Building Student Expertise: Using OpEds in the Classroom

Abstract

This resource provides two approaches to an OpEd assignment in two levels of courses. OpEds are public scholarship that discuss contemporary issues from the author’s perspective using a variety of types of evidence. One of these assignment models is from an introductory general education course and the other a 300-level course primarily for majors and...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Other, Sociological Practice, Urban Sociology

Resource Type(s):

Assignment

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

An OpEd is a public piece of scholarship in which a contemporary issue is utilized to frame a current issue, a wide array of scholarly (and non-scholarly) evidence is used to build an argument, a counter-argument is presented and professionally addressed, and a call to action is included to direct the reader to next steps. Following a model provided by...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Students who successfully complete this assignment will be able to:
   Represent multiple types of evidence for making an argument
   
2. Identify counter-arguments and professionally respond to them
3. Appraise and utilize their own expertise in a persuading an audience
4. Practice persuading an audience through public scholarship
   
   

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Students will demonstrate that they have met these goals through:
   An in-class activity which asks them to draft various pieces of the OpEd for peer feedback
   
2. A meeting with faculty in which they review a draft of the OpEd
   
3. An OpEd which is scored with a rubric which evaluates students’ abilities to meet learning outcomes