SOC 101 CLASS CANCELLED THIS EVENING, TUESDAY, NOV 22

SOC 101 -- 2017, ROOM 1060, 6:00P TO 7:20P is cancelled.

Happy Thanksgiving
See you next Tuesday.

Spring 2012 CSN Schedule

I will be teaching the following 16 WEEK classes in the Spring:

CLASS    SECTION  CALL #   ROOM #        DAY & TIME

SOC 102    2001      27762    CY1068    Th 9:30AM-12:20PM

SOC 101    2021      33964    CY1684    T 6:00PM-8:50PM

SOC 101    2017      27713    CY1068    Th 6:00PM-8:50PM

(NOTE: Room #s are subject to change--I will post changes here)

All of Dr. Pattie's Classes Cancelled Tuesday, October 25

I'm sorry to do this again, but something has come up that will prevent me from being at class on Tuesday. I will announce on Angel changes to schedule due to this unexpected absence. Thank you for your patience. Cheers, Dr. Pattie

SOC 101 CANCELLED THURSDAY Sep 29, 6p

SOC 102 AND ANTH/SOC 205 will meet on Sept 29 as usual.

SOC 101 -- 2017, ROOM 1060, 6:00P TO 7:20P is cancelled.
I'm feeling a little better though still under the weather some. I think I can do half day tomorrow, so morning classes will meet as usual, but my evening class is cancelled.

Some deadlines will be pushed out to accommodate the missed class. It will probably be tomorrow or Friday before I put new deadlines up on Angel.

Thank you for your patience.

DR THOMAS CLASSES ARE CANCELLED TUESDAY Sep 27

SOC 102 -- 2001, ROOM 1218, 9:30A TO 10:50A
ANTH/SOC 205 -- 2001, ROOM 1218, 11:00A TO 12:20P
SOC 101 -- 2017, ROOM 1060, 6:00P TO 7:20P

Classes will be cancelled for Tuesday, Sept 27due to illness. I have a nasty case of bronchitis and do not want to spread contagion. I believe I will be better by Thursday, but look for an announcement here if I am not. Assume we are having class on Thursday unless I post an announcement.

Some deadlines will be pushed out to accommodate the missed class. I will put new deadlines up on Angel when I am well enough to do so.

Thank you for your patience.

CSN SERVES VOLUNTEER FAIR

Reminder to my 102 students -- here's your chance to meet some of the organizations with whom you might considering doing your community service work. Free food too!

Using a Portfolio Approach in Sociology

I have been exploring portfolio approaches to teaching, so this semester I am using this approach with my Contemporary Social Issues class. I can't seem to find a good definitive, but simple explanation of the elements of this approach that students can understand, so I'm writing my own here. I decided to do this more publicly because I think it is something other teachers might like to see.






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The Basics

A portfolio is simply a collection of items that have something in common. So it can be artwork you've done or papers you've written or pictures of your family or pets. It can also be documents that demonstrate your abilities and skills. The basic concept of a portfolio approach to learning is that when you address a particular subject, you can collect what you learn in one place (nowadays, that is usually an electronic "place") where you can review it as a whole and see the commonalities in what you have done.

There are numerous ways to do learning portfolios, but they almost all have the following in common:

1. Process Oriented: an effort is made to build upon previous work and connect that work in a coherent form.
   
   
2. Revision and Correction as Learning Process: instead of a "testing" recall and penalizing for lack of recall, the portfolio is built, in part, as appropriate on the ability to take feedback or further research and incorporate that into improving previous work.
   
   
3. Reflecting upon Learning: milestones are built in that allow the student to review previous work and consider questions like: What did I learn? What did I do well? Where did I improve? How has my thinking been changed? What would I like to explore next? How do I feel about these efforts?

Other Considerations
There are, of course, other elements that can be added. The context does change things. For example, some departments have portfolio approaches so a student might be seeking their best work from each course to add to a larger portfolio that will be presented as part of either a comprehensive review before graduation or some sort of capstone experience. A single course approach is much less ambitious.

The subject of the course also give context. A portfolio experience in Sociology is much different from one in English or Biology.

There is also debate on how such things can be graded. Some approaches have feedback throughout the course and a single grade of the portfolio at the end. Others grade individual pieces within the portfolio, but allow for revision or correction and re-grading.


Conclusion

My goal in writing this is not to be comprehensive but to give both student and colleagues a taste of what this approach entails. I plan to use this approach in examining social problems through three lenses. One is a theoretical framework, which provides methodology to consider what is and is not a social problem and how some claims evolve into social policies and programs where others fall flat. The second area which builds upon the theoretical framework is community involvement. Students will be volunteering for 9 hours at a local charity or organization. They will be writing about these experiences using the theoretical framework as a guideline for understanding the organization and its purpose in light of what problem it hopes to address. Then finally, working with a group, we will address specific social problems and debate issues in various topical areas. The analysis of the problem, the construction of the in-class debates and the assessment of different approaches will build on the theoretical framework.

If you teach and you have used a portfolio approach, I'd love to hear about your experience(s). If you are a student and have been in classes or programs that use this approach, I also love to hear about your experience(s). I will write more at the end of the semester about how this goes.

My Fall 2011 Schedule -- Tell Your Friends!

Fall Class Schedule is out - here's what I'm teaching:

SOC 102 Contemporary Social Issues
Sec 2001 Call # 83296 CHEYENNE Campus Room 1681 1218 T/Th 9:30AM - 10:50AM

SOC 205 Ethnic Groups in Contemporary Society
Sec 2001 Call # 83301 CHEYENNE Campus Room 1218 T/Th 11:00AM - 12:20PM

SOC 101 Principles of Sociology
Sec 2017 Call # 83245 CHEYENNE Campus Room 1060 T/Th 6:00PM - 7:20PM

Tell your friends and neighbors :)