On Bridging the Theory-Research Gap for Sociology Students: NSF-ILI-IP Support for the Role of a Micro-Computer Laboratory in Cedar Crest College's Sociology Curriculum

对于就读于Cedar Crest College的《文化与社会概论》、《研究方法与设计》和《评估人类服务组织》课程的本科生来说，分析人类社会组织和行为过程之间的相互关系需要从理论和应用（即“现实世界”）两个方面进行。虽然传统的教学方法（例如，教科书和课堂讨论）探索了这种重要的联系，但没有“实践”经验，学生们就会怀疑社会学（以及所有社会科学）提供的概括是如何发展的。这种怀疑影响到他们学习经验的基础，并可能妨碍他们将课程融入个人生活，最终融入职业生活。为了满足这种联系和实践经验的关键需求，三个具有可靠性和课堂使用历史的计算机辅助教学（CAI）程序，Data Happy！（Carter, 1995）、《调查研究：计算机辅助导论》（Bainbridge, 1989）和SPSS/PC+ Studentware （Norusis, 1991）将整合到《文化与社会导论》、《研究方法与设计》和《评估人类服务组织微电脑课堂实验室》中，这些课程将基于NSF的i - ip奖和Cedar Crest学院提供的资金。每个CAI程序在课程实验室中的作用是三重的。首先，通过考察这些概念在社会学研究中的应用情况，提高学生对关键理论概念及其在社会学中的重要性的理解。第二，提供关于初级或高级数据分析及其与建立因果关系问题的联系的练习，以促进对社会学框架的工作知识和批评。最后，挑战学生继续使用真实数据，探索、测试和应用社会学的见解到他们社区的社会条件和环境。

For undergraduate students enrolled in Cedar Crest College's Introduction to Culture and Society, Research Methods and Design, and Evaluating Human Service Organizations courses, analyzing the interrelationship between human social organization and behavioral processes takes on both theoretical and applied (i.e., "real world") dimensions. Though traditional pedagogical techniques (e.g., textbooks and class discussion) explore this important connection, without "hands-on" experience, students are left to wonder how generalizations offered by sociology (and all social sciences) are developed. Such suspicion affects the very foundation of their learning experiences and may prevent the integration of course lessons in their personal and, ultimately, professional lives. To address this critical need for linkage and hands-on experience, three computer-assisted instructional (CAI) programs with a history of reliability and classroom use, Data Happy! (Carter, 1995), Survey Research: A Computer-Assisted Introduction (Bainbridge, 1989) and SPSS/PC+ Studentware (Norusis, 1991), will be integrated within Introduction to Culture and Society, Research Methods and Design, and Evaluating Human Service organizations micro-computer classroom labs, based on funds made available through NSF's ILI-IP Award and Cedar Crest College. The role that each CAI program plays in course labs is threefold. First, to enhance the students' understanding of key theoretical concepts and their importance in sociology by examining how these concepts have been used in sociological research. Second, to provide exercises on elementary or advanced data analysis and its connection to the problem of establishing causality in order to facilitate a working knowledge and critique of sociological frameworks. Finally, to challenge students to continue to use real data and explore, test, and apply the insights of sociology to social conditions and circumstances in their communities.