A few years ago I wrote quite an extensive list of different tasks that could be used for displaying the different skills for an ECT at a school I was working with. I recently came across this document, and have decided to just throw it out into the world, in the vague hope that it might be of use to somebody who needs it. If you find it useful, please do share. If not, go about your business…nothing to see here.

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What is knowledge and understanding?

Knowledge is identified in sociology exam questions through:

Use of sociology terminology

Use of sociological concepts

References to sociological studies and research

Knowledge Tasks

Fast Fives: List five key concepts is the study of….

E.g. …Secularisation

        – Rationality

          – Disenchantment

          – Technological Worldview

          – Believing not Belonging

          – Religious Diversity

Grid work: Create a 3 x 3 grid like the one below and put different theorists’ views of different topics

	Functionalist	Marxist	Feminist
Education	Durkheim	Bowles and Gintis	Sharpe
Beliefs	Malinowski	Maduro	El Saadawi
Crime	Merton	Chambliss	Heidensohn

Create a question: Each student to create a MCQ on previous lessons work on a slip of paper – these can then be compiled into short MCQ quiz

Bingo Cards: Give students blank 3 x 3 grid and ask them to write down concepts (or theorists) associated with a specific theme – e.g. social class underachievement. Teacher can use various methods to call out concepts and students mark off cards:

Material deprivation	Linguistic codes	Labelling
Anti-school subcultures	Nike identities	Setting and streaming
Cultural backgrounds	Parental involvement	Cultural capital

Matching Maps: Students create a mind-map of a specific topic area. They then compare their mind-maps to those of somebody else and fill in missing concepts and ideas (possibly in different coloured pens to show difference between what they know and what others know) 

Acronym Creator: Write a topic area on the board and ask students to come up with a concept for each letter of the Topic area

B	Believing without belonging
E	Existential Security Theory
L	Lyon
I	Ideological State Apparatus
E	Enlightenment
F	Faith Healing (Type of NAM)
S	Spiritual Shopping

A – Z game: Using whole class, go through alphabet asking student to name a key sociological concept or sociologist beginning with that letter.

Question Grids/Pyramids: Create short 3 – 6 question quizzes and organised them into either pyramid or grid formats. Pyramids (Either 3 or 6) should have more challenging questions as students move towards the top. Grids can vary questions based on preference. These can be from a specific topic area or from a range of topic areas.

What term is used to describe the process of an individuals living up to a label?	What term is used to the process of dividing students based on their ability?	What term is used to describe shared norms and values of society, passed on through education
What term is used to describe the way pupils are treated differently based upon predicted grades?	What terms is used to describe the application of market principles to education?	What term is used to describe the use of private companies in schools?

Who said it?  Create a list of key statements and students identify who said it

Strain to anomie caused by societal goals of the American Dream	Merton
The law protects the interests of the ruling class	Chambliss
Low levels of maintenance in an area are an indicator of high levels of crime	Wilson and Kellings (Broken Windows Theory
Green crime can be separated into primary and secondary green crimes	South
State enter into a spiral of denial regarding crimes they have committed	Stan Cohen
Women are forced to accept the gender deal or the class deal	Carlen
Crime is defined by those that observe it – it is a social construction	Becker
Individuals engaged in self-surveillance as they believe others are watching them	Foucault

Understanding is demonstrated through explaining:

Different sociological terms

Different sociology concepts Ideas of sociologists

Demonstrating understanding tasks

Note: Many of the knowledge tasks can be used to demonstrate understanding through being extended by asking student to explain what a concept is or provide an example – this shows they understand the concept.

Matching pairs: Create paired flash cards – each pair with a definition and a concept. Turn them all over and students need to match the concept to the definition. Can be done as a simple matching pairs work sheet at well. This is example of paired flash cards.

Conformity	Individual accepts the societal goals and pursues them using legitimate means
Innovation	Individual accepts the societal goals and pursues them using illegitimate means
Ritualism	Individuals reject societal goals but continue to conform to legitimate means
Retreatism	Individuals reject both the societal goals and the legitimate means of achieving them
Rebellion	Individuals reject social goals and replace them with alternative ones, using whatever means necessary to achieve their goal

Cloze Handouts: Write a paragraph or two on a specific concept and replace key terms and concepts with blanks. Get the students to complete the blanks. This can easily be adapted for different levels through giving a full list of key terms, partial list, list with misleading responses or no list of responses.  

Cultural Factors in Educational Achievement   Cultural factors are seen as a significant factor in the differences in education achievement of different _____________ groups. Often referred to as _________ ________ theories, cultural explanations examine _________ ____________ although these may also influence the ways in which pupils are treated in ___________.   One cultural explanation offered by Bernstein is ___________ __________. He found that the working-class spoke in a ______________ _________, which included a limited vocabulary and was grammatically simple. In contrast, the ______ _____ were able to speak in the __________ _________ as well. This put them at an advantage in school as this was the language of ___________, __________, and _______.   Another cultural factor is __________ attitudes. Sugarman suggested that the working class have distinct _____________ attitudes that are in conflict with the norms and values of education. They adopt a ___________ attitude and prefer __________ gratification. In contrast, the middle-class have a more ____________ attitude and are ________ __________. This means they have __________ gratification and look remain in education and go on to ____________. This means they are more motivated to succeed that the working -class, who are more likely to ___________ in comparison to their peers.

Underachieve     Deferred    Middle class     Fatalistic   School  Immediate     Future-orientated   Optimistic   Elaborated Restricted      Home Factors    Cultural deprivation   Social class Linguistic differences    Subcultural    Parental    University Teachers     Text Books   Exams

Partial Credit answers: There are short answer questions that haven’t done enough to get full marks. Usually the 4 and 6 mark questions on Paper 1 and Paper 3 of the AQA specification, they can be applied to any different topic area.

Outline 2 reasons for the persistence of poverty

One reason is the cycle of deprivation.

Another reason is welfare dependency

Outline 2 limitations of using qualitative data

One limitation of using qualitative data is that it lacks reliability.

Another limitation of using qualitative data is that it is difficult to generalise.

Misunderstanding: Provide students with a description of a piece of research or a sociological concept, but mis-label sections, concepts or theorists and get students to correct the concept, rename the theory or amend the mistakes.

Material Factors in Education   One material factor that influences educational achievement is linguistic skills. Douglas argued that the middle-class have a restricted speech code that puts them at an advantage in the education system compared to ethnic minority groups. The restricted code is used in schools and this places the working-class at a disadvantage because they may be subject to bullying from their peers.

Positivist Methodology   Positivist methods are high in validity and reliability because they collect qualitative data. Positivists prefer more scientific methods such as unstructured interviews and field experiments as they believe this provides them with greater insight into the experiences of individuals. As they are small-scale, positivist methods can usually be generalised to wider society, particularly if they have been generated using a snowball sample.