Social Science Space

‘There are many ways you could use a 3-2-1 with Sociology in Action,’ says Dr. Maxine Atkinson. In a new SIA blog post, Atkinson describes some of her failures while teaching and the realization on the reason why her lessons weren’t always reaching the students.

What exactly does the tech industry want from social and behavioral scientists? That was the focus of a SAGE Publishing-sponsored panel at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science In San Francisco this summer. Panelists were four representatives from tech, ranging from big players like Google to startups like Jaunt.

Journalism professor Vince Filak opted to be a nice guy and answer a quick survey from a university he’d once attended. ‘I’m not sure how much help I was to the people who put the survey out,’ he says, ‘but given the various problems I had with this survey, I’m hoping I can help you all learn how to avoid what went wrong for them.’

In the latest of its monthly series of interdisciplinary microsites addressing important public issues, SAGE Publishing is offering free access to a suite academic articles that focus on research about big data through November 15.

 Author of SAGE textbook “Introduction to Educational Research,” and TEDx lecturer Dr. Craig A. Mertler draws on his 32 […]

Regardless of whether human nature is “good” or “evil,” studies do show that we, the consumers, want corporations to care and invest deeply in social issues. With the growth of “corporate social responsibility”, comes increased public scrutiny, requiring companies to live up to public standards- which isn’t a bad thing.

PhD students at the dissertation level who have an interest in social policy research are encouraged to apply for a grant from the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy by December 1.

The Coalition for National Science Funding hosted a webinar titled “Communicating the Value of NSF to Elected Officials”; Focusing on the need to engage with elected officials while they’re at home in their district. An issue of importance as US Government continues to go back and forth on its funding for the next fiscal year.

‘Community engagement’ courses usually require students to complete a certain number of hours of service learning, with hope that it can lead to an active learning space. However, David Rohall believes more than just one or two community courses are needed, and should involve building relationships with community leaders and norms that encourage active learning.

In the second installment of our Sociology in Action series, Dr. Maxine P. Atkinson shares her secrets on what makes a good lecture stick. Hint: engagement and involvement.

What constitutes active learning? How can you tell if a teaching technique qualifies as active? “A simple way to distinguish active learning,” says Dr. Maxine Atkinson, “is to ask the question: Who is doing the intellectual work?”

Among the top-ranked liberal arts schools, all but one offer sociology courses that include active learning experiences. The same is not true for AASCU schools with only 1/3 having these courses. The good news is that now all instructors—no matter the size of their classes or their school’s endowment—can find ways to incorporate active learning into their courses.