Harnessing the Pedagogical Monster: Using Research in Teaching Large Classes

The purpose of this article is to present one means of reducing student passivity seemingly inherent in the teaching of large enrollment classes. A social survey which involves research replication is administered to the students in the large class setting. The social survey of students is in accord with Wilson's dictum that teaching and research can be effectively combined, but repudiates the notion that this combination can occur only in the small class setting. The teaching technique allows student involvement in the collection of data and in application and use of sociological concepts. The research replication had serendiptious results which offered a high level of excitement to the instructors because the findings indicated trends totally unexpected. While teaching is often built upon research, this case demonstrates that research as an extension and revision of sociological knowledge can emerge out of the teaching process.