A Troubling Success Story
Revisiting a Classic Deviance Assignment in a Criminology Course
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11062771 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca L Bordt (0000-0001-5642-4273, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 483 |
| Publication date | 2001-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Teaching Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-055X • E-ISSN: 1939-862X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1318949 |
| OpenAlex | W1963659104 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 6 |
SOCIOLOGISTS INTERESTED IN incorporating innovative teaching strategies and exercises into the classroom have a wealth of information at their disposal. Resources include books on pedagogy written by education specialists and experienced teachers (e.g., Kolb 1984; Postman and Weingartner 1969; Shumsky 1968; Slavin 1995), practical guides published by the American Sociological Association's Teaching Resource Center (e.g., Kain 1993), and academic journals with a specific focus on teaching sociology (e.g., Teaching Sociology) and other subspecialties within sociology (e.g., Journal of Criminal Justice Education). With few exceptions (Grauerholz and Copenhaver 1994; Lofland 1996), this body of literature reveals an overwhelming bias towards what works, or classroom success stories (see Gelles 1980). On one level this makes obvious sense, given that the goal of this body of literature is to aid sociologists and others in becoming better teachers and to give them new ideas for classroom implementation. On another level, telling only success stories is problematic in that it masks the reality of the teaching process. Teaching and learning can be unpredictable. Many times classroom innovations do not work on the first try, needing tinkering and refinement over time to achieve their potential. More important, classroom exercises can successfully achieve their intellectual goals yet carry with them unintended negative consequences. I argue that we need to pay more attention to the costs (or potential costs) of our classroom innovations. In contemplating unintended consequences, we not only gain insight into why a certain exercise did or did not work and what it will take to refine it, but we also paint a more realistic picture of the teaching process for novice teachers. Innovation and success in the classroom
Criminology · Deviance (statistics · Sociology · Computer Science · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Online and Blended Learning · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,18 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2018 (15) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |