COURSE PREPARATION ASSIGNMENTS: A STRATEGY
FOR CREATING DISCUSSION-BASED COURSES*
crete
strategies
one
such
gests
of
a
such
course
can
time
in guided
of
traditional
the
use
rationale
these
material
"Course
on
me
allowing
to
discussions,
foster
the majority
rather
than
student
of class
constantly
David
(CPA).
assessment
with
engagement
time coordinating,
lecturing
the
This
to
article
it to
comparing
reveals
course
at
grounded
the development
by
a discussion-based
to create
assignments
course
The
the
that
this first exposure
Assignment"
describes
courses,
outcomes.
several
sug
success
about
thinking
so
class
activities
engaging
a discussion-based
paper
The
attending
for achieving
Preparation
assesses
course
and
to
substantively
I propose
This
course.
reading
prior
for discussion-based
by spending
leading
students
lack con
often
classes.
larger
a discussion-based
exposure")
to more
the
and
lecture
of
"first
The vehicle
is
in our
particularly
creating
on
is predicated
CPAs,
success,
great
for
material
the
explains
use
and
strategy
discussion.
course
the
so,
(receiving
be devoted
lecturing, we
like to get beyond
for doing
course
material
class
a
of us would
many
Although
has
the
that
a
been
course
facilitating,
and
students.
Yamane
Wake Forest University
THE DOMINANT PEDAGOGICALTREND today
active over passive
learning.
emphasizes
stu
the research on college
Summarizing
Astin
dent development,
(1985) writes:
learn by becoming
"The theory...students
to explain most of the em
involved...seems
gained over the years
pirical knowledge
influences on student
about environmental
Quite
I mean
What
development....
ment
involve
by
nor
is neither mysterious
student
involvement
simply,
*I am grateful
to Barbara
Walvoord
esoteric.
refers to
for
teach
ing me the methods described in this paper; to
the Notre Dame Kaneb Center's Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning Program for a grant to
empirically assess this teaching strategy; to
Abigail Roesch for research assistance; to all of
the students in The Sociological Imagination
during the 2003-2004 academic year for being a
part of this quasi-experiment; and to the TS
editor
and
reviewers
for
their
constructive
criti
to the
all correspondence
address
P.O.
Box
at Department
of Sociology,
Forest
Winston-Salem,
7808, Wake
University,
NC 27109;
e-mail:
yamaned@wfu.edu.
cism.
Please
author
Editor's
betical
dendorf.
note:
order,
The
Jocelyn
reviewers
Hollander
were,
and
in alpha
Joan Mid
the amount of physical and psychological
energy that the student devotes to the aca
demic experience"
(pp. 133, 151). Simi
Pascarella
and
Terenzini
(1991) con
larly,
clude their review of the literature on stu
dent learning by stating plainly: "The body
of research on the impacts of the college
The
academic
is extensive.
experience
[is that] the
strongest general conclusion
greater the student's involvement or engage
ment in academic work or in the academic
experience of college, the greater his or her
level of knowledge
acquisition and general
(p. 616). This arti
cognitive development"
cle contributes to the literature on how to
structure course work so as to realize these
positive results. It proposes a strategy for
away
moving
discussion-based
from lecturing by
courses in which
creating
students
"Course
complete
Preparation
Assign
ments" (CPAs) as a prerequisite for in-class
work.
QUESTIONINGTHE LECTURECOURSE
Although the exclusive use of lecturing
for most courses,
outmoded pedagogy
Teaching Sociology, Vol. 34, 2006 (July:236-248)
236
is an
lee
COURSE PREPARATION
ASSIGNMENTS_237
turing dominates the modern university as it
In its time, this
did the medieval university.
sense.
Before the
dominance made perfect
access
students
had
limited
printing press,
to books and where they were available they
were often too expensive
for students to
follows: "Now gentlemen, we have begun
and finished and gone through this book as
you know who have been in the class, for
which we thank God and His Virgin Mother
and all His saints. It is an ancient custom in
this city that when a book is finished mass
faculty had to read
purchase. Consequently
as
a
to
books
them
precondition of analysis.
to
(1992), the dictation
Gieysztor
According
was
common
more
in central
of texts
should be sung to the Holy Ghost, and it is
a good custom and hence should be ob
served" (Haskins 1923:60).
Things could not be more different today.
Ready access to textual material means stu
Europe where the pecia system for copying
texts did not prevail, but "even in Paris,
students asked their teachers to dictate the
courses, for financial reasons" (p. 129).
a representative
Haskins
(1923) gives
picture of this system, citing
jurist Odofredus's description:
Concerning themethod of teaching the follow
and
modern
own
master,
I shall observe: First,
which method
I shall
I pro
of each title before
you summaries
to the text; second,
I shall give
you as
a statement
as I can of the
clear and explicit
give
ceed
purport of each law [included in the title];
I shall
third
read
text with
the
a view
to cor
recting it; fourth, I shall briefly repeat the
contents
ent
of
the
law;
contradictions,
of
ples
[to be
law
and
sage]...
any
fifth,
I shall
any
adding
extracted
or
distinctions
solve
appar
general
princi
from
the pas
and use
subtle
ful problems (quaestiones) arising out of the
law with
their
Providence
as
solutions,
shall
enable
me.
far
as
the Divine
(P. 58)
the
Rait
summarizes
(1918)
Similarly,
practice at Vienna: "Ordinary lectures were
delivered
'solimniter' and involved a slow
and methodical
analysis of the book. The
statutes of Vienna prescribe that no master
shall read more than one chapter of the text
vel etiam quaestione ex
'ante quaestionem
140). So time intensive was it
pedita'"1^.
to work through texts in this way that com
pletion of a book in lecture was a cause for
celebration.
Odofredus
closed his course
in the typical university
is by the
lecture method (Smith 1990:210). There has
been "no general appreciation of the fact
that the printing press [has] been invented in
the years since the rise of the Medieval uni
struction
the Bolognese
was
ing order
kept
by ancient
and especially
doctors
by my
to dictate in
dents do not need professors
can
so
it down
formation
copy
they
(McKeachie
1999)2, and yet one estimate
suggests some 80 to 90 percent of all in
as
(Edwin Slosson, quoted in Smith
versity"
are mired
in the instruc
1990:214). We
tional methods
of the 12th century. Not
some
only is lecturing inefficient, however;
as well. For exam
question its effectiveness
com
ple, research conducted by Walvoord
paring students' class notes to their profes
sor's lecture notes finds they bear little re
semblance to each other (personal commu
see Walvoord
and McCarthy
nication;
1991).
The widespread
of informa
availability
tion frees faculty to employ other pedago
uni
students in the medieval
gies. Unlike
2Indeed, faculty today could easily distribute
their
forfeit
or
even
when
the
investigation
is
at
hand."
their
raison
directly
or the web-and
to realize
d'etre
by photo
some do.
that they would
if they
"gave
away"
lectures,
all of
the same
type,
and on a
few set books, itwas probably desirable that
there should not be opportunities of possessing
Thanks to Dave Johnson and Boaz Roth for help
such
with
1918:142).
the translation.
to students
their lecture notes in this way to students. This
was apparently the case already in themedieval
university: "Were [Parisianmasters] to dictate
lectures or to speak so fast that their pupils
could not commit theirwords towriting? From
the standpoint of teachers who delivered fre
quent
^he Latin phrase is: "before the investigation
notes
lecture
electronic
mail,
copy,
seem
But most
faculty
copies
of a professor's
lectures"
(Rait
238
versity who, lacking printed materials, were
truly like "empty slates," students today can
be expected to play a more active role in the
learning process. To foster student involve
ment we must transform classes from the
traditional model based on lectures to an
interactive model
ing, discussing,
based on thinking, writ
and problem-solving.
THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTION:
PREPARATION FOR DISCUSSION
to McKeachie
(1999), if we are
in "retention of information after
the end of a course, measures of transfer of
to new situations, or measures
knowledge
of problem
solving,
thinking, or attitude
or
motivation
for further learning"
change,
According
interested
then we
should consider
research
in which
"the results show differences
favoring dis
cussion methods over lecture" (p. 67). Rec
is one
ognizing the superiority of discussion
a
strategy for
thing; developing
practical
replacing lecturing with a discussion-based
is quite another. Students and
pedagogy
both
resist discussion in part because
faculty
I ask, stu
it is often done poorly. When
that their negative discussion
far
their positive
outnumber
experiences
ones. Prior research has found unstructured
than lecturing in
discussion may be worse
dents
report
terms of substantive engagement and cogni
tive development
(Gamoran and Nystrand
I say "discussion" here,
when
1991). Thus,
I include by ellipses
"guided" or "struc
tured." Indeed, the entire purpose of this
strategy is to avoid the pitfalls of unreflec
tive use of discussion in class.
Fortunately, we now have more and bet
ter ideas for
discussion
into
incorporating
and
than ever (e.g., Brookfield
Preskill
Beck, and Heyl
1999; McKinney,
2000). As I see it, the key is for students to
come to class every day prepared to actively
(Walvoord and
engage the course materials
Pool
1998). This means
they must have
read and thought about the course material
classrooms
before
sure,"
page
class. To achieve this "first expo
I create and post to my course web
various
"Course Preparation
Assign
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
(CPAs) to be completed for nearly
every class meeting.3 These CPAs ask the
students to read and think about a particular
chapter or part of the textbook and then to
ments"
a written
response to a question or
the
problem
assignment sets up. Each CPA
has the same basic structure: (1) an intro
ductory statement, (2) an objective for the
informa
(3) some background
assignment,
produce
to the topic (if appropriate or
and
(4) the writing assignment
necessary),
itself. I have included as an appendix one of
the CPAs I have used successfully
in the
to
discuss
racial
past
inequality.4
tion relevant
The reading, thinking, and writing
the
students do to complete the CPA prior to
class provide a solid foundation for high
level engagement with the course material.
I
do not have to spend time lecturing about
the topic because they have already had a
first exposure to the material. During class,
we move straight into discussion of the ma
terial, often in groups of three or four stu
as a class. Dis
dents first, then collectively
in small groups first
cussing the material
resources and con
students
additional
gives
fidence for the large group discussion.
In the case of the CPA given in the ap
pendix, I begin class by having the students
work for 10 minutes
in small groups. The
to
is
have
them
goal
bring their individual
answers to the assignment
together into a
more
To this
whole.
better,
comprehensive
a
I
to
create
ask
them
end,
path diagram,
with the dependent variable being the differ
ence in family income between black and
white families given in the assignment and
the independent variables being their hy
for the inequality.
pothesized
explanations
In smaller classes, Imay give the students a
to draw their dia
transparency on which
3Novak
et
al.'s
(1999)
"Just-in-Time
Teach
ing" (JiTT) initiative provides a model of active
learning that is very similar to the one I propose
here,
and has
been
usefully
adapted
to introduc
tory sociology by Howard (2004).
Supplementary
CPAs
are
available
on
the
Other than the
Teaching Sociology website.
CPA that appears in the appendix, each specific
example I give in this article can be found there.
COURSE PREPARATION ASSIGNMENTS
to be projected for the class. But I
typically just ask one student in each group
to take responsibility
for drawing the dia
on
paper and recording the names of
gram
the group members
(to create some sense of
gram
accountability).
these
During
239
(e.g., Why
layer of explanatory variables
are a smaller percentage
of blacks
than
are
whites
black
college graduates? Why
children more likely to live in single-parent,
female-headed homes that white children?),
more
and by taking racial discrimination
I
small group discussions,
circulate through the class, sometimes just
sometimes en
listening to the discussions,
couraging the students to broaden or deepen
their ideas, sometimes answering questions
for them. In most cases, knowing they will
to the class
have to report their findings
creates pressure on the students to do the
seriously. After another 10minutes of small
group work, we repeat the initial discus
sion. By the end of the class, we have
worked actively and collectively
to create a
seriously. Still, as I circulate I keep
my eyes and ears open for groups that are
not
"on-task."
This happens most
fre
the next CPA, which asks the students to
come up with public policies
that will re
dress the many causes of racial inequality
we have just identified.
work
others,
friends,
significant
quently when
and/or roommates constitute groups (which
can happen often given student seating pat
terns). As I note in an earlier article on col
laborative learning groups (Yamane 1996),
students often have bad experiences
in
groups they form themselves. One semester
a prob
when I sensed this was becoming
lem, I randomly assigned students to discus
sion groups for the balance of the semester.
That solved the problem.
When we get back together as a class, I
ask each group to report one of their find
ings; with this information, I begin to create
a large path diagram on the chalkboard or a
transparency. Inevitably, some of what the
students report will be too simplistic, par
tially correct, or entirely wrong. Rather
than just saying so, I ask other students to
suggest elaborations or corrections. Or, if I
I will ask
suspect a student is free-riding,
that person to elaborate or correct the find
ing. Getting the initial path diagram on the
board usually takes at least 20 minutes.
In
this initial path diagram will
my experience,
have two flaws: (1) it will be too elemen
tary and (2) it will not fully consider the
role of racial discrimination.
Indeed, both
of these flaws are reflected in the students'
tendency to reduce racial inequality to class
inequality. So, I ask the students to get back
together in their groups to render their path
diagrams more complex by adding a second
very
comprehensive
diagram
explaining
racial inequality
in family
income. This
diagram, which I reproduce after class and
email to the students, creates the basis for
I use this particular example in part be
cause it works
so well.
In a 75-minute
class, 20 minutes are spent in small group
45 minutes
in large group dis
discussion,
in transitions. Of
cussion, and 10 minutes
course,
over
an
entire
semester,
we
do
not
spend 100 percent of class time in discus
sion. As I report below, I still spend about
one-quarter of class time lecturing. But I
find that my lecturing is qualitatively differ
ent. Most
importantly, I lecture in shorter
segments, typically just setting the stage for
or summarizing a discussion. For example,
I may need to introduce a discussion
by
adding some ideas not found in the text
book. As a prelude to our discussion
of
theoretical perspectives,
I lecture for about
10 minutes on what theory is because the
textbook does not do as good a job as I
would like. I also conclude that class with a
10-minute summary of theories as "ways of
seeing" because using sociological
theory is
so foreign to most
students. Despite
the
clear limitations of lecturing as a general
approach to teaching, these are some of the
things lectures are "good for" (McKeachie
1999:67).
To keep the class from getting stale, I
attempt to vary the format of our discus
sions from time to time. For example,
in
the discussion of public policies to redress
racial
inequality,
I ask each small group
to
240_TEACHING
send one person to the front of the class to
act as a commissioner
of the U.S. Commis
sion on Civil Rights and present their public
policy solution to the class. The class then
committee
plays the role of a congressional
In our discus
interrogating their proposals.
sion of theory, I divide the class into thirds
and have each group represent one of three
theoretical perspectives
covered in the text
is most
in a debate over which perspective
useful.
Constructing
ments
Course
Assign
Preparation
the objective is par
CPAs,
One
of the reasons stu
important.
In constructing
ticularly
in class is because
dents dislike discussion
see
not
often
do
"the point." Of
they
can be a
discussions
course, open-ended
even
in
if
themselves,
they lack a
good
I
But
sympathize
clearly defined "point."
with students' frustrations because I too am
of spending much of the two to three
we get to spend together in class each
in non-directed
activities. Thus, hav
clearly stated objective for the CPA is
essential, and that objective needs to carry
wary
hours
week
ing a
over
that follows.
into the class discussion
the objective needs to go be
yond simply requiring the learning of cer
tain content. For example, the objective of
an exercise on identity formation might be
to gain a better understanding of socializa
tion by describing and analyzing the process
by which religious identity isformed in vari
ous institutions,
schools,
including family,
If the
peer groups, and the mass media.
Furthermore,
go beyond
objectives
learning the discussions
to
simply a recitation
content
requiring
more
than
will be
test
the
students'
knowledge.
itself must be
the assignment
Similarly,
the assign
carefully constructed. Typically,
ment has two components: exposure to and
In this class,
engagement with the material.
is almost always reading the
the exposure
textbook. It could be reading a newspaper
or magazine,
or using a source in the li
be to do some observation or
It
could
brary.
experimentation-for
example,
the
classic
SOCIOLOGY
In a textbook instruc
"folkway violation."
tor's manual I edited, I suggest a number of
exercises wherein students are asked to visit
and analyze websites
(Yamane 2002). These
could be adapted for use in CPAs.
Of
course, the number and type of questions
asked would need to be adjusted to meet the
needs of the particular situation.
In terms of the questions I ask students in
the assignment
section of the CPAs,
it is
vital that at least some of them are authentic
to Nystrand
and Ga
questions. According
moran
authentic
(1991),
questions have no
students to
answer, allowing
pre-specified
offer opinions, points of view, or informa
tion that the teacher did not previously
know. An authentic question has an indeter
minate
number of "right" or acceptable
answers.
questions promote sub
in the exercise,
and
engagement
a
for
foundation
in-class
stronger
provide
than a series of
discussion
inauthentic
which
often
end
up as
("test") questions,
Authentic
stantive
dead ends in discussions.
Like any other strategy, developing
involves
some
trial-and-error.
For
CPAs
example,
to demonstrate
that the "official poverty
set
line"
by the U.S. government underesti
mates poverty,
I asked the students in a
CPA to (1) make a list of all the goods and
services your family would need to function
at a minimum
subsistence level, (2) estimate
the minimum monthly cost of each of them,
and (3) add up your monthly estimates and
multiply by 12 to determine the annual total
necessary to live at a subsistence level. The
of this failed because the
in
my class had no idea
year-olds
to
what goods and services are necessary
or
retro
In
cost.
how much
survive
they
spect, the underlying problem was that this
in-class discussion
18-20
by
assignment was not primarily motivated
an authentic question.
I had only planned
for the students to reach one "right" answer
in the discussion:
that the official poverty
line underestimates poverty.
Because good CPAs are based on authen
instructors who want to use
tic questions,
courses
them to develop discussion-based
need to be able to tolerate some uncertainty.
COURSEPREPARATIONASSIGNMENTS 241
I set up has a specific
it
and certain ground
learning objective
a genuine
seeks to cover, but ultimately
cannot be fully controlled from
discussion
a discussion-based
course I al
In
above.
to
that
remain open
the possibility
ways
lead me down unexpected
students will
Each
discussion
paths. That / may
them in the process
this design.
learn something from
is an inherent benefit of
Grading Course Preparation Assignments
I require students to bring printed copies of
their assignments with them to class. If they
do not attend class, they do not get credit
for the assignment. This reinforces the rela
and discus
tionship between preparation
students to attend class,
sion, encourages
and gives them a tangible point of reference
Some instruc
during the class discussions.
tors might
consider modifying
this by
"
"
the
adopting
Just-in-Time-Teaching
on
is predicated
(JiTT) approach, which
students submitting "WarmUps" to the in
structor electronically
before class so that
the instructor can tailor the class to what is
revealed by the assignments
(Novak et al.
1999). Instructors doing so must keep in
mind the additional time and resource com
mitment
required by JiTT (see Howard
2004).
I grade the CPAs on a credit/no credit
basis. Because
closely grading CPAs for
class
be exhausting even in a
would
every
I simply try to en
class,
moderately
large
sure that the students have made some seri
ous effort to complete
I
the assignments.
as
an
"serious
effort"
operationalize
fully
If they have done
swering every question.
that, I give them credit. In smaller classes, I
glance at every written assignment turned in
I
before giving credit. In larger classes,
a
evaluate
of
the
randomly
sample
assign
so students know they are taking a
chance that they will get caught if they try
to submit less than adequate work. How
to sample cannot be es
many assignments
tablished a priori. An instructor considering
this strategy has to determine
for herself
how much time she has to read assignments
ments
she
and how big a sample of assignments
needs to look at given her personal and in
stitutional circumstances.
I find CPAs
When
that I deem inade
a written warning
I
the
students
quate,
give
to
ask
and
them
rewrite the assignment be
fore I deduct credit. I have found that stu
dents at my university generally attempt to
the assignment
in some serious
complete
fashion even without a warning,
but defi
nitely after they are issued a warning and
have
to
rewrite
an
assignment.
For
exam
ple, in the spring of 2000, I had 60 students
do 18 CPAs. Of the completed assignments,
I had to write only five students one time
each to encourage them to do a better job
the CPAs. Spot checks of their
completing
work after the warning
showed their level
of engagement with
the assignments
had
to an acceptable
level.
(Note:
improved
Faculty at other institutions may need to
issue more warnings and deduct more credit
than I have had to.)
ASSESSMENT
In 2003-2004,
I undertook a systematic as
sessment of the benefits of a discussion
as
based course organized
around CPAs,
a
to
traditional
in
lecture
course,
compared
terms of four desired outcomes:
(1) getting
(2) creat
beyond information transmission,
a
in
democratic
culture
the
classroom,
ing
(3) fostering student engagement with the
course material,
students
and (4) helping
learn more of the informational content of
the course. (An assessment of the extent to
which
the lecture and discussion
classes
of
the
basic
the
three
satisfy
objectives
course is available on the Teaching Sociol
ogy website.)
To establish
a baseline for comparison,
in
I taught introduction to
the fall of 2003,
as a traditional lecture course.
sociology
The vast majority of class time (80%) was
dedicated to my lecturing. When discussion
did break out in class (10% of class time), it
was usually unintentional.
In the spring of
I
to
introduction
2004,
taught
sociology as a
course. Over the course of
discussion-based
242
the semester,
I spent 26 percent of class
time lecturing to the students. By contrast,
students spent nearly 60 percent of class
time in small or large group discussion.
(In
both courses, administration or other activi
ties not directly related to the course materi
als took up the remainder of the time.) Both
semesters the course was offered under the
same number and description,
assigned the
same textbook, and restricted enrollment to
70 second-year students. The key difference
between the two semesters was that the dis
course was organized around
cussion-based
the CPAs. The question is whether the dis
course better realized
the
cussion-based
course.
I
outcomes
than
the
lecture
desired
assessed
the
desired
outcomes
in
three
First, I used certain items from the
official Teacher
and Course
university's
Evaluation
(TCE) data for the course. Sec
ond, I used a number of items from a sur
to get at the par
vey I specially designed
ticular outcomes to which I aspire. Third, I
used exam scores to measure one aspect of
ways.
student learning.5
Getting Beyond Information Transmission
A general objective of the discussion-based
course
transmission
and
is to downplay
memorization
of factual information and to
emphasize higher order thinking skills such
as synthesis of ideas and evaluation of argu
ments. Table 1 compares the two courses on
the extent to which they emphasized
these
different mental activities.
students reported
By significant margins,
course emphasized
that the discussion-based
evaluation and synthesis more than the lec
ture course, and that the lecture course em
phasized "memorizing facts or procedures"
in the same
repeated "pretty much
than the discussion-based
form" more
to be
course.
5When
ples
t-tests
significant
courses.
appropriate,
to determine
difference
For
t-statistics
I used
whether
exists
where
sam
independent
a statistically
between
Leverne's
the
two
test
at the .05
is significant
of variances
for equality
are assumed;
or below,
variances
level
equal
are assumed.
variances
otherwise,
unequal
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
I also asked students about their level of
statement:
the following
agreement with
The instructor stimulated independent think
less than half of the students
ing. Whereas
in the lecture course
(43.5%)
strongly
agreed with this statement, fully 75 percent
course
of the students in the discussion-base
I ex
This
is
what
strongly agreed.
exactly
pected and hoped for.
Culture and Sense
Creating a Democratic
of Ownership
and Preskill
As Brookfield
(1999) argue,
courses hold out the prom
discussion-based
or
ise not only of realizing course-specific
skill-based
but also of
learning objectives,
fostering respectful engagement of students
with one another and with the professor,
and in doing so creating a model for democ
ratic civil society. One way I think about
this
issue
is in terms of
concretely
of the course. Lecturing
is
"ownership"
authoritarian in the sense of having a single
individual as the source and summit of
knowledge and everyone else as subordinate
to that individual. This situation relieves the
students of any sense of responsibility
for
the success of the course. A "good course"
becomes one in which the professor lectures
well and a "bad course" one in which the
lectures poorly. But a democratic
professor
culture
is one in which
individuals
feel
some responsibility for the common good. I
aspire to foster in students a sense that they
share responsibility
for the success of the
course-our political community writ small.
2 and 3 display various measures
of the democratic culture and sense of own
ership of the course from the students' per
Tables
spective. Table 2 reveals that almost half of
the students in the lecture course (48.6%)
responded that responsibility for class being
successful on a daily basis was primarily the
the
students' or evenly divided between
and the students. These are re
numbers
for a course in which I
spectable
made no specific effort to cultivate this. But
they pale in comparison to the 85.3 percent
course
of students in the discussion-based
professor
who
responded
that responsibility
for sue
243
COURSE PREPARATION ASSIGNMENTS
Activities
1.Mental
Table
To what
extent
has
this
Emphasis
course
em-
phasized the following activities?
(A) Memorizing
so you can
much
facts
repeat
in the same
(B) Synthesizing
or procedures
them pretty
form
and organizing
or experi
information,
into new and more
complex
and relationships
interpretations
ideas,
ences
(C)
Evaluating
ments,
of Course
Level
Lecture
of
% Very Little
Mean
(Std. Dev.)
% Very Much
Mean
(Std. Dev.)
%Very Much
of
(Std. Dev.)
their
aResponse Categories/Coding:
5 = Not at All
conclu
Mean
Discussion
Course
Course
Emphasis
information,
argu
or methods
and determin
ing the soundness
sions
*p<.001
hy Type
11.4
35.3
2.57a
3.09a
(.94)
(.89)
27.1
44.1
2.03a
1.65a
(.80)
(.66)
21.4
41.2
2.36a
(.93)
1 = Very Much, 2 = Quite a Bit, 3
1.81a
.3.31*
3.06**
3.68*
(.82)
=
Some, 4
Very Little,
**p<.01
is primarily
the students' or evenly
divided. Only
14.7 percent of students in
course felt the respon
the discussion-based
was
com
sibility
primarily the professor's,
cess
pared to 51.4 percent in the lecture course.
Table 3 shows that this sense of responsi
bility was not limited to "students" corpo
students in the discussion
rately; many
based course felt their contributions as indi
viduals were
important to the class as a
whole.
Table 3 also demonstrates
that the discus
in
sion-based course was more successful
bringing multiple voices into the public fo
rum of the classroom. More students in the
course than in the lecture
discussion-based
course agreed or strongly agreed that hear
ing the views and experiences of other stu
dents was an important part of the class
and something
(86.7% vs. 52.9%)
they
I have
benefited from (88.2% vs. 55.7%).
heard colleagues complain that students do
not want to listen to their peers: these re
sults suggest that this may be due to the
student contributions
fit
into the
way
course. Perhaps instructors are allowing too
much
aimless
unstructured,
rumination,
which
students rightly feel is a waste of
their time.
Finally, Table 3 shows that students in
course saw me as more
the discussion-based
interested in their points of view and more
receptive to their questions. No matter how
many times "Sage on the Stage" lecturers
tell students they welcome
and
questions
their actions speak louder than
comments,
their words. By actually modeling
that re
it central to the very
ceptivity and making
I was
of the class sessions,
organization
able to realize these goals more in the dis
course
cussion-based
than in the lecture
course. By fostering a democratic
culture
based on mutual respect and a sense of stu
course
dent ownership,
the discussion-based
truly became more of a collegium than any
lecture course I have taught.
Fostering Student Engagement
I have previously mentioned Astin's over
arching conclusion "that "students learn by
becoming involved.
By involvement, Astin
(1985) means simply "physical and psycho
logical energy that the student devotes to
the academic
experience"
(p. 151). The
time a student spends on a course is a rough
but appropriate
of in
operationalization
volvement or engagement.
Table 4 reports two different measures of
student time spent, one from my
own
course evaluation and one from the univer
244
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
Table 2. Students' Sense of Responsibility
Responsibility
for
class
Lecture
being
successful on a daily basis was:
Course
(A) Primarily the professor's
_
for Class by Type of Course
Discussion
Level of
Course
Pearson %2
Significance
51.4%
14.7%
(B) Primarily the students'
2.9%
10.3%
21.80
.000
(df=2)
(C) Evenly divided between the
professor
and
45.7%
75.0%
the students
I asked stu
sity's standardized evaluation.
dents how many hours per week, on aver
age, they spent on my class. Students in the
I asked students to respond to the statement,
/ looked forward
to attending class, two
thirds (66.2%) of the students in the discus
course reported spending
discussion-based
5.3 hours per week compared to 3.8 hours
per week for students in the lecture course.
Put otherwise,
the students in the discus
course spent 40 percent more
sion-based
time per week on my class overall, and over
sion-based
as much
time outside
of class
(factoring out the 2.5 hours per week most
students spent in class). Although 5.3 hours
is less than most faculty would
per week
to a three
students would
devote
hope
data
credit-hour
the comparative
course,
here
that the discussion-based
suggest
course does foster more engagement with
the class than the lecture course. Unfortu
nately, I do not have more detailed data on
how students spent their time; future re
search ought to be more elaborate in con
twice
and
ceptualizing
able (cf. Howard
The university
pare the amount
this
operationalizing
2005).
also asks students to
of time they spend
to other classes they
vari
com
on a
have
compared
taken. Table 4 shows that 43 percent of
course re
students in my discussion-based
more
or
more
than
much
ported spending
average, compared to only 7 percent of the
students in my lecture course. By contrast,
class
29 percent
of
the lecture
course
students
time than average,
reported spending
to
9
percent of students in
only
compared
course. Finally,
stu
the discussion-based
course looked
dents in the discussion-based
less
than stu
forward to attending class more
dents in the lecture course, despite the fact
that the course content was the same. When
course
strongly
pared
to just 42.9
course
students.
Helping
percent
Students Learn
agreed,
of
the
com
lecture
Information
I consider
Although
encouraging
higher
order thinking skills, fostering a democratic
climate, and having students engaged with
the course to be profound achievements
in
I also recognize that for many
themselves,
the bottom line
faculty and administrators
assessment
for any pedagogy must be an
measure
of
student
objective
learning.
Given my course objectives and the types of
mental activities and cultural sentiments I
try to foster through the discussion-based
course, it is difficult to create reliable meas
ures of student learning across the two types
of courses. So, I decided at the outset to use
a blunt but reliable measure:
I would simply
student scores on the multiple
compare
choice
component
of
exams.
two midterm exams, I asked students
in both courses
the same multiple
choice
a random
The questions were
questions.
On
sample of the population of questions in the
instructor's manual I edited for the textbook
we used in class (Yamane 2002). These
of the
simply tested knowledge
questions
informational content of the course. A typi
cal example is:
to secondary
What
usually
happens
groups when
A. There
B.
individuals exit and enter?
is a change in the nature
identity of the group
They die out
or
245
COURSE PREPARATION ASSIGNMENTS
3. Measures
Table
To what
Culture
of Democratic
extent
and
Sense
of Ownership
by Type
of Course
do you
agree with the following
statements
the
about
Level
class/
instructor:
(A)My individual contribu
tion
as a whole
to the class
was
of
Agreement
% Strongly
Agree/Agree
Mean
important
(Std. Dev.)
(B) Hearing the views and
of other
students
experiences
was an important
part of the
class
(C) I benefited from hearing
the views
and experiences
in the class
students
other
of
in students'
view
that were
points
unconven
of
or contradictory
to the
instructor's
point of view
tional
(E) The
ceptive
instructor
was
re
to questions
(Std. Dev.)
% Strongly
Agree/Agree
*p<.001
Categories/Coding:
5 = Disagree,
6 =
52.9
2.53a
(1.10)
(1.01)
1.82a
(1.10)
(.73)
1.79a
(Std. Dev.)
(1.12)
(.72)
% Strongly
Agree
44.3
77.9
1.67a
1.22a
(Std. Dev.)
(.68)
(.42)
% Strongly
Agree
61.4
86.8
1.40a
1.15a
Mean
1=
Strongly
Strongly
(.52)
Agree,
2 = Agree,
4.19*
86.7
2.63a
88.2
5.07*
4.10*
4.70*
3.20**
(.40)
3 = Tend toAgree, 4 = Tend to
Disagree
**p<.01
C. New groups branch off
D. Nothing much
The multiple
choice
questions
simply
tested the course's
content.
informational
An improvement
in multiple
choice scores
from the first semester to the second would
mean that students in the second semester
learned more informational content.
Table 5 compares the students' perform
ance in the two different courses. The aver
age score on the first exam (15 questions)
was 6 percent higher in the discussion-based
and on the second exam (20 ques
tions) itwas 11 percent higher in the discus
course. These
sion-based
average differ
ences are not overwhelming,
but they are
both
and socially
significant
statistically
a
because
2-3
for
student can
(e.g.,
points
mean the difference between a B+ and A
course
22.9
3.29a
55.7
(Std. Dev.)
aResponse
Course
2.46a
Mean
Disagree,
Discussion
Course
52.9
Mean
Mean
(D) The instructor showed
interest
% Strongly
Agree/Agree
Lecture
for the semester). These data suggest that
the active and consistent engagement with
the course material
required in the discus
course
sion-based
dividends-even
paid
looking just at the ability to memorize
factual information such as that tested for
on a multiple choice exam. Unfortunately,
when
the approach I took in creating these multi
to
choice exams does not allow me
speak to the question of differential learning
in different domains
recall versus
(e.g.,
was
not
Because
it
clear at the
application).
outset that there would be any difference
ple
between the two types of courses, I did not
seek to test for learning at this level. The
measure of student learning here is blunt,
by design, but the results suggest that future
efforts to use more complex measures
of
student learning are warranted.
246
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
Table 4. Student Time Spent on Class by Type of Course
Lecture
Course
Discussion
Mean hours spent on course per week (Std. Dev.)
3.8 5.3
(1.53)
(1.29)
Compared
to other
classes
you
have
taken,
how much
Course
tme did you
spend
on
this course?
Much more than average
0%11%
More than average
7%
32%
Average
64%
Less than average
29%
CONCLUSION
predicated on students reading and thinking
about the course material
(receiving "first
to
attending class so that
exposure") prior
class time can be devoted to more advanced
sure
to
the
course
material
in discussion.
this first expo
is
a
series
of
These
Preparation Assignments."
a
success
in
been
have
great
assignments
me
to
foster
student
my courses, allowing
"Course
of
the majority
by spending
and
coordinating,
facilitating,
rather than constantly
leading discussions,
lecturing at the students. I have used this
strategy in introductory courses of 35 to 85
students that fulfilled a general education
engagement
class time
requirement (and so had few majors) at two
that consistently rank in
private universities
the top 30 of the U.S. News rankings. The
this strategy
remains of whether
question
can be adapted to different types of institu
tions
and
courses.
I used this strategy with under
Although
at elite universities,
it could
graduates
In
institutions.
surely be used in non-elite
fact, the strategy might be more effective in
less
elite
institutions.
As
9%
citing research by Rau and Durand
(2000), students at less selective institutions
study far less outside of class than students
in selective institutions. Some of this is cer
in work obliga
tainly due to the differences
Nathan's
tions;
(2005) study of her own
notes,
Although many of us would like to get be
lack concrete
lecturing, we often
yond
in our
for
so,
strategies
doing
particularly
one
such
classes.
This
paper suggests
larger
a
discussion-based
for
strategy
creating
course. The success of such a course is
learning activities grounded
The vehicle I use to achieve
48%
Howard
(2005)
suggests that faculty need to be
university
aware of the time constraints some students
face.
Still,
Howard
(2004)
"Just-in-Time-Teaching"
has
used
approach,
the
which
is similar to this one in its requirement of
student work outside of class, at his 1,800
commuter campus
student state university
where
students average 27 hours of paid
work per week
2005:197).
(see Howard
The JiTT approach itself was pioneered by
Uni
faculty at Indiana University-Purdue
a
at
4
News
U.S.
Tier
versity
Indianapolis,
to
JiTT
the
university. Moreover,
according
hundreds of
website
(http://www.jitt.org),
at
of all types
dozens
of
institutions
faculty
have adapted the method.
I have taught 85 students in a
Although
discussion-based
is a practical
course,
limit to
I do believe
there
this
implementing
strategy in very large classes (of perhaps
As noted above,
100 students or more).
in such classes must consider
instructors
how much time they are willing to devote to
if the class is
grading assignments. Also,
too large, many students will not have the
opportunity to actively engage in the whole
This defeats the purpose
class discussions.
course.
Further
of the discussion-based
one
of the biggest constraints on this
more,
247
COURSE PREPARATION ASSIGNMENTS
Table 5. Exam Scores by Type of Course
Lecture
Exam
1
Mean
(15 points possible)
Exam
3
Mean
(20 points possible)
13.3
14.2
(1.00)
88
(.93)
94
Percent
14.4
16.6
(2.06)
83
strategy is the physical design of the class
room. Both the small group and full class
discussions work best in classrooms where
students can move their chairs and can eas
So, I always re
ily see their classmates.
chairs and
quest classrooms with moveable
no more
than a couple of tiers. Unfortu
nately,
most
classrooms
that
can
Significance
(1.82)
72
Score
(Std. Dev.)
Mean
Course
Score
(Std. Dev.)
Mean
Percent
Level of
Discussion
Course
accommo
date 100 or more students are auditoriums
with stadium-style fixed seating which make
if not
difficult,
any extended discussions
impossible.
the very large course, I believe
Beyond
in many
this strategy can be implemented
a
courses
of
types
serving
variety of stu
dents. The easiest way to adapt this ap
proach is in the length and complexity of
the written assignments
and, thereby, the
level at which the in-class discussions
take
place. Itmay be that less elite students who
have large time commitments
outside of
class need shorter and simpler questions
discussions.
leading to less wide-ranging
classes at all uni
Students in upper-division
versities may be able to handle more sophis
ticated preparatory assignments and discus
in
sions
than
students
lower-division
classes. The same may be true of classes
which enroll primarily majors compared to
those service classes that enroll mostly non
of level. Presumably
majors,
regardless
students require less struc
upper-division
tured guidance than lower-division
students,
to pre
and majors require less motivation
pare for and participate in class than non
majors. But even upper-division majors can
so whether
the assignments are
disappoint,
constricted or elaborate they give students a
and motivation
vehicle
for engaging
the
to
class
reading material,
coming
prepared
5.45
.000
6.58
.000
for discussion,
and ultimately
becoming
more actively involved in learning in gen
eral.
APPENDIX: COURSE PREPARATION
ASSIGNMENT EXAMPLE
Chapter 12 Course Preparation Assignment:
Hypothesis on Racial Inequality inAmerica
Introduction:
Still
an American
Dilemma?
In 1944, Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal
published a landmark study of American race
He
relations.
maintained
that
the
of
principles
equality at the heart of the U.S. Constitution
with
clashed
the unequal
treatment
of African
Americans which he observed historically and at
the time he was
was
for Myrdal,
This,
writing.
An
American Dilemma (the title of his famous book).
While the position of African-Americans
(and
other
racial
inequalities
great interest
minorities)
remain.
has
since
improved
These
inequalities
then,
are of
to sociologists.
Objective
To
describe
quality
and analyze
in the contemporary
Background
Consider
the following
the causes
of
United
States.
from
the U.S.
data
racial
ine
Census
Bureau for 2001:
Median Family
Income
Whites
$47,041
Blacks
$29,939 64
Percent of
White
Income
100
Assignment
1. Read Chapter 12 of the textbook on racial
inequality to familiarize yourself with its
2.
and consequences.
causes,
forms,
at least five
Generate
testable
you
hypotheses
believe might account for the differences
income
given
above.
In other
words,
the dif
in
TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY
248
are your
are the independent
with
the hypotheses
in income
ferences
able. What
Note:
Start
most
important
or plausible;
vari
dependent
variables?
Christian,
think
you
then
on
go
Novak,
to
are
In-Time
list
Hall.
rival hypotheses that you think are less important
or
and would
less plausible
therefore
to test
want
as a sociologist.
Remember:
since
disprove
want
to
testable
you
you
generate
hypotheses,
as possible
to be as specific
in formulating
need
and
your
answers.
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Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and
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"Background
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and
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Steps
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ers
Jossey-Bass.
"Collaboration
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and Judith E.
Toward
Group
and
Projects."
Its
Barri
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Teaching
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McKeachie, Wilbert. 1999. Teaching Tips, 10th
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tecture of Everyday Life, 4th ed., by David
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and
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Pascarella,
Yamane,
Sociology or How I Convinced My Students to
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_,
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