Course Description Introductory Sociology examines how global, social structural and interpersonal relationships impact how we understand and act with other nations and groups. We examine society and culture with special attention to the biases which impact how people view our world. This course is a general education course and the entry course for all students taking courses in sociology. Reinders and Rosenberg taught two introductory classes with approximately 65 students in each class. Most were students at the freshmen and sophomore level in a lecture/discussion format classroom. This lesson study was presented at mid-term. At that time, we began to go beyond providing students the basic tools used by sociologists to study society and encouraged students to examine current issues using these tools and consider U.S. society as part of a global system. In sum, we expected students to apply what they learned in the first half of the semester to understand global social structures from a sociological perspective. We instilled the means by which students might view an individual problem (gender inequality) in broader social terms to understand the complexities of globalization and the interconnectedness of other countries to the people living in the United States today. The first iteration of the lesson study was assigned on Thursday, March 29, 2006 and students worked on their projects over the week and presented to the class on Thursday, April 5, 2006. This part of the lesson study required students to learn about a low, middle, or high income nation on a number of criteria defined by the instructor. On April 10th, we discussed gender differences across nations previously studied and students presented their final report to the class on April 12th. The Lesson Study project lasted over a two-week period.

Executive Summary Learning Goals: The anticipated focus of the lesson study was the challenge of getting students to examine everyday issues through a sociological lens. We wanted to learn ways to enhance students' abilities to make the connection between learning theory (factors that impact global stratification) and understanding experience (how the level of stratification of a nation from a global perspective impacts gender stratification on a national level and women's quality of life on a individual level). As part of our lesson study training, we hoped to develop skills to aid students in making the theory-experience connection. Secondly, students worked in groups and were required to develop a poster and report as a team. Therefore, a second goal of the lesson study was developing an organizational strategy for presenting findings through a team effort. Instructional Design: Instructors adapted two iterations of an active learning exercise based on Bradshaw, et al. (2001, pps. 272-273) Gender Inequality with and between Nations: Internet Research. The first iteration was designed to get students to generalize about differences among high, middle, and low income nations. Students compared nations on the following indicators: life expectancy, contraceptive use, educational attainment, women in the military and government, and women in the workforce. The second iteration required students to apply their knowledge from the first iteration to gender stratification from a national and individual perspective. This moved students from understanding indicators that defined the status of a nation globally to applying this status to gender stratification and then speculating about how women's status impacts their everyday lives. Students presented information about different nations they chose to study as part of the first iteration and then discussed gender differences as part of the second iteration. Students were required to study a nation and create a poster (Appendix A) describing that nation on the assigned indicators, discuss the impact of the income level of the nation and gender stratification, make generalizations about the quality of life of women in that nation and compare this to other nations. Students wrote up findings in a final group paper. Findings about student learning: From this assignment, students learned differences among nations, economically, socially, and politically with specific emphasis on gender differences, considering commonalities and differences as a function of survival in a global, interdependent community. They began to see patterns in nations on the basis of income levels, but also noted that middle income nations varied the most on criteria used to describe them. They gathered information on gender differences across all nations, but these differences were not made explicit until iteration two of the lesson study. Students learned through experience and interaction about differences across nations and how women's lives are impacted. Issues of number of children, contraceptive use, role of religion and tradition, role of women in childrearing versus employment outside the home, and role of women in government were discussed.

Teresa Reinders, Anne Statham, Helen Rosenberg

Printer Friendly Version Rosenberg/Reinders Final Report (MSWord) Final Report MSWord version Rosenberg/Reinders Final Report (PDF) Final Report PDF version; same as MSWord version but easier to read on screen

The Lesson How to Teach the Lesson (PDF) Pre-Lesson, the Lesson, and Post lesson Same as MSWord but easier to view on screen. How to Teach the Lesson (MSWord) Pre-lesson, the Lesson, and Post-lesson Streaming Video - Rosenberg class Special thanks to Paul Aceto for video taping the class sessions. Streaming Video - Reinders class Due to some technical issues, portions of this video may be difficult to hear.

The Study The Study (MSWord) The Approach, Findings & Discussion The Study (PDF) The Approach, Findings & Discussion Report Appendix Contains: A. Student Posters B. Group Project on Global Stratification C. Informed Consent Form D. Poster Project Rubric E. Global Strat Table F. Discussion Sheet: Gender Strat G. Observer's Notes H. Sample Syllabus I. Rosenberg's Notes