Category: teaching and learning theory
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Problems with the increasing involvement of technology companies in education
There are four main problems of the increasing role of large technology companies in education, all of which stem from the incompatibility of the values of Silicon Valley Digital Capitalism and Public Education: The algorithmic approach to education cannot take into account the social and moral complexities of real world education. The idea of ‘learning…
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Asking Questions about Theories and Concepts in Sociology
My weekly ‘Monday teaching and learning’ post: I’ve been thinking about questioning in A-level Sociology recently,* in particular I’ve been asking myself ‘what are the best quick-fire questions to ask students about theories and concepts’ and ‘what’s the best way to present these questions’? By ‘best’ I mean what kinds of questioning style will most…
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Basic Question Types in A-Level Sociology (AQA focus)
There are three main types of ‘question’ in A-level sociology exams: Outline and explain questions Analyse questions Evaluate questions This (hopefully) raises the question (is that a pun?) about what you’re likely to be asked to outline and explain/ analyse or evaluate…. If you read to the AQA’s specification carefully, which I’ve done (I couldn’t…
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Ranking Exercises in Sociology
‘Ranking is an academic exercise; through the exchange of opinion thinking is exercised and personal understanding is achieved of key issues and concepts. This results in deep rather than shallow learning.’ (1) Ranking research methods, concepts, or even simple value-statements against some pre-set criteria is (IMO) one of the most efficient and useful* ways of…
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Sentence Sorts for Teaching A-Level Sociology – How Useful Are They?
Matching exercises or ‘sentence sorts’ simply involve students matching the concept/ sociologist/ perspective/ method to a definition/ statement. Simple example: Decide whether the sentences are below are Functionalist or Marxist – simply write ‘F’ or ‘M’ next to the sentence. 1. Education reproduces inequality by justifying privilege and attributing poverty to personal failure. 2. The…
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Seven Transferable Skills Teachers Can Take to Other Professions
Producing engaging written and audio visual resources Emotional sensitivity Evaluation and decision making based on standardized criteria Presentation and communication skills Facilitating participation Simultaneous independent and collaborative working Reflexivity, which incorporates flexibility. Seven transferable skills which teachers can take with them to kinder careers Given the depth and breadth of skill which teaching requires, combined…
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How I Structure A-Level Sociology Lessons
Below is an overview of broad structure I use to teach every topic in the A-level sociology syllabus, and it’s my first post directed at sociology teachers rather than students. I typically stretch the structure below over four hour long lessons in a week (I think the norm is 3-4 lessons in most schools and…
