North Central Sociological Association 2014 Teaching Address: The John F. Schnabel Lecture—Sociology’s Special Pedagogical Challenge

Instructors and students must overcome a course’s special pedagogical challenge in order for meaningful and important learning to occur. While some suggest that the special pedagogical problem varies by course, I contend that the special pedagogical problem is likely to be shared across a discipline’s curriculum, rather than being unique to each course. After reviewing a three-part typology of learning outcomes for sociology, I argue that the development of students’ sociological imaginations is sociology’s special pedagogical challenge; I then offer some general guidelines for teaching strategies to enhance the students’ success in developing a sociological imagination.     

North Central Sociological Association 2017 Teaching Address—The John F. Schnabel Lecture: Creative Use of Stories as a Pedagogical Tool in the Classroom

Using stories to transmit values, cultures, traditions, and religions from one generation to the next has been practiced in almost all societies for centuries. In this lecture, the author reflects on the creative use of stories as a pedagogical tool in the classroom—specifically, in large general education classes where most students have little or no background in sociology. The author concludes that the use of stories in the classroom is a powerful pedagogical tool that creates a link between sociology’s concepts and real life, clarifying and simplifying complex issues, and making a long-lasting impression on students.