Professor Paula Provoker loved to elicit emotional reactions from students to get them involved in sociological topics. She felt strongly that once students emotionally connect to a topic, learning accelerates. Soon after evaluating the data from the mid-term exam, Professor Provoker was pleased with the assessment data she had collected: 80% of her 30 students were mastering the concepts of the course so far.
The topic of the current week is civil disorder—more particularly, urban rioting. Wanting to show the history of civil disorder, and evoke student involvement, she decides to build the week around the showing and discussion of a film about the violent riots involving the police and demonstrators in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention. After writing the learning objectives for that week on her white board, she explains the topic for the week and what students will be doing in class. She notices many students are excited about the topic.
Before each segment of the video, Professor Provoker provides historical context in a brief 5-minute lecture and has students go over sections 2 and 5 in the textbook, Our Social World, along with her as she reads. Next, she hands out worksheets for students to complete as they watch each video segment. The worksheets contain space for six short answers to the questions where students are asked to analyze, explain, and compare/contrast. After each segment of the video presentation is complete, Professor Provoker asks students to go over their answers on the worksheets in small groups first for 5 minutes as she walks around and listens in on the small group discussions. Lastly, she asks all the students to discuss the video segment and their answers on the worksheets in a large group discussion setting. Professor Provoker is delighted with the responses of many students but is disappointed that others are not participating in the discussion.
Students are required to turn in their worksheets each day at the end of class as an “exit ticket.” By the end of the week, Professor Provoker is thrilled with the scores of the worksheets. Not only were they completed by every student, but 90% of students answered the questions thoughtfully, citing details from the videos.
Citing two to four scholarly sources, answer the following prompts about the case study:
Topic 3: Lesson Planning
Describe Professor Provoker’s teaching method. Explain whether or not it was a successful way to assess the concept. (75-100 words)
Describe the learning theories you think Professor Provoker utilized in her lesson. Explain whether or not they were appropriate theories. (50-75 words)
In terms of learning theory, what were some reasons her lesson did not have impact on other students? (75-100 words)
Read sections 2 and 5 in Our Social World. Explain whether or not the assigned textbook sections were sufficient to prepare students for this topic. (50-75 words)
Our Social World
What critical thinking strategies did Professor Provoker implement in her lessons that week? (50-75 words)
At what level of Bloom’s taxonomy were the worksheets? (50-75 words)
What learning styles did her lessons address? (50-75 words)
If you were to have a week-long topic on civil disorder, what teaching methods would you employ and why? (100-150 words)
