college

Service-learning is an extremely high-impact educational practice. Research shows that it increases students’ social responsibility and civic-mindedness, awareness of stereotypes, tolerance for diversity, and commitment to continued civic engagement and development of multicultural skills like empathy, patience, reciprocity and respect. Teachers may assume the benefits of service-learning come from relatively advantaged students reducing their prejudices through contact with relatively disadvantaged service populations. This is only part of the story, though. New research shows that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are actually more attuned to structural — instead of individual — explanations of inequality during service-learning.

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Jessica A. Cebulak and John F. Zipp. 2019. “Using Racial and Class Differences in Infant Mortality to Teach about White Privilege: A Cooperative Group Activity.” Teaching Sociology

White college students often struggle to understand, recognize, and learn about white privilege. Many students prefer a “color-blind” approach that denies racial inequalities altogether. Although there are other teaching strategies that try to overcome this, too many simply shift the conversation to inequalities in social class. These strategies fail to address the complicated relationship between race and class. As a result, students struggle to understand, for instance, why affluent, well-educated Black women still have higher infant mortality in the United States than low income, poorly educated white women.

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As a sociology instructor, I have
been thinking about how ice breakers can be used for students to get to know
each other and to seamlessly move
into course content. There are a lot of good ideas for ice breakers online,
including some that do a great job of building community in the classroom. However,
I find myself moving away from them because they seem to be a one-trick pony.

Here are three examples of ice breakers that could be used to connect students with each other, as well as slide right into sociological content.

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Here is an active learning exercise that could be used with “A Matter of Degrees” by William Beaver (Contexts, Spring 2009).  Students will be asked to reflect on the purpose of college.  It could also easily be used with a discussion of manifest and latent functions and could be paired with statistics on levels of education throughout the world.

Below is a list of reasons for attending college that students commonly cite.  Please check the reasons that were motivating factors for you to attend college.

________ To get a better job

________ To acquire a set of skills

________ To earn a higher income

________ To follow a significant other

________ To meet new people

________ Due to doubts about what to do in life

________ To get a degree

________ To get out of parents’/guardians’ house

________ To meet a future husband or wife

________ Pressure from parents

________ To make a difference

________ Pressure from high school (teachers, guidance counselor)

________ Friends were going to college

________ Other: _________________________________________________________

Group discussion questions:

1. Why do you think most students go to college?
2. Do you think that you are learning skills in college that you will use in your job someday?  Does you think some majors teach more practical skills than others? If so, how?
3. What was your main reason for going to college?
4. In your opinion, what is the value of a college degree?  In other words, what does it show?