Methods: Innovative, Experiential, and Student-Centered Approaches to Teaching Undergraduate Research Methods in the Social Sciences

Session Submission Type: Lightning Round

Description

The following presentations focus on innovative, experiential, and student-centered approaches to teaching research methods in sociology. They emphasize active learning, where students engage in hands-on research, data collection, or analysis—whether by treating the classroom as a lab, using coding tools for data visualization, participating in community-engaged projects, or reflecting on personal experiences as data. The session focuses on a shared commitment to demystifying research, empowering students, and making the research process more accessible and meaningful. Additionally, each approach addresses practical challenges—such as limited resources, varying student preparation, or the integration of new technologies like AI—while providing adaptable strategies and tools for instructors to enhance undergraduate research education.

Sub Unit

• Teaching and Learning Symposium

Individual Presentations

• Opening the Lab Door: Scaffolding Undergraduate Qualitative Research at Small Colleges and Universities - Katherine Everhart, The University of Virginia's College at Wise

• Research Methods as Experiential Learning - Tess Starman, Simpson College

• Supporting Critical Literacy in the Age of AI‑Assisted Research - Melissa Kalpin Prescott, Minnesota State University-Mankato

• Teaching Computational Data Visualization with Jupyter and Du Boisian Charts - Charlie Eaton, University of California-Merced; Kimberly Garcia-Galvez, University of California-Merced; Andrew Martin, University of California at Merced; Leia Belt, University of California-Merced

• The Boring Fieldnote Exercise: Students’ Emotions as Data for Sociological Insight - David C Joseph-Goteiner, University of California-Berkeley

• Let's play a game! (and learn some theory). - Aaron Major, University at Albany, SUNY

Session Organizer

• Vondora Wilson-Corzen, Nassau Community College