Learning Students' Names in Sociology Classes: Interactive Tactics, Who Uses Them, and When

Abstract

TRADITIONAL UNDERGRADUATE SOCIOLOGY education uses a banking paradigm of learning (Freire 1971:63), in which the instructor, who has all the knowledge (money), makes deposits via lectures and selected readings to students. They, as essentially passive receptacles, listen, take notes, and read. Palmer (1990:12) names this method the performer-spectator classroom. This paper explores the use of another paradigm, more interpersonal and more interactive, which has been expressed in several ways-for example, in Freire's (1971:67) problem-posing method and Palmer's (1987:25) community of scholars approach. This alternative paradigm involves the student as an active participant in the classroom, thinking and talking as well as listening and writing. It seems to be more effective for learning and satisfaction among students, according to the authors cited above. Belenky et al. (1986:217) refer to this paradigm as midwife teaching, which draws knowledge out of the learner's mind. Both instructor and students think, converse, and differ publicly while seeking growth (p. 221), consensus (p. 223), and participation in the process of knowing (Hilligoss 1992; Palmer 1990:12). In the banking paradigm, it matters little whether professors know their students by name and use those names in interactions because students are interchangeable units whose names are necessary only for grading (keeping account balances). In contrast, in the midwife paradigm, rapport and relationship with each student are essential if the learning process is to work. This paper is predicated on our belief that students' participation and learning in a college or university undergraduate sociology course, inside and outside the classroom, are enhanced when professors learn