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)

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 :)

SOC 102 Technical Difficulties with Syllabus Quiz

It has come to my attention that a draft version of the quiz (taken from ealier semesters) was published yesterday. It has been replaced this morning. Unfortunately, that means the people who started and/or finished the quiz yesterday will have to start over with the new quiz.

Fixing the problem wiped out the record of who had started or taken the quiz (I think it was 3 people who started and 1 who finished).

My apologies for the inconvenience. Please let me know if there are any more irregularities, but I believe I have the problem fixed now.

CSN FALL 2009

Just found out what I'm going to be teaching in the Fall at College of Southern Nevada:

SOC 101 108 48123 9:30 AM 10:50 AM TR HN B117 HN P. Thomas3 31-Aug 18-Dec
SOC 101 109 48125 8:00 AM 9:20 AM TR HN B117 HN P. Thomas3 31-Aug 18-Dec
SOC 102 101 48191 12:30 PM 3:20 PM W HN B204 HN P. Thomas3 31-Aug 18-Dec

Hope to see some of my former 101 (Introduction) students in the 102 (Contemporary Social Issues) course.

Wow, 1 month away. Thankfully Summer is going fast.

All Grades are Posted for Soc 102

The final grades are posted on Web CT.

If you'd like to discuss your grade, I'll be at the classroom tomorrow, Thursday, from 10:30 to 10:50a.

By way of reminder:

450-500 = A
400-449 = B
350-399 = C
300-349 = D
Below 300 = F

Grades are up for Soc 101 and Soc 102 on Web CT

I have finished all grading of what I have received and could read in both Soc 101 and Soc 102. I cannot discuss grades directly via email or telephone, but I can answer questions on how I graded items. Please check Web CT and feel free to call or email me with any questions regarding grades or your preparation for your upcoing exams.

See you next week.

Exams Schedule & Study Guides

Soc 205 Exam #3 is 2 pm to 3:20 pm on Monday, December 8.
Study Guide is at the end of December 3 Slides

Soc 102 Final Exam is 9:30 am to 10:50 am on Tuesday, December 9.
Study Guide is at the end of December 4 Slides and on Web CT.

Soc 101 Exam #3 is 11 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday, December 11.
Study Guide is at the end of December 4 Slides and on Web CT.

Happy Studying!

SOC 102 Debate Questions Due on December 4th.

I need all questions for your debates to me by December 4th, even if your debate is on December 4th. You will lose 20 points on your grade if I do not have the question from the group by the end of class on that day. No exceptions.

Please review the Debate Assignment Description to make sure you format your question correctly.

We will have 4 debates tomorrow, so please make sure you submit any powerpoints to me by tomorrow at 8am.

See you tomorrow.

Some Notes on Remaining Debates

We only have a few more debates left and as such I want to outline my expectations:

1. You must fill your time -- Except where you have been notified (on Nov 25, we are having 6 speakers), you are expected to talk for 15 minutes. If you do not fill your time slot, you will have points off. ANYTHING LESS THAN 10 MINUTES AND YOU WILL LOSE 10 POINTS OFF YOUR GRADE.

2. You must turn in your CORRECTLY FORMATTED TEST QUESTIONS BY THE NEXT CLASS PERIOD. You will lose points if you turn it in late.

3. NO MORE MAKE-UP DEBATES will be scheduled. If you do not contact me ahead of time and/or do not have an excellent excuse for not doing so, you will receive a 0 for your debate. If you do contact me ahead of time with a legitimate reason for missing a debate, I will discuss other arrangements. It is at my discretion as to whether a reason is legitimate or not. Your classmates are depending upon you to do your part and make your presentations.

4. I expect the quality of your presentations to be higher the second time around. You have had more time to research and you have had plenty of examples to view in class. Please rise to the occasion and provide clear, well-researched arguments that are on point.

SOC 102 Debates Calendar

The Debates Calendar has been posted. A couple of reminders:

1. Your group must submit it's test question at the next class meeting following the debate.

2. DO NOT CHANGE YOUR TOPIC OR YOUR POSITION WITHOUT CLEARING WITH ME FIRST. If you present a debate that does not conform to your stated topic as outlined on the debate calendar without clearing the change with me, I will take points off your debate grade.

3. If you are using any kind of multimedia (such as powerpoint or a DvD), please send me an email with files attached or description of what you intend to do. I should receive this email no later than 10p the night before. Keep in mind that we do not have sound on the computers, so YouTube links should be to videos where sound is not important.

4. As announced in class, November 11 is Veteran's Day and school will be closed, so the only change to the posted calendar to date is that the Immigration debates will be on November 13 along with the Housing debates.

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Just to let you know, overall, I'm pleased to date with the debates. I expect them to get better as the semester moves along, but I'm quite happy with the caliber of the debates already.

See you tomorrow!

Reading from my Book in Class

In Soc 102 last week, I read an essay from my book Taking Up Space, which I co-wrote with my husband, Carl Wilkerson in 2005. The excerpt was written on Summer Solstace, 2002. The essay, "Closet Optimist" is in the box on each of pages.

Slides for SOC 102 have been uploaded here & in Web CT

You should be able to see all slides here in the side bar & on WebCT as of Tuesday afternoon.

Don't forget, I will be available tomorrow (Wednesday) evening 10p to 11p to chat on WebCT in the room called "Virtual Office" and I will also be monitoring email closely if you want to send me an email during that time.

See you at the mid-term on Thursday!

--Pattie

SOC 102 Theory Papers are Due October 2

You can drop your papers in the WebCT drop box. Email me if you have any questions on how to do it. On time submissions must be made by class time on Thursday, October 02. I am allowing late submissions until 10pm Thursday night.

Go to
"Evaluation Tools"
"Assignment DropBox"
"Theory Papers"

Let me know if you have any questions.

WebCT is up for both Soc 101 and Soc 102: Important Information

Here are some things you should know:

The courses are in the old system, so log in at http://webcampus.csn.edu.

If you have never logged in before, you will need your student number.

The WebCT ID is the last 8 digits of your student number.
The password is the month and year of your birthday (mmyy).

After your first log-in, you should change your password.

Log-in problems should be addressed by the school's help 1-800-630-7563.


Once you are in WebCT, you should see you course in the home panel.

If you do not see the class email me pattie.thomas(at)csn.edu with your full name and the course you are in. I will double check the roster and make sure you are on the list for access to the site. If you are not, I will fix and email you to try again. If you are, I will email you the tech's name & email that you will need to contact to troubleshoot.

Based upon the latest rosters I have, I believe all students in Soc 101-Section 110 and Soc 102-Section 101 should have access. So please let me know if you do not get access.

WEB CT is Up for Soc 102

I'm still working on the Intro course, but those of you in my Contemporary Social Issues class can now access course syllabus & slides on Web CT.

It is a skeleton right now, but I will be adding more information, links, calendar events and discussion boards. So definitely visit often.

I'll continue to add slides here for another week or so, in case there are kinks to work out.

See you in class!

Books are on Reserve

For Soc 102, the 10th edition is now in the Henderson Campus Library.

The book for Soc 101 was already on reserve under another section. You can check the book out even though you are in my section.

Let me know if you have any questions.