How to Teach an Introduction to Sociology

Through several publications, online sociology teachers can methodically exam key learning goals and principles for an introductory course to judge what encompasses important curricula. An online digital-resource collection is available for instructing and learning sociology. This wealthy reservoir for teaching content in an initial sociology course includes sociological reasoning, culture, conformity and deviance, organizations, groups, social inequalities, socialization, population, social change and social inequalities.

Sociology demands looking outside of yourself. This is the case because sociology involves discovery by searching or questioning significant things in the world that rise above the level of the individual. In your instruction, elaborate on the "social" -- stress groups and institutions -- to offer a world perspective. Educate with a viewpoint of social structure as a way to understand societies. Using that angle provides a better framework to further understanding of society architecture outside of the individual. Hence, culture, demography and other key components of social structure's processes become easier to learn.

Give instruction in the important sociological concept of interconnectivity. Lecture to students that interconnectivity means you are all part of a system -- connected together and in continuous interaction within the social environment. Teach students that even though society may restrain a person, individuals are still able to adapt and seek individual direction. Show students that belonging to individual groups affects individual characters. As a class project. link an out-of-class community service, experimental or practical element with class-related theories and ideas: tutoring needy children, attending lectures or other noteworthy events like film and book discussions.

Ask students, "How is sociology different from other social sciences?" Combine lectures and assigned readings regarding contributions of notable pioneers in the sociology field. Discuss the development through the years of sociology in America. To increase comprehension of the importance of social structure, emphasize the increasingly significant role that friends play during adolescence to influence behavior. Ask learners to find an article about friends and adolescents on the Internet. Follow with a short question-and-answer session about peer groups and the consequential role they play in our social structure. Assign students to write an essay reviewing examples of friends in peer groups they've experienced or others observed in their own lives.

Throughout your instruction remind students that sociologists always use a method or system to collect and analyze information. Reinforce the notion that sociology experts are valued for their ability to comprehend social issues in various situations. Encourage your students to question easily accepted social ideas and beliefs they got used to hearing growing up. American sociologist George Herbert Mead's philosophy helps clarify the importance of the field of sociology: "People’s minds and their conceptions of themselves are shaped by their social experiences."