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