The distressing events of 2020 challenged the United States to reimagine how our social institutions can and should respond to demands for racial justice. These demands impacted higher education and debates arose about whether the classroom is an appropriate place for teaching abolition. I address this debate by introducing a senior-level elective…

Drawing on a multiyear local research project on the affordable housing crisis, this article outlines a pedagogical approach we call Community-Initiated Student-Engaged Research, or CISER. The CISER model brings together three key groups of actors--undergraduate students, university researchers, and community organizations--drawing on and…

Data reproducibility is becoming increasingly important in the social sciences, but it has yet to be incorporated into many undergraduate sociology programs. This note describes a service-learning activity that can be added to an introductory statistics course. Students partner with a nonprofit and analyze quantitative data to answer questions…

Service learning (SL) is growing in our universities and in Spain. However, still much action and research are needed with a gender perspective. This article aims to evaluate an SL project that consisted of workshops in schools on gender and technology. We evaluated the experience with a mixed-methods approach and a gender perspective. This…

This paper presents an analysis of my experiences with a teaching activity that engages students in publishing in Wikipedia on issues relating to globalization. It begins with a short overview of some of the current debates revolving around teaching globalization, which lay ground for the assignment. I discuss how this teaching tool fits with a…

Developing a global mind-set in college students is a goal of many colleges and universities. Most often this goal is met by encouraging students to study abroad. This article explains how a service learning student engagement program at home achieves this goal by pairing Introduction to Sociology students with young immigrant children in a weekly…

Teaching about the sociology of HIV/AIDS involves teaching about the causes and effects of stigma. We describe a Sociology of HIV/AIDS course at the University of Alabama in which stigma reduction was assessed as a primary objective. The syllabus involved theory-based instruction, class visits, service learning, and student research on community…

Discusses a service learning research methods project to engage students in a sociology course. Parsed in four sections: (1) reviews service learning/research and its effect on students and community; (2) provides a detailed project description; (3) discusses student contributions to the organization served; and (4) examines evaluation methods of…

Uses a quasi-experimental design in a case study outlining the application of specific techniques to implement a service-learning component in an introductory sociology college course. Reports that results supported the study's claims that service learning may be an efficient method of improving efficacy of these courses. (Author/KDR)

Explores the utility of focus group methodology as a tool for community service and student community-based learning through a service learning college course. Concludes with a discussion of how the group's focus aids student comprehension of sociology. (Author/KDR)

Criminology and Deviance Classes are often among the most popular in the sociology undergraduate curriculum. These courses provide a unique opportunity for teachers since many students come to class with an intense interest in the subject matter combined with strong opinions about crime, criminals, and deviants. Because these opinions are often…

Examines both civic and academic outcomes for 260 students participating in three models of service learning courses (placement-service optional, placement-service required, and a consulting group). Explains that after one semester of service learning, student outcomes were mixed. Suggests that instructors consider carefully whether to require…

This article introduces an approach to service learning based on students' collective engagement with a range of community organizations. We explore the particular benefits of this comparative collective community-based (CCC) learning model through a discussion of the "Possibilities for Change in American Communities" program, which was begun by…

Community service learning offers students the opportunity to cross socially constructed and epistemological borders of power and privilege, allowing them to come into contact with groups of people who are different from themselves and to learn in different ways. Peer facilitators, undergraduate student instructional leaders who guide others…

Reports on a approach to teaching the sociology of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by combining coursework with weekly volunteer work in an AIDS agency. Concludes with a discussion of the benefits of experiential learning and five guidelines for establishing similar community service programs. (CFR)