由美国社会学协会（阿萨）国家工作队开始的开发，以创建现代社会学入门课程。它正在改进阿萨大学一级的课程，并进一步为大学一级的社会学入门课程编写创新的教学材料。 第二个目标也在努力实现，即确定学生，特别是在社会科学领域人数不足的妇女和少数种族/族裔成员中成功学习的条件。 特别注意发展他们整合、综合和解释信息的能力，并提高他们的识字和定量技能。该项目的智力价值来自于这样一个事实，即新课程将导致所有类型的学生更深入和更持久的学习。它将增加我们对代表性不足的群体如何更成功地学习社会科学概念和方法的知识。这一新的全国性大学社会学入门课程模式的广泛采用，最终将产生更广泛的影响。 以下课程特点有助于产生更广泛的影响：大大加强了课程内容，增加了对基于探究的教学资源的依赖，学生在使用主要国家数据集和工具方面的重要经验，以及来自配套评估材料的形成性反馈。 此外，作为该项目联系社会学家、大专院校和大学教师（以及高中教师）的结果，该项目正在开发新的网络，以加强教师培训和学生参与研究。计划的评估包括实地观察课堂、课堂录像、教师和学生访谈、分析学生评估材料的内容以及学生在新评估中的表现。对这些收集到的数据进行评估，为进一步修改课程、教学资源和评估工具奠定了基础。该项目的网站和讨论板允许社会学教师分享问题，问题，策略和材料。通过项目完成，将有一个完善的课程，一套与之相一致的教学材料，以及对它们如何工作的系统评估。这些将在社会学家，教育研究人员和高中教师的专业协会，在专业和一般公共出版物中分享，并通过美国社会学协会提供。

This project is completing the development started by the American Sociological Association (ASA) national task force to create a modern introductory sociology curriculum. It is engaged in refining the ASA college-level curriculum and further developing innovative pedagogical materials for a college-level introductory sociology course. A second goal is also being pursued, identification of conditions leading to successful student learning, especially among women and members of racial/ethnic minorities who are underrepresented in social science fields. Particular attention is being paid to developing their abilities to integrate, synthesize, and interpret information and enhancing their literacy and quantitative skills. The intellectual merit of the project derives from the fact that the new course will result in deeper and more lasting student learning by all types of students. It will increase our knowledge of how underrepresented groups can more successfully learn social science concepts and methods. Significant broader impacts will be realized ultimately from the widespread adoption of this new national model for a college-level introductory sociology course. The following course features are contributing to the broader impacts: a greatly strengthened curricular content, increased reliance on inquiry-based teaching resources, significant student experience in using major national datasets and tools, and formative feedback from companion assessment materials. Further, as an outgrowth of this projects' linking of practicing sociologists, junior college, college, and university faculty (and high school teachers), the project is developing new networks to enhance teacher training and student involvement in research. The project evaluation is employing field observations of classes, videotapes of classes, interviews of teachers and students, analysis of the content of student assessment materials, and students' performances on the new assessments. Assessment of these collected data is providing the basis for a further round of modifications of the curriculum, teaching resources, and assessment tools. The project website and discussion board is permitting sociology instructors to share questions, problems, strategies, and materials.By project completion there will be a well-refined curriculum, a set of teaching materials that are aligned with it, and systematic assessment of how they work. These will be shared at professional associations of sociologists, educational researchers, and high school teachers, in professional and general public publications, and made available through the American Sociological Association.