The Teaching and Learning of Sociology

Abstract

Teaching consists in the creation of the most favorable atmosphere in which one can learn. Facts can have no meaning unless assimilated in a particular frame of reference possessed by the observer of the fact. The traditional and current presentation of data is determined by the frame of reference of the instructor or author, who often ignores the possible meanings of the data for the student. The data of sociology cannot be communicated beyond a verbal level unless the student himself integrates the meanings of the data in his own experiences. Such integration or synthesis cannot be made by the instructor: he can merely help the student to make his own synthesis.