The purpose of this assignment is to:
• Recall your understanding of the historical function of public education and the role
that schools play in society,
• Discuss ways in which schools both reinforce and challenge prevailing social norms,
• Demonstrate your understanding of gender equity, racial identity, and social class as it relates to teaching and learning
Skills practiced:
• Synthesis of course readings, previous assignments and faculty lectures.
• Sharing your informed thoughts and opinions is a form of Critical Thinking.
• Creativity engages those receiving your thoughts, summary, and information.
Submission Guidelines:
Powerpoint/Keynote/Prezi presentations should be ~15-20 slides and
should include images or other media elements. Upload a converted PDF
file —OR— a PDF with an embedded web link to Canvas once completed.
YouTube Videos or other web-based submissions should be approximately
7min in length when it comes to meeting items 1-4 of them prompt above.
An additional 5 minutes of creative elements is welcome but not required.
Upload a PDF file to Canvas with a link to your finished project.
Topic Statement
The 2nd step in this process is coming up with your topic.
Obviously, it needs to be related to Sociology and Education.
Here are some questions to guide your brainstorming:
What level of education do you want to focus on?
a. Pre-K / Montessori?
b. Elementary school?
c. Middle School/Junior High?
d. High School?
e. Higher Education?
What aspect of social stratification do you want to examine?
a. Race / Ethnicity?
b. Social Class?
c. Gender?
d. Sexual Orientation?
What secondary aspect of Sociology (beyond Race, Class, and Gender) do you want to focus on?
a. Educational policy? e.g. School Choice
b. Universal Design/Learning Accommodations?
c. School Funding models? e.g. statewide vs federal vs local spending.
d. Diversity Issues? e.g. teacher and/or student demographics.
e. Alternative schools? Different pedagogical approaches, etc.
f. Other?
What are your research questions?
a. What do you want to learn more about?
b. What do your want to better understand?
c. What do you want to explore?
d. What have you been curious about when it comes to education?
