Sociology News and Events

VIOLA BARTEL RECEIVES 2011 NATIONAL ACADEMIC ADVISING ASSOCIATION AWARD

The Department of Sociology is proud to announce that Viola Bartel, our departmental academic advisor, is the recipient of the 2010 National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Award. Based at Kansas State University, NACADA is an organization that promotes and supports effective academic advising in institutions of higher education to enhance the educational development of students. Viola has worked as our academic advisor for eight years. In addition to conscientiously addressing student concerns and diligently assisting them with their academic and career paths as well as providing various forms of outreach advising, Viola transcends her job description in assisting with curriculum development and scheduling, organizing and attending departmental events, and helping to promote the department in every way that she can. Faculty and students alike are deeply indebted to Viola and we all congratulate her on this well deserved honour.

JILL DEBON RECEIVES BROCK UNIVERSITY DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

In December 2010, Jill DeBon received the President's Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her consistent, long-term, exemplary service to the Sociology Department and to Brock University. Jill began her service to Brock in the serials department of the Gibson Library in 1976. Not long after, she moved to the newly launched Department of Computer Science. In 1980, she became the full time Administrative Assistant in the Sociology Department, which has had a near complete turnover of faculty and has at least tripled in size since she arrived. At various times, she has also taken on administrative responsibilities for the Department of Child and Youth Studies and the Labour Studies Program when they were newly inaugurated. Not only has Jill adapted to all this expansion and change, she has done the kind of unseen and unsung work that has been vital to Brock's tremendous and ongoing growth.

PROFESSOR MARY-BETH RADDON IS A 2010 RECIPIENT OF THE BROCK UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR'S CHAIR FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE

Chair-holders are individuals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to post-secondary teaching, learning, and/or achievement in this important aspect of their academic careers.

As a Chancellor's Chair, Professor Raddon is undertaking the evaluation of a new first year course, SOCI 1F99 Foundations in Service Learning, which combines classroom and community-based learning. The evaluation of this initiative will include a critical contextual analysis of service-learning pedagogies, documentation of the course implementation, qualitative assessment of students' learning outcomes, and a qualitative study of how students understand themselves as socially engaged members of communities.

PROFESSOR KEVIN GOSINE IS A 2010 RECIPIENT OF A BEST PRACTICES TEACHING AWARD

Kevin Gosine is masterful at designing small group exercises to promote skill development, critical thinking, and student engagement in research methods courses. Here are four examples of his group exercises that significantly enhance student learning:
1. In SOCI 2P11, Introduction to Research Methods, after delivering a lecture on measurement and operationalization, Kevin divides students into groups in lecture and has them operationalize some abstract, multidimensional variable (e.g., self esteem, job satisfaction, etc). Each group is asked to outline on an overhead transparency how they have decided to operationalize their chosen variable. They then present their work in seminars where their peers critique the validity and reliability of their measure. This exercise engages the students and works really well to teach operationalization.

2. In SOCI 4P11, Applied Social Research Design, Kevin provides an interview transcript and has students collaboratively code them in small groups. Each group then presents the coding categories and themes that they have derived from their analysis of the transcript.

3. In SOCI 4P11, Kevin asks students to bring to class information on a social service agency/program of choice. After a lecture on evaluation research, he divides them into groups and develops a research design to evaluate the effectiveness of the agency/program. Each group presents their work to the class for critique.

4. In SOCI 4P11, after a lecture on questionnaire design, Kevin divides students into groups and asks them to design a questionnaire on some topic (paying attention to such matters as question construction, validity and reliability in variable measurement, question order, etc). As with the other exercises, each group presents their work to the class for critique.

Social research methods courses are notoriously difficult to teach because students do not always identify with the role of researcher or see the relevance of the study of research methods to their substantive interests or concerns. Kevin's use of small group exercises overcomes these challenges by allowing students to practice aspects of the research process in ways they experience as supportive and interesting. These examples of collaborative, experiential learning complement Kevin's lectures and assigned readings with excellent results in terms of learning outcomes and retention.
Nominated by Mary-Beth Raddon

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

SOCIOLOGY SPEAKERS SERIES 2011-2012

Dr. Ifeanyi Ezeonu Wednesday October 19, 2011 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. AS 427
Dr. Janet Conway Wednesday November 23, 2011 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. AS 427
Dr. Margot Francis Wednesday January 25, 2012 10:00 a.m.-12:00p.m. AS 427
Dr. June Corman & Dr. Ann Duffy Wednesday February 15, 2012 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. AS 427
Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly from Carlton University Wednesday March 13, 2012 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Plaza 600F
Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly will have her book launch Monday March 12, 2012 see more.

A SERIES OF TALKS ON CONFRONTING RACISM AND ISLAMOPHOBIA
IN THE 9/11 DECADE

Dr. Sedef Arat-Koc Thursday October 13, 2011 5:00 p.m-7:00 p.m. AS 203

PhD. Candidate, Carlton University, Samah Sabra Monday October 31, 2011 7:30 TH 256