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Sage Sociology Exchange Current Events

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Sociology Exchange: Weekly Answers for Sociology Educators

Experience the power of collective wisdom, where every week brings new learning opportunities for instructors.

Sociology Exchange is a conduit facilitating the flow of knowledge from  experienced to early-career sociology professors. Through a dynamic exchange of weekly questions posed by novice instructors and resolved by our esteemed panel of trusted sociology authors, we empower you with valuable insights and tried-and-tested strategies from seasoned professionals in the field of sociology, accelerating your growth and competence. 

Bookmark this page and see weekly questions and answers below! 


Question:

How do I incorporate real-world examples and current events into my sociology lessons?

Answer:

Provided by Sage Author: Catherine Corrigall-Brown, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Sociology should be about connecting the theories and methods in our discipline to the real-life experiences of our students.  When I teach a topic, I always ask myself “how can this be more relevant to students”?  I look to news stories and articles for inspiration.  Whenever I see something interesting in the news, social media, or in my daily experience, I flag it and save it. Then, when I come to that topic, I have lots of fun examples to illustrate the concepts in class.  

I also find that students are the best fountain of current examples - ask them (in lecture or discussion sections) for examples.  Perhaps consider giving them participation credit for good examples of topics, which can be the foundation of a library of great examples and illustrations for years to come!